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Signed from Waasland-Beveren in Belgium, Joe Efford has made an impact in his time at Motherwell. 

Quick, agile and skilful on the ball, Efford’s raw pace has proven to test defenders in the Scottish top flight.

His ball carrying ability allows the team to get up the pitch quicker whilst also launching the next attack.

Picking up an injury in October 2022 while at the top of his game, which required the surgery, the 26-year-old has spent five months on sidelines recovering.

But the American is almost back into full training and will be looking to continue where he left off the last time he was on the pitch.

We return to Fir Park on Saturday 18th March to take on Rangers.

Kick-off is 12.30pm.

Tickets

Ticket Prices

– Concessions Tickets would be ages 65 and over and FT Students with a valid matric card.
– Young Adults tickets would ages 12 to 17.
– Juveniles would be 11 and under.
– Family tickets would be one adult / senior citizen concession and x2 juveniles.

How to follow game online

The game will be live on Sky Sports.

If you are outside the UK, you can watch the game via Motherwell TV.

Should you be in the UK, it will be live commentary only.

The Story of the Match

Motherwell go into this one on the back of three wins and a draw – the best form of the season so far.

The Steelmen saw an upturn in fortunes at home, winning their last two, with fine 2-1 and 2-0 wins over St Mirren and Hearts.

Both Stuart Kettlewell and Michael Beale remain undefeated in the league. Rangers will provide stiff opposition as they are unbeaten in fifteen league matches, only dropping two points in that time.

Rangers came out on top in their last visit to Fir Park. Tillman and Lundstram had the visitors two-up before Stuart McKinstry’s free-kick set up a nervy final fifteen minutes for the Glasgow side.

Rangers sit second in the league, nine points off the top, and Motherwell sit ninth, one point behind eighth placed St Johnstone.

Match officials

Max Johnston has been named in Scotland’s latest Under 21 squad. 

The young Scots have two friendlies lined up, against Sweden and Wales.

Johnston, who was recalled from his loan spell at Cove Rangers in January, scored in his last appearance for his country against Iceland at Fir Park.

• Scotland v Sweden 23 March (6pm K.O)
• Wales v Scotland 26 March (12pm K.O)

Lennon Miller has been called up to Scotland’s Under 17 squad. 

The youngsters have three Under-17 EURO elite round games in March, all being played in Wales.

They will compete in Group 2 against Iceland, Montenegro, Iceland and Wales.

Last year, the Under 17s qualified from the group for the finals.

• Scotland v Wales 
  Rodney Parade, Newport
  Wednesday 22 March (4pm kick off)
• Montenegro v Scotland
  Dragon Park, Newport 
  Saturday 25 March (1pm kick off)
• Iceland v Scotland
  Dragon Park, Newport
  Tuesday 28 March (1pm kick off)

Sean Goss has earned a call up for Northern Ireland. 

Michael O’Neil has included the midfielder in his first 26-man squad since returning as manager of Northern Ireland.

Goss was last in the senior squad back in 2018, when O’Neil was manager, but picked up an injury in his time in the camp.

Northern Ireland begin their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying group as they take on San Marino and Finland at Windsor Park later this month.

• Northern Ireland v San Marino 23.03.23 ( 19.45 K.O)
• Northern Ireland v Finland 26.03.23 (19.45 K.O)

Stuart Kettlewell is the Glen’s Vodka Premiership manager of the month for February. 

The Motherwell boss was interim manager for matches against St Mirren and Hearts before becoming permanent manager for the match against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

Victories against top six sides St Mirren and Hearts before a hard fought point against Kilmarnock meant it was seven points gained out of a possible nine for Kettlewell.

Stuart Kettlewell has made best start of any Motherwell manager since Roger Hynd in 1977.

“This is a reward for the amount of effort the staff at this club have put in this last month,” manager Stuart Kettlewell said.

“We have faced some really difficult circumstances and it has taken everyone, from footballing staff to the ground staff, to work extremely hard to help the club get through it.

“Obviously, a lot of thanks goes to the players who have shown excellent attitude to everything we have asked of them.

“It has been a good start but our job is far from done and now I want us to continue moving forward for a strong end to the season.”

The big games kept coming for Motherwell as they travelled to the Highlands to take on Ross County. 

In what had been described as a six-pointer for both teams, the opening exchanges of the game were cagey with both sides having half chances within the game.

Coming out for the second half, it would be a slow start for the Steelmen and they looked to have conceded a penalty at the start of the second period.

Referee Don Roberston pointed to the spot after he had adjudged Calum Butcher to have fouled the County defender Iacovitti however after a watch at the VAR screen, the decision would be overturned.

VAR would intervene again just after the hour mark. Kevin van Veen’s excellent touch looked to be taking him through on goal before Jack Baldwin fouled the Dutchman and the referee showed him a yellow card. Robertson would again go to the monitor and eventually awarded the County man with a red card.

Motherwell made the extra man count. Van Veen grabbed his 16th and 17th goal of the campaign to give his side a huge three points as Stuart Kettlewell made it 10 points out of a possible 12 in charge of Motherwell.

Motherwell made it 10 points out of a possible 12 under Stuart Kettlewell’s, with a 2-0 win in the Highlands against Ross County. 

The win lifted the Steelmen 10 points away from Dundee United at the foot of the table.

A second half brace from Kevin van Veen secured three points for his side, with the hosts being reduced to ten men with Jack Baldwin given his marching orders following the intervention of VAR.

Yan Dhanda was proving to be a handful in the early stages as Liam Kelly was called into action early on. George Harmon seen his volley stopped by Kelly after just two minutes.

It was then Motherwell’s chance to open the scoring. Some excellent work from Blair Spittal on the left hand side who found Obika with a pinpoint cross and the striker headed just wide.

The rest of the half was largely an even affair, with Motherwell’s best chance of the half coming on the stroke of half time. Van Veen turned his man on the edge of the box before lashing a shot at Laidlaw who saved and the rebound came to Johnston who fizzed a low cross into the area that just missed Callum Slattery who was sliding in.

The second half started with a bang. Ross County were awarded a penalty by Don Robertson. Initially given for a pull on Alex Iacovitti, the referee went to the monitor and changed his decision. No penalty awarded.

VAR would get involved again on 69 minutes. Van Veen controlled the ball out of the air with a lovely touch to take him through on goal before Jack Baldwin tripped the Dutchman. Robertson awarded the defender a yellow card at first but was again advised to go to the monitor. Upon his return, he showed the skipper a red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Motherwell went on to make the extra man count. Some lovely work from Dean Cornelius to find Blair Spittal who hung a ball into the box for Van Veen who headed in the opener. 0-1.

The Steelmen made sure of the points with minutes remaining. Max Johnston’s initial effort on goal found Van Veen who controlled and volleyed home from close range to make the points safe.

Motherwell have two pre-split games remaining, with the first coming on Sunday against Dundee United at K-Park. 

Kick-off is 4pm.

How to follow the game

Tickets for the match cost £8 for adults, with concessions and kids costing £3.

Cash and card are accepted at the turnstiles. There is no facility to buy tickets online before the match.

STORY OF THE MATCH

Story of the match

Motherwell were beaten 3-0 by Glasgow City midweek.

The two sides met in the first game of the season, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw. They also faced off in the Scottish Cup, with Motherwell gaining the upper hand with a 2-1 victory to progress to the next round.

Dundee United’s last win came against Aberdeen at the start of February. They were beaten 2-0 by Hearts midweek with United seven points behind the women of steel in the SWPL table.