Motherwell face Hamilton Academical in the Ladbrokes Premiership at the Superseal Stadium in the fourth Lanarkshire derby of the season.
And on the back of a dramatic victory over Hearts in the quarter final of the Scottish Cup, the Steelmen are back to league action on Saturday with huge momentum behind them.
Carl McHugh’s stunning chest and volley from 25 yards sent Stephen Robinson’s side in to the last four, and with a top six spot to play for, now face an important game on Saturday.
Having clinched three important points against Partick Thistle, Hamilton also go in to the derby clash on the back of a win.
With two wins in three meetings against Accies this term, Stephen Robinson’s side could move within a point of sixth placed Hearts with a third derby victory.
And manager Stephen Robinson is confident his side will be up to the task when they come up against Martin Canning’s side on Saturday.
“We’ve done well in recent times against Hamilton and we aim to continue to do that, but we’re well aware of what a tough game it will be,” the Northern Irishman said.
“But we’ll be ready to scrap. We’ll put out a team who’ll be ready to scrap and fight, that’s the first and foremost for us, but it will be a very tough game.
“Since the winter break though we’ve won seven games, so we’re on a good run of form and against Hearts I thought our tempo was very good and back to what we’re about.”
[pullquote]We’re scoring a lot of goals at the moment, the only game we haven’t scored in since the break was against Kilmarnock.[/pullquote]
Having enjoyed a strong season at the helm, Robinson also took the chance to praise some of his players for their performances this term.
In particular, his Scottish contingent have impressed on a regular basis in claret and amber.
“We’ve got a couple of boys who I believe will be on Alex McLeish’s radar, whether that’s the 21s or the full squad,” Robinson said.
“I hear a lot of the press talk about problems at right back but no one has mentioned Richard Tait.”
Much like his manager, Ryan Bowman is relishing Saturday’s Lanarkshire derby.
The strong striker knows that the Steelmen will be in for a tough afternoon, but insists ‘Well have the players to win the battle and pick up all three points.
Speaking to the broadcast press ahead of Saturday’s game, the Englishman revealed the hard work going on around the training ground ahead of the fourth meeting with Hamilton Academical this season.
[pullquote]We’ve been preparing all week for this derby match, there’s been a good atmosphere in training, and we’ll be ready for the battle.[/pullquote]
“It’ll be a battle and a scrap, we know to expect that. But we have good form against them recently, especially at their place.”
“We’re focused on Hamilton on Saturday because we know it’ll be a tough game for us,” the 26-year-old said.
“We’ll be ready to battle, but once we win the battle we have the players who can win us the game on the ball.”
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Hamilton v Motherwell
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Saturday March 10, 2018 |
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3.00pm |
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Superseal Stadium |
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Tickets on sale at the gate. |
Admission prices are as follows:
ADULTS |
£22 |
OVER 65s |
£12 |
UNDER 18s |
£12 |
Motherwell supporters should enter through gates 7-12. Gates 7 to 9 will be cash-only gates, while gates 1o to 12 will be for those who have already purchased tickets.
We are expecting a big crowd, so please get there early.
If you are travelling by train, please leave extra time as you will be directed on a longer route to the ground.
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.