Latest News

Motherwell’s hopes of an extended Scottish Cup run were ended as Greenock Morton comfortably progressed to the quarter finals.

Start Kettlewell had warned that the trip to Greenock would prove a difficult cup tie and the ‘Well boss was proved correct as a goal in each half was enough to send an under performing ‘Well out of the Cup

There was nothing between the teams until ten minutes from the break when Liam Kelly’s disastrous attempts to deal with a corner ended with the ‘keeper tamely pushing the ball against the luckless Harry Paton and over his own goal line. Ten minutes into the second half Goerge Oakley doubled Morton’s lead and put he home side in the driving seat.

The ‘Well boss committed five subs in an attempt to prevent a shock exit to a Championship side for the second consecutive season. And six minutes from time Jack Vale pulled one back to set up a dramatic end to the game.

Overall, though, the Steelmen failed to match Morton’s desire and determination and can have no complaints about being on the wrong end of a Scottish Cup shock.

Incredibly this was the fifth time the teams had been paired in the Scottish Cup in seven seasons. And with Motherwell having emerged as winners in the previous four, Morton fans were convinced they were due a cup win over the Fir Park side.

Although both teams arrived at Cappielow full of confidence on the back of resounding 5-0 wins, ‘Well faced a Morton side on an excellent run of form, Dougie Imrie’s men boasting a 12 game unbeaten run, and quite rightly fancied to cause a cup upset.

Motherwell made one change from the from the emphatic win over Ross County, Lennon Miller coming in to the midfield as a straight replacement for Andy Halliday.

The Fir Park fans packed behind Liam Kelly’s goal watched Morton make a positive opening as the home side looked to go direct and test the ‘Well defence at every opportunity.

An early fumble from Kelly when he dropped an easy ball towards his goal, gave Morton encouragement to swing every ball onto the ‘keeper.

Although Motherwell settled into their passing game the Premiership side had a huge let off after 19 minutes.

A high ball into the box was nodded into the path of George Oakley, who got behind Calum Butcher before lifting his shot beyond Kelly’s stretch, only to watch the ball rebound from the face of the crossbar.

While the Steelmen were comfortable in possession, they lacked composure in the final third of the pitch, with Theo Bair too often isolated up front.

The game was highly competitive but needed a spark and it arrived in 35th minute when Morton took the lead.

It was a goal which Kelly will want to forget. Robbie Muirhead’s inswinging corner posed a real threat on the visitor’s goal but the ‘Well ‘keeper made a complete mess of things palming the ball against Paton and over his line and reinforce Morton’s belief that an upset was on the cards.

Conversely, while the Fir Park men ended the half around Ryan Mullen’s box, their play lacked a belief and conviction.

Although Motherwell aimed to regain possession and composure in the opening spell of the second half, they were dealt a killer blow ten minutes after the break.

Paul McGinn lost out in the middle of the park and as the ball was immediately sent forward to Oakley who surged into the box before firing the ball low across Butcher and Kelly and into the ‘keeper’s right-hand post for a solid finish and put the home side firmly in control of the cup tie.

Kettlewell immediately made a triple substation sending on full backs Adam Devine and Jili Buyabu, with Jack Vale joining Bair in attack.

That did fire some much needed life into the Steelmen and Buyabu’s low drive into the six box forced a first save from Mullen.

Andy Halliday and Jon Obika were then given 23 minutes to try and get ‘Well back into the tie.

And after passing up a few half chances which gave Mullen a couple of comfortable saves, ‘Well reduced the leeway with six minutes remaining.

Two of the subs combined with Devine firing the ball into the box before Vale’s touch directed it towards goal with a slight deflection carrying the ball beyond Mullen.

Although the Fir Park men pressed for an equaliser and caused some uncertainty in the home box, they never looked like finding an equaliser and sending the game into extra-time.

Stuart Kettlewell reacts to the 2-1 defeat that meant his side crashed out the Scottish Cup.

• Didn’t stand up to the challenge
• Let a lot of people down
• Lost our discipline and structure

Jack Vale introduced himself in stylish fashion to the Motherwell support on Tuesday night, when he scored on his debut having come off the bench against Ross County.

Now, he is looking to continue that positive start into the next games as he looks for another special cup run in his career.

