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Grant Russell at McDiarmid Park

Motherwell held on to seventh spot in the Ladbrokes Premiership after playing out a tame 0-0 draw with St Johnstone.

The visitors made three changes from the team which lost to Aberdeen at home in midweek.

Allan Campbell dropped out through injury, while Chris Cadden and Stephen Hendrie took up places on the bench. In came Gael Bigirimana and Liam Grimshaw, along with a debut for young defender Barry Maguire.

The first half failed to catch fire. Both teams were reduced to half chances, with Curtis Main firing wide at one end and then Murray Davidson sending Trevor Carson scrambling at the other, before his shot also went past the post.

The Motherwell ‘keeper had to be alert though immediately in the second half. A cross from the left found Scott Tanser in acres of space to sweep a shot towards goal, but the Northern Irishman reacted superbly to claw the ball away from goal.

The visitors immediately tried to respond. Curtis Main found himself with room to drive at the St Johnstone defence down the left channel, before cutting onto his right boot as he burst into the box. His curling attempt, however, was wide of the far post.

Motherwell introduced Cadden and George Newell for Elliott Frear and Main to try and force the issue as the game started to open up.

Maguire was impressive on his debut, looking composed on the left of the back three, and also set up an opportunity for his fellow defender Tom Aldred as the game wore on.

His in-swinging cross from the left was met by the head of Aldred but, with the centre back under pressure, he nodded wide of the target.

Manager Stephen Robinson’s final change was to remove Maguire to allow Andy Rose to make his return from a fractured kneecap.

Motherwell started to carve out half chances. Bigirimana’s free kick from the edge of the area caused Alan Mannus brief trouble before he turned the ball round for a corner, and substitute Newell was pushing to get himself into creative positions.

As the clock fast approached the 90th minute, Motherwell had their best chance. Bigirimana tied up Foster in knots on the left side before delivering deep to the back post.

Grimshaw was on hand to fire in a half volley but the ball was turned away by a desperate home defence.

Motherwell head to St Johnstone on Saturday looking to take a step towards securing their status in seventh spot in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

There’s also the matter of places being up for grabs for the forthcoming William Hill Scottish Cup semi final with Aberdeen a week later.

Opponents St Johnstone sit level on points with the Steelmen, albeit with an inferior goal difference, making it a huge game for both sides.

Assistant boss Keith Lasley says there’s no chance of the team letting up in the final weeks of the season, despite missing out on a top six berth.

“We know there’s a big game around the corner but this one is important to us,” he said.

[pullquote]We want to finish well in the league. Saturday will give us another opportunity to do that.[/pullquote]

“We want to finish as high as we can. We put demands on the players every single day they come in here and it will be same on every match day from now until the end of the season.

“We try and win every game we go into and that will be no different on Saturday.”

George Newell is hopeful the run-in to the end of the 2017/18 season can present him with the chance to stake a claim for a permanent striking berth next campaign.

The forward has been in and out of the first team picture in his debut year with Motherwell, having struggled with injuries since his arrival in the summer.

Newell has been on the bench in recent weeks and will be hoping for minutes away to St Johnstone at the weekend in a game where players will be looking to force their way into Stephen Robinson’s plans for the forthcoming William Hill Scottish Cup semi final.

“It’s been a frustrating season,” he said. “With the strikers doing so well, I’ve had to be patient. And that’s fair enough, they are doing well and scoring goals.

[pullquote]The injuries came at a bad time. I managed to get back in the team quite quick but then another injury came.[/pullquote]

“If I can stay injury free, I feel I can force my way into the team. I’ve just got to get my confidence going. When I get my first goal, I feel I can grow from there.”

	St Johnstone v Motherwell
	Saturday, 7 April 2018
	3pm
	McDiarmid Park
	Pay at the gate

Admission prices are as follows:

A special family deal is also in operation at turnstile five only. An adult can take up to two children, aged 12 and under, for £16.

If you can’t make it along, you can follow the match on Twitter @MotherwellFC. Live audio commentary will be available on mixlr.com/motherwellfc

You can see the match highlights on MFC TV’s YouTube channel, as well as full reaction and a match report right here on the official website.

George Newell is hopeful the run-in to the end of the 2017/18 season can present him with the chance to stake a claim for a permanent striking berth next campaign.

The forward has been in and out of the first team picture in his debut year with Motherwell, having struggled with injuries since his arrival in the summer.

“It’s been a frustrating season,” he said. “With the strikers doing so well, I’ve had to be patient. And that’s fair enough, they are doing well and scoring goals.

“The injuries came at a bad time. I managed to get back in the team quite quick but then another injury came.”

“If I can stay injury free, I feel I can force my way into the team. I’ve just got to get my confidence going. When I get my first goal, I feel I can grow from there.”

Newell has been on the bench in recent weeks and will be hoping for minutes away to St Johnstone at the weekend in a game where players will be looking to force their way into Stephen Robinson’s plans for the forthcoming William Hill Scottish Cup semi final.

“We don’t need any more motivation,” he said. “We’ve got to get the job done against St Johnstone on Saturday. It’s a big game.”

