| 3 | Rangers | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 23 |
| 4 | Dundee United | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 20 |
| 5 | Motherwell | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 19 |
| 6 | St Mirren | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | -4 | 18 |
| 7 | Dundee | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 15 |
Stephen Robinson hailed his side’s character as they put in a stunning display against Aberdeen at Fir Park .
The Steelmen put the Dons to the sword, winning 3-0 and responding to the heavy defeat against Rangers two weeks ago.
The manager said: “We stood up after the Rangers defeat and the boys played extremely well to make it three wins from four.”
Motherwell will face Ross County in the fourth round of the 2018/19 William Hill Scottish Cup.
The Steelmen are at home to the Staggies on the weekend of 19 January, 2019.
The Ibrox nightmare of two weeks ago was erased, as Motherwell responded superbly to beat Aberdeen 3-0.
A quickly -aken double from the returning Danny Johnson – and yet another goal for David Turnbull early in the second half – earned ‘Well three points and back-to-back home wins.
Stephen Robinson was forced into a number of changes. With Trevor Carson undergoing hospital treatment for deep vein thrombosis, Chris Cadden sidelined with a tendon injury, and Carl McHugh serving first of a two match suspension, it a gave few players a chance to impress.
That allowed Mark Gillespie to make only his second appearance in goal since joining from Walsall in the summer, while Christian Mbulu, after impressive performances in the reserves, earned his first senior start.
However, it was the manager’s tactical change, bringing in Johnson for his first start since the teams met at Pittodrie in September, which had the biggest impact.
The former Gateshead striker was keen to make an impression and it took him just over a minute to get his first attempt at goal, taking a pass from Liam Grimshaw, before sweeping a left shot wide of goal.
At the other end Gillespie produced an early save beating away Stevie May’s angled shot.
In truth the game offered little in the way of excitement until the 25th minute when the Fir Park nicked the opening goal.
Niall McGinn’s intended pass back found Johnson getting in front of Logan in the centre circle. The ‘Well striker held off the Dons defender all the way into the box before cutting inside and driving the ball beyond Lewis for a terrific solo effort.
Four minutes later, ‘Well doubled their lead but only after Gael Bigirimana’s disguised free kick was pushed round the post by the Dons ‘keeper. However, from the resultant corner the Lewis was beaten again.
Bigirimana’s flag kick was nudged on by Main and from a couple of yards out Johnson nodded the ball high into the net to make it 2-0.
The Dons’ only reply came six minutes from time in the half, when Max Lowe’s drive from 18 yards was pushed away by Gillespie at full stretch.
While a response was expected from the Dons in the second half, it was ‘Well who tied up the points with a third but within 10 minutes of the restart.
Johnson was again at the heart of it and when his cut back deflected off Main, the ball fell kindly for David Turnbull, who took a touch before drilling the ball into the corner of the net to claim his third goal from four games.
Motherwell then took complete control of the game and should have added to their tally. Ten minutes from time a sweeping move finished with Grimshaw cutting in from the right and his 20-yard effort forced a full length save from Lewis to prevent a heavier defeat.
At the other end the “Well goal, with Mbulu having a commanding debut, was well protected until Gillespie pulled off a fine diving save to deny Lewis Ferguson’s a late consolation goal for the Dons.
Danny Johnson is hoping for a chance to add to his goal tally against Aberdeen this weekend.
The summer signing started the season on form but has had to bide his time in recent weeks.
Our Ladbrokes Premiership match at home to Hearts in February has been pushed back by day.
The Edinburgh side will now visit Fir Park on Sunday, 17 February. Kick off will be at 12.15pm and the game will be televised live on BT Sport.
The fixture was originally scheduled for a 3pm kick off on Saturday, 16 February.
Motherwell welcome Aberdeen to Fir Park on Saturday for the first home meeting with the Dons in the 2018/19 Ladbrokes Premiership season.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.
Motherwell matches with Aberdeen are notoriously difficult to predict, particularly in the last few seasons.
In 2017/18, the Steelmen knocked the Dons out of both national cup competitions with 3-0 victories. In the league, the two sides met three times, with the ‘Well winning 2-0 at Pittodrie, but the Dons winning both visits to Fir Park.
This season, Aberdeen won the opening encounter 1-0 at Pittodrie.