Stuart Kettlewell says that Friday night’s match against Morton has all the makings of a proper cup tie. He believes Morton are a better side than people say and that his side will need to be a full tilt to get through to the next round.

The manager was pleased with Tuesday’s performance against Ross County but knows it’s only one game and that he wants his team to replicate that level to the 1800 travelling ‘Well fans in Greenock.

Oli Shaw has returned to the club following a successful rehabilitation period with his parent club Barnsley. 

He returns on loan until the end of the season.

The striker went back down South to undergo treatment on a hamstring injury but Barnsley have now informed us he should be eligible for selection in the coming weeks.

Shaw has made 16 appearances in his time at Motherwell thus far, recording two assists.

“There was always the possibility of Oli coming back here,” manager Stuart Kettlewell said.

“He returned to Barnsley as both clubs agreed there would be a chance he could reduce his recovery time down there.

“Oli will now enter the final stages of his recovery at Motherwell and will join up with the group when ready.”

With Motherwell coming into the game five games unbeaten, the performances had been encouraging but the result had been missing. 

Prior to the Tuesday night match against Ross County, the Highlanders were 11th with the Steelmen directly above them in 10th. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

If there were any pre match nerves in the stands, that wasn’t reflected on the pitch.

Andy Halliday, Blair Spittal and Theo Bair had Motherwell leading 3-0 by the break, despite missing a number of chances. They continued to blow County away in the second half, with Spittal and debutant Jack Vale adding to the tally.

A 5-0 win ahead of a Friday night trip to Greenock in the Scottish Cup fills everyone associated with the club with optimism and encouragement.

Motherwell take on Greenock Morton in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup at Cappielow Park on Friday 9 February. 

Kick off is 7.30pm.

How to follow the game

You can buy tickets online.

We have an allocation of approximately 3,000 and will be accommodated in the ‘Wee Dublin’ end and sections F and G of the main stand, on a first come basis.

The Wee Dublin end is uncovered.

The Cooper Bar will open from 3pm for drinks only. Buses have now sold out. Online tickets will be available until kick-off on Friday.

Kit Watch

We will be wearing our home kit for this match.

Injury Update

Barry Maguire and Jon Obika remain doubts for this match.

Callum Slattery has underwent surgery for his knee injury but will remain missing for the rest of the season.

Stephen O’Donnell is preparing for the birth of his child so his situation will be monitored day-by-day.

Motherwell’s Fortunes

It would seem Motherwell have turned a corner in the run of form.

Their last defeat came on Christmas Eve against Rangers. Since then, they have went six games unbeaten with a resounding 5-0 win over Ross County in their last match on Tuesday night. The result moved the Steelmen up to eighth in the table and only a point off Dundee.

Theo Bair has scored in his last five league games, firing home on six occasions.

A 3-1 win over Alloa Athletic seen Motherwell progress to this stage of the Scottish Cup. Blair Spittal scored a double with Georgie Gent also opening his account for the club.

Opposition Report

Morton have won two matches in the Scottish Cup to get to the fifth round. A comfortable 4-0 win in third round over Bo’ness United was followed by a 2-0 win over Montrose in the previous round.

Morton had also been on a poor run of form but have since hit a hot streak, starting back in November. Six wins in their last nine league matches has catapulted Morton up the cinch Championship table. They are now in the promotion playoffs as Dougie Imrie’s side continue to look up the table.

Robbie Muirhead has been leading the line for January manager of the month Imrie and has already recored 14 goals this season. He has four goals and one assist in January.

George Oakley remains a goal threat also, he has 10 goals for the campaign. Oakley has just won the cinch Championship player of the month for January having netted four goals, including a hat trick, during the month.

There are a couple of familiar faces within the Morton ranks, with former Motherwell men Robbie Crawford and Darragh O’Connor applying their trade in Greenock.

Motherwell’s confidence and momentum in-front of goal was evident throughout an exceptional five-star victory over relegation rivals Ross County.

Desperate to atone for the dismal defeat in Dingwall last December, the Steelmen made a whirlwind start to the game. Two quickfire goals from Andy Halliday and Blair Spittal had Motherwell in dreamland, with Theo Bair also denied twice by the County ‘keeper inside the first 22 minutes.