Motherwell assistant boss Keith Lasley says there’s no chance of the team letting up in the final weeks of the season.

The Steelmen missed out on a place in the Ladbrokes Premiership top six during the week but have plenty left to play for in the league, as well as having the William Hill Scottish Cup semi final on the horizon.

“We know there’s a big game around the corner but this one is important to us,” he said.

[pullquote]We want to finish well in the league. Saturday will give us another opportunity to do that.[/pullquote]

“We want to finish as high as we can. We put demands on the players every single day they come in here and it will be same on every match day from now until the end of the season.

“We try and win every game we go into and that will be no different on Saturday.”

Willie Collum is the referee for Motherwell’s trip to face St Johnstone on Saturday.

The experienced official takes charge of only his third ‘Well match of the season, having been in the middle for games against Celtic and Hearts.

Collum’s first game was the 1-1 draw with Celtic at Fir Park in November last year, with the Steelmen only being denied by a late penalty at the death.

He then was the ref for the 1-1 draw with Hearts at Tynecastle in January, when Curtis Main struck in the final minute to secure a point.

Collum will be assisted by David McGeachie and Frank Connor. David Lowe is the fourth official.

Motherwell’s top six hopes may have ended but there’s still plenty left to play for as the team head to St Johnstone on Saturday.

As well as having places in the semi final starting team to play for, there’s also the target of finishing as high up the Ladbrokes Premiership table as possible.

It’s been a season to remember so far and it’s by no means over yet. Get along to Perth and support the team as we start the final push.

Ticket information is as follows:

	St Johnstone v Motherwell
	Saturday, 7 April 2018
	3pm
	McDiarmid Park
	Pay at the gate

Admission prices are as follows:

A special family deal is also in operation at turnstile five only. An adult can take up to two children, aged 12 and under, for £16.

Watch extended highlights as the Steelmen go down 2-0 to Aberdeen at Fir Park.

Stephen Robinson says his players didn’t put in their usual performances as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Aberdeen. 

The Northern Irishman witnessed a couple of hard-fought showings against Rangers and Celtic, but that was lacking in the last of three consecutive games at Fir Park.

Reflecting on the last home game before the split, Robinson admitted his side didn’t offer much over the 90-minutes.

“It was a poor performance and to be honest it was a poor game,” he said. “The quality of it was obviously dictated to by the quality of the pitch with all the rain.

“I thought we started the second half well and it was our best period of play. We said at half time that if we take our chances from a set play and defend our box well, we could get something from the game.

“But it was Aberdeen that did that,” the manager added. “They scored from a set play from poor marking and it changed the whole momentum of the game. After that I don’t think we really offered anything.

“It was very unlike us tonight. In the games between us this season the team who has come out on top is the team that’s been the most physical.”

Richard Tait, Tom Aldred and Carl McHugh reflect on the 2-0 defeat to Aberdeen in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Phil McGhee at Fir Park

Aberdeen took the points back to the north east in this rearranged Ladbrokes Premiership fixture, with a quick double from Kari Arnason and Kenny McLean midway through the second half securing the win.

Until then Motherwell, having survived a first half when the Dons looked the more likely to find the net, had come close to opening the scoring and extending their slim chances of a top six finish.

Aberdeen, though, still determined to finish second were not in a sympathetic mood. And in a first half in keeping with the weather the visitor’s controlled most of the play and created a hattrick of good chances midway through the half. However, some resolute defending diverted efforts from Greg Stewart and a couple of strikes from McLean.

At the other end, Carl McHugh’s drive from 18 yards met a similar fate. As half-time approached and the ‘Well players found their feet, Joe Lewis made his first save diving to cut-out Ryan Bowman’s nod back into the six yard box from Richard Tait’s deep pass.

Despite Aberdeen’s possession inside the home half, Trevor Carson had to wait until five minutes from the break for his first save, firmly holding McLean’s curling shot. On the stroke of half-time, the ‘Well ‘keeper was equally untroubled, catching Stevie May’s free kick under his cross bar.

With Gaël Bigirimana replacing the injured Alan Campbell at the interval, the Steelmen looked more intent from the restart. Within two minutes, Chris Cadden’s corner found the diving Tom Aldred but his header flashed past the post.

Five minutes later, Main outmuscled Scott McKenna and from 30 yards elected to use his left foot to drill a low shot. Lewis parried and then gathered before Elliot Frear could pounce on the loose ball.

After 62 minutes, ‘Well survived a nervy moment when Cédric Kipré carelessly conceded possession to May at the edge of the box. Ross McLean then came on for Frear, but before he could settle into the game the Dons grabbed a quick double to wrap up the points.

Firstly, Kenny McLean, who is suspended for the semi-final clash, whipped an inswinging corner onto Arnason’s head as he powered the ball home from six yards. Two minutes later, McLean claimed the second when he curled his shot from the angle of the box beyond the despairing dive of Carson.

‘Well kept chasing a goal until the end and a great break by Main allowed Bigirimana to set up substitute George Newell but his angled drive for goal was blocked by McKenna.

With their post split fixtures now confirmed, ‘Well head for Perth on Saturday aiming to finish the season top of the bottom six.