Latest News

“We’re only at the start of this. There’s a lot of improvement still to come.”

Stephen Robinson speaks as Motherwell beat Morton 4-0 in the Betfred Cup group stage.

Motherwell topped their Betfred Cup group with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Morton at Fir Park.

James Scott grabbed a double, before Jermaine Hylton and Liam Donnelly added further strikes to put further gloss on the win.

With five summer signings making their home debut, it was an early opportunity for them to impress the Fir Park fans and the BT Sport viewers at home.

And almost immediately Sherwin Seedorf, with some deft touches and a fierce turn of pace, caught the eye.

After Morton had a couple of attempts wide of Mark Gillespie’s goal, Seedorf cleverly played in Scott. From a tight angle he forced the first save from Sam Ramsbottom.

‘Well’s teenage striker came closer a minute later when he redirected Jake Carroll’s powerful drive, with the ball clipping the top of the crossbar.

In the 17th minute, Seedorf decided to go it alone and when his first angled drive was parried by Ramsbottom, the Dutchman fired in the rebound, producing a terrific save from the Morton ‘keeper.

There was no surprise when the Steelmen opened the scoring five minutes later – with Seedorf the provider.

Liam Polworth, who showed some wonderful vision and passing, released the flying Dutchman, who sped into the box. He squared the ball across goal, leaving Scott with a simple tap in to open his account for the season.

Scott should have made it a double on the half hour mark, when a perfectly weighted pass from Polworth sent the striker through on goal. But once inside the box, he dithered allowing Jim McAllister to clear the danger.

At the other end of the pitch Gillespie was totally idle until a minute from the break. Former ‘Well striker John Sutton slipped the ball in front of Aidan Nesbitt and from the angle of the six yard box, his snap shot forced the ‘Well ‘keeper to stab out a foot to divert the ball away from goal.

Fifteen minutes into the second half and seeking a second goal to kill the tie, Scott tried his luck with a dipping drive from 35 yards which forced Ramsbottom to push the ball over his bar. From the resultant well-worked corner, Polworth played the ball in front of Seedorf, who fired it narrowly over.

That was the last action for the impressive winger who was replaced by Christian Ilic.

As the Fir Park side continued to press the game towards the visitor’s goal, Hylton cut inside to fire a low drive from the corner of the box which the ‘keeper was glad to beat away.

The Morton goal was finally breached for a second time after 66 minutes. Scott worked a neat one-two with Polworth at the edge of the box and, after taking a touch, the striker slammed the ball down the middle of the goal for his second of the night.

A thundering drive from Allan Campbell forced another fine save from Ramsbottom but the Morton ‘keeper was helpless when ‘Well made it 3-0 after 76 minutes.

Hylton showed quick feet to create space at the edge of the box, before curling a low shot beyond the ‘keeper and inside his right post to make it two goals in two games.

Another quality goal arrived nine minutes from time. Ilic showed great skills on the left before floating over a teasing cross. Ramsbottom could only palm the ball out to Scott and although his effort was blocked, Liam Donnelly rammed the rebound home to make it four.

Croatian midfielder Ilic came close to making it five when he collected a pass from Scott, stepped inside his marker only to see his low drive cleared off the line.

Perhaps promisingly, ‘Well had to settle for a 4-0 win over Morton, a repeat of the scoreline at the same stage two years ago, when the Fir Park men progressed all the way to the Betfred Cup Final.

Rohan Ferguson is to join Northern Irish side Linfield on loan for the 2019/20 campaign, subject to international clearance.

The goalkeeper, who made his Motherwell debut last season against Aberdeen at Pittodrie, joins the Danske Bank Premiership champions, with the option for him to be recalled in January.

Ferguson, 21, will immediately be in contention to play for David Healy’s side in their UEFA Europa League second qualifying round match away to HB Torshavn next Tuesday.

“We think it is important for Rohan to get back playing regular first team football again,” manager Stephen Robinson said of the move.

“He obviously enjoyed significant game time when he first broke through at Airdrie, and Craig Hinchliffe has worked with him extensively over the last year.

“However, there is significant competition for places at the moment with Mark Gillespie, Trevor Carson and Peter Morrison also vying for two spots.