By the time Bair scored from the penalty spot, for the fifth consecutive league game, the match and the three points were in the bag. It took until the final five minutes of the second half for Kettlewell’s men to add two more, with an incredible second for Spittal and a first for debutant Jack Vale.

That meant the Fir Park faithful could not only enjoy the team’s most emphatic win of the season, but see the Steelmen move six points clear of County and rise to 8th place in the league table.

Stuart Kettlewell kept to the same starting eleven that produced a fine performance on Saturday against Kilmarnock and should have ultimately had three points to show for their efforts.

Former ‘Well player Derek Adams returned to Fir Park with County three points and one place behind the Steelmen.

Even at this stage of the season, this was regarded as the proverbial ‘six-pointer’ for two teams desperate to climb away from the relegation play-off spot. And with both teams finding wins hard to come by, an open competitive game was anticipated.

That was made clear within the first minute when there was action in both boxes.

Motherwell though, quickly established the general pattern of play within the first half as they surged relentlessly towards the County goal.

It took the Steelmen only eight minutes to make the breakthrough. Spittal and Bair combined on the left before picking out Halliday in the box, who lashed home his first goal for the club and set the home side on the road to a terrific win.

Five minutes later, it was almost a rerun of Saturday’s goal. Spittal split the visitors defence allowing Bair to angle his run towards goal, but George Wickens stood firm to beat away the striker’s effort.

Simon Murray had a chance to fire home an equaliser for the visitors, but Liam Kelly got his body firmly behind the low shot.

After 20 minutes, Bair was again thundering through the centre of the County backline, but as he tried to round Wickens, the keeper bravely dived at his feet to push the ball away.

Two minutes later and the ‘Well doubled their lead. Good interchange of play on the left between Halliday and Georgie Gent allowed Spittal to drag the ball into the corner of the box before firing a powerful drive across the keeper and in off his far post.

Bair and the Fir Park faithful thought he had grabbed number three when he collected a wonderful long ball from Stephen O’Donnell before blasting it high past Wickens, only to be ruled out for offside.

Yet another chance came Well’s way in the 33rd minute, but after doing well to reach the visitor’s byline, Harry Paton made the wrong choice trying to pick out Spittal when Bair was free at the opposite end of the six yard box.

The Canadian striker was not to be denied a goal for his first half efforts, and when his fellow country man Paton was tripped within the 18-yard-box, Bair collected the ball to hammer home the resultant penalty and find the net for his sixth goal in five league games.

Motherwell started the second half in the same fashion but had to replace Halliday with Lennon Miller after only four minutes.

It made little difference to the hosts intention to add a fourth goal, which almost arrived after 53 minutes.

A swift break down the right ended with O’Donnell laying the ball inside to Bair, but after taking a touch at the edge of the box, the striker blasted the ball high over the bar.

Bair had another chance to add to his tally after 73 minutes. Once again Spittal was the provider and as Bair faced the advancing ‘keeper he looked to have netted, but his cute dink over Wickens bounced just past the post.

With 15 minutes remaining, Kettlewell made a triple substitution bringing on debutant Adam Devine, Shane Blaney and Sam Nicholson.

The former Hearts man made an immediate impact, with Bair testing the ‘keeper inside the six-yard box before heading the ball across goal, allowing Nicholson to join a melee with two County defenders in-front of goal.

Nicholson then turned provider, working his way towards the penalty area before laying the ball across to Gent, whose thumping left foot drive forced a fine diving save from the County stopper.

Ten minutes from time, Bair left the field to a standing ovation as Jack Vale came on aiming to mark his debut with a goal.

However, it was Spittal who claimed his second with a stunning strike, curling the ball high past Wickens from 25 yards.

Vale was not to be outdone, and in the final minute, the Blackburn Rovers loanee latched onto Spittal’s pass, nudging the ball past the advancing ‘keeper for a comprehensive and highly impressive win.

Harry Paton tells us how he is looking forward to all the games that February has to offer. He believes the team are playing well and the rewards will come if they continue like they have been.

He is enthusiastic about the news faces at the club and has enjoyed seeing his fellow Canadian teammate Theo Bair flourish in recent weeks.