Trevor Carson and Chris Cadden join Craig Tanner, and X on the sidelines. Charles Dunne is unlikely to feature. Carl McHugh is suspended.
Aberdeen are without Michael Devlin, Tommie Hoban and Mark Reynolds through injury.
You can buy your tickets online right now. You can print your tickets at home and bring them straight to the gate, or choose to collect at the ticket office.
A pay gate is also available for home fans. Our cheapest ticket for this Saturday’s game is just £20 for adults. Children aged 15 and under can get in to the stadium for just £3 in every stand.
Aberdeen fans will be situated in the South Stand and should contact their club for ticket details.
If you’re outside of the UK/Ireland, you can watch the game live online through our subscription service.
For just £12 a month, you can watch all Motherwell home matches and the majority of away games. Just head to tv.motherwellfc.co.uk and subscribe now.
Domestic football is back at Fir Park, and Aberdeen are the opponents as Stephen Robinson’s men look to get back on track in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
After enduring a difficult afternoon at Ibrox two weeks ago, the focus is now solely on Saturday’s clash with Derek McInnes’ men.
Here, we look ahead to the game in numbers.
The combined total of games lost by either of the two teams in the past month.
Aberdeen have emerged victorious against Hamilton, Kilmarnock and Hibs, whilst the Steelmen have defeated Dundee and St Mirren, before losing against Rangers.
With both sides hungry to pick up another three points, it’s sure to be a hard-fought fixture.
If the previous 35 games are anything to go by, then there will surely be goals at Fir Park on Saturday.
In 18 games this season, ‘Well have only failed to score on five occasions.
Meanwhile, in 17 matches, the Dons have only drawn a blank three times, making for an interesting encounter this weekend.
Should the Steelmen pick up all three points, they’d have registered their 84th competitive victory over Aberdeen.
The two sides have met on 295 occasions, with the Dons emerging victorious a total of 125 times.
Trevor Carson will miss an extended part of the season after developing deep vein thrombosis.
DVT is a blood clot that develops within a deep vein in the body, usually in the leg, groin or arm.
The Northern Ireland international took ill on Wednesday and received specialist care from the staff at University Hospital Wishaw.
The 30-year-old is now on the mend, but will require ongoing treatment that will rule him out for an as yet unspecified amount of time.
“We would like to thank all the staff at University Hospital Wishaw for their diligence and care, given it is the sort of medical emergency that can be and often is life threatening if not treated promptly and correctly,” manager Stephen Robinson said.
“It’s not your usual injury in that at this stage, his return time is not yet fully known and will obviously depend on a number of factors.
“As a club, we wish Trevor a very speedy recovery and will give him all the support he needs to get back fit and healthy as soon as possible.”
After enduring what was a stuttered start by their own high standards, Aberdeen have leapt in to life in recent weeks, and arrive at Fir Park on Saturday as one of the in-form sides in the Premiership.
Derek McInnes’ men travel to Lanarkshire after the international break, as domestic football returns.
Here, we highlight what you need to know about the Dons.
After slipping to a 2-1 defeat against Hearts at Tynecastle, Aberdeen have gone on an impressive winning streak of four matches, scoring seven and conceding just once in the process.
That run all started with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Rangers in the Betfred Cup semi-final, and has included victories over Kilmarnock, Hamilton and Hibernian.
The last three league wins have seen the Dons jump back in to the top six, and they’re now just five points behind league leaders Celtic.
Bizarrely, neither Motherwell or Aberdeen picked up points on their own turf last term when the sides went head-to-head in the league.
Motherwell won 2-0 at Pittodrie, but either side of that win the Reds collected six points on their two trips to Fir Park.
That trend was bucked this term though, when Aberdeen picked up three points against the Steelmen at Pittodrie for the first time in a year and a half.
Only Celtic have conceded fewer goals than Aberdeen in the top six as it stands.
Derek McInnes’ men have shipped just ten goals this term, 50% of which they conceded in their first five games.
Since then, they’ve gone on to collect four clean sheets – three in their last four games – and look a tricky side to break down.
Club captain Peter Hartley sits down for a coffee and a chat ahead of Saturday’s clash with Aberdeen.
The skipper reflects on a difficult result against Rangers, how the dressing room respond in defeat, and life off the park.