“This is a chance for him to fight for a number one spot and allow us to monitor how he develops.”

Everyone at Motherwell wishes Rohan all the best during his time at Windsor Park.

Stephen Robinson, fresh from signing a new contract, talks about the job of being boss, transfer targets and taking on tricky Championship opposition on Friday night.

Motherwell host Greenock Morton in the second match of the Betfred Cup group stage, with both teams having won their opening fixtures.

On signing a new contract

” I think it was always going to get sorted out. We’ve had a busy summer.A lot of things [have] been happening. So it’s good.

“I’m very happy to commit my future It’s a fantastic football club.  People have been very good to me.It’s worked well and I still see us moving
forward and developing.

“We’ve got to cup finals.  We’ve developed a lot of young playersFinancially we’ve brought a lot of money into the football club that has put us on a steady footing.We are looking to keep doing that.

“On the pitch is my main concentration to try keep moving us forward, keep developing our young players and bring in more exciting players to sell.

“There’s lot of issues you’ve got to deal with as a manager. As I say, this is a football club that people do things together. I’ve got total support from the board.  The fans have been terrific with me.It does make life easier when that’s the case.

“The model of the football club is to develop young players and sell them. And to make sure we keep trying to bring in good value players that we can create assets from. The football club exists on selling players. We don’t have a massive owner. We are fan-owned. And it has to be that case.

“It’s frustrating at times because you think you’ve built a really good side and then it gets broken up. This is probably the third squad we’ve put together again with eight or nine players. It’s a challenge. It’s one that I very much enjoy. And there are no surprises. We know that’s going to happen.

“Obviously within our coaching staff and playing staff we bring in, we’ve aspirations of getting into that top six and pushing on and still trying to play the football we played in the last six months of the season.”

On transfer targets

“We’ve got to a stage now where it has to be a starter we bring in.We don’t want a squad player.

“We don’t want the same as what we’ve got. It has to be somebody who is going to be a starter who is going to be better than what we’ve got.

“We’ve built our squad. We are happy with our squad. Now we are just looking maybe for that final bit of the jigsaw.

“If it doesn’t come, I’m more than happy with what we’ve done.”

On facing Greenock Morton

“I think we always had that gameplan against  Queen of the South, that we would bring the two boys on.

“When you bring the boys up from England, they are behind. It’s getting that right balance between giving them the game time and making sure they don’t get injured. That’s the difficult one for us.

“We have got some decent players, we’ve got some very good young players who are on the verge of things. James Scott has been starting. David Devine, Adam Livingstone, Jamie Semple who started as well.

“[That is] as well as the wide players we’ve got. Ilic has come in, he’s only been in the club a few days. He will get better and better.

“Casper Sloth, we’ve given some time off for family reasons. I think once we get him going, over a period of time he will be a good asset as well.”

Motherwell face Greenock Morton at home on Friday night in their first game at Fir Park of the 2019/20 season.

Stephen Robinson’s men are already a match into the Betfred Cup group stage campaign, having defeated Queen of the South 3-0 away from home last weekend.

Kick off on Friday is at 7.45pm and, if you’re outside the UK/Ireland, you can watch the game live on our streaming service.

To subscribe for £12 a month, head to tv.motherwellfc.co.uk. All home Ladbrokes Premiership games are available on the service, as well as the majority of away matches.

If you’re in the UK/Ireland, you can get live audio commentary from every game, including Friday’s match with Morton for just £5.99 a month.

Christopher Long will miss the Betfred Cup game with Greenock Morton, in line with concussion protocol.

The forward was taken off early in Saturday’s win at Queen of the South, after taking a blow to the face.

He is now required to miss Friday night’s game as he recovers. A return date will be announced following ongoing assessment.

Motherwell are back at Fir Park for the first time in 2019/20 on Friday night, as Greenock Morton visit in the Betfred Cup group stage.

Having defeated Queen of the South 3-0 on Saturday, the Steelmen head into their second game against Championship opposition in quick succession buoyed.

Ticket prices for all matches are set at £12 for adults and £6 for concessions. Tickets are available online now and can be printed at home, or brought to the gate on your smartphone.

Supporters can also pay at the gate at Fir Park. Kick off is at 7.45pm. The game will also be televised on BT Sport and on our live streaming service.

Tale of the tape

Motherwell sit top of Betfred Cup group E after week one, with Dumbarton for company after they defeated Annan Athletic 1-0.

Morton sat out the first matchday of Betfred Cup action, but have played two friendlies in pre-season. A 1-0 loss at Forfar Athletic was followed by a 3-2 home loss to top-flight St Johnstone.

Team news

Liam Polworth is available, after missing the win at Queen of the South due to suspension.

David Turnbull (knee), Christopher Long (concussion), Craig Tanner (knee) and Casper Sloth (compassionate leave) will all miss the match. Devante Cole faces a late fitness test.

Come have something to eat before the game

Both the Centenary Suite and Cooper Bar will be open from 5pm for all fans to come in and enjoy food and drink before the match.

Can’t make it? Listen or watch live

If you’re abroad, you can watch a live video stream of the match direct from Fir Park.

Just head to tv.motherwellfc.co.uk and subscribe. Packages start at just £12 a month and get you every home Ladbrokes Premiership game, as well as the majority of away matches.

If you’re in the UK or Ireland, there’s live audio commentary available on the service too for £5.99 a month.

Stephen Robinson celebrated the injection of pace and invention into his Motherwell side, after opening the 2019/20 campaign with a 3-0 win at Queen of the South.

Liam Donnelly’s penalty broke the deadlock after Jermaine Hylton was felled, before Sherwin Seedorf and Hylton added late goals to put more emphasis on the manner of the victory.

Motherwell got off to the perfect start in the Betfred Cup group stage, with a 3-0 win at Queen of the South.

Liam Donnelly, Sherwin Seedorf and Jermaine Hylton all netted to ensure all three points returned back up the M74.

But with just 18 seconds gone, it was back to the drawing board as Christopher Long took a severe blow to the face, forcing the change with James Scott.

The youngster had Motherwell’s best chance of the first half, being sprung in behind the Queen’s defence. But goalkeeper McCrorie was alert and quick to get out and block the shot at source.

The hosts also carved out chances. A goalbound strike from Murray was blocked at close quarters by Liam Donnelly. Shouts went up for handball, but referee Don Robertson was unmoved.

Stephen Dobbie also saw a shot from close range as the half wore on, finding Mark Gillespie alert to save.

It took 10 minutes in the second half for Motherwell’s best chance to that point. Semple’s corner from the left was flat and guided, and met by Charles Dunne.

His header crashed off the crossbar and, with it still shaking, Donnelly’s headed rebound was nodded off the line.

Jermaine Hylton and Sherwin Seedorf were introduced early and the former had a big penalty shout with 22 minutes remaining. The referee ruled he had been hacked down outside the box, however, and the subsequent free kick went to waste.

The deadlock was then broken. Hylton was felled in the box, and Liam Donnelly stepped up to fire home the first goal of the season.

The dam then burst, with the new boys at the heart of it with five minutes to go.

Seedorf burst in from the left, before smashing the ball into the net for his first professional goal.

Then, in stoppage time, Hylton made room and fired an unstoppable effort into the top corner from 25 yards.

Motherwell: Gillespie, Tait, Gallagher, Dunne, Carroll, Donnelly, Campbell, Semple, Cole (Seedorf), Ilic (Hylton), Long (Scott).

Croatian winger Christian Ilić is Stephen Robinson’s ninth recruit of the summer.

The versatile 22-year-old is comfortable on either flank and appeared as a substitute for ‘Well in a pre-season game at Darlington last weekend.

He has signed a one-year contract with the club and has been given the number 16 shirt.

“Christian brings us another pacy option to play anywhere across the forward three,” manager Stephen Robinson said.

“He’s already got top flight experience in a strong league and has impressed us with his ability on the ball, the intelligent runs he makes and his desire to be here and develop.”

Ilić was born and brought up in Friesach in Austria, near the Slovakian border, to Croatian parents.

He played youth football for a number of local sides before signing for Sportclub Weiz in 2012.

He earned a move to TSV Hartberg two years later, making his debut in the second tier at the age of 18 and helped them to the Austrian Bundesliga.

Last season he made 17 appearances in the top tier, scoring twice.