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It’s Sunday action for Motherwell this weekend, with a trip to Edinburgh on the cards to take on Hearts. 

Kick-off is 3pm.

How to follow the game

Wheelchair and carer costs £15 with carer free of charge.

We have been sent physical tickets so no e-tickets are available for this match, postage and collection only from the Fir Park ticket office. You can purchase online. Please note, there are very limited tickets remaining with the Roseburn upper currently sold out.

Postage will be available until Wednesday 30 August. There will be no cash turnstiles on the day, tickets must be purchased in advance from the ticket office.

If you are outside the UK, you can watch the game via Motherwell TV.

Should you be in the UK, it will be live commentary only.

Kit Watch

We will be wearing our home kit for this match.

Team News

Calum Butcher and Jon Obika remain missing. The latter is expected to be out until December.

Mika Biereth has begun his recovery for a knee injury and will be missing for three months.

Pape Souare has missed the last two matches and will not be fit for this game.

Conor Wilkinson will be missing for a minimum of four weeks with a calf injury.

Motherwell’s fortunes

Motherwell have started the league season unbeaten. Two wins and draw mean the Steelmen are joint top of the league after three matches.

Goals from Harry Paton and Dan Casey earned Motherwell three points against Kilmarnock last time out.

Last time against Hearts, Motherwell beat Hearts 2-0 in what was Stuart Kettlewell last match as interim manager before he got the post permanently. Jon Obika and Blair Spittal got on the scoresheet that day.

Motherwell’s last win at Tynecastle came four years ago when they came away with a 3-2 victory thanks to goals from Declan Gallagher, Sherwin Seedorf and Jermaine Hylton.

Opposition report

Hearts have had a hectic start to the season, juggling the cinch Premiership, UEFA Europa Conference League and Viaplay cup matches.

They have a win, a draw and defeat so far in the league beating St Johnstone on the opening day.

The Jambos are in Greece for the second league of the Europa Conference League match against PAOK. They trail 2-1 in the tie.

Lawrence Shankland has continued where he left off from last season. The Scottish talisman has five goals and an assist in all competitions this season.

Conor Wilkinson has picked up a calf injury. 

The initial assessment is the striker will be missing for a minimum of four weeks. He missed our 2-1 win over Kilmarnock on Saturday.

Scoring his first league goal against Hibernian, Wilkinson now faces a short spell on the sidelines.

Motherwell were looking to bounce straight back having been knocked out the Viaplay Cup seven days ago against St Mirren. 

Back in league business and back at Fir Park, Kilmarnock were the visitors having been labelled the ‘in-form’ team in the league with respective victories over Celtic and Rangers already this season.

1400 travelling fans saw their team get off to the perfect start, with Marley Watkins netting the opener after just 12 minutes.

A flat first half performance saw Stuart Kettlewell bring Harry Paton into the action at half time in an attempt to spark some life into his team.

Dan Casey levelled things up on the hour mark before Callum Slattery missed a penalty on 78 minutes to turn the game on it’s head.

With the match seemingly ending in a draw, Canadian Harry Paton stepped up in the 7th minute of stoppage time to take the roof off Fir Park with a winner at the death.

Liam Kelly has been named in Steve Clarke’s latest Scotland squad. 

Scotland have a crucial EURO 2024 qualifier in this international break, with the dark blues travelling to Cyprus.

With four wins from four so far, Scotland are sitting pretty in the group. They are top of group, eight points ahead of second placed Georgia.

In their second match, Scotland take on old rivals England in a 150th Anniversary Heritage Match. It will mark the first meeting between the two sides in 1872.

Friday 8 September

Cyprus v Scotland 7.45pm K.O

Tuesday 12 September

Scotland v England 7.45pm K.O

Ricki Lamie has joined Dundee on a season-long loan. 

The centre-half joined Motherwell from Livingston in July 2020 and has since gone on to make exactly 100 appearances for the club.

He will join Dundee immediately, ahead of their match against Hearts tomorrow.

Good luck for the season, Ricki.

Stuart Kettlewell reacts to a late win over Kilmarnock.

• Poor first half not to be forgotten about
• A deserved special moment for Harry Paton
• Rewarding supporters’ loyalty

Motherwell scored with the last kick of the ball against Kilmarnock to make it nine Premiership wins on the bounce, with Harry Paton scoring at the death to make it 2-1. 

Marley Watkins early goal gave a confident Kilmarnock the upper hand which they largely maintained over a one sided first half. At that stage a weakened ‘Well side looked out of sorts but a thumping equaliser from Dan Casey just before the hour mark changed the game.

Fifteen minutes from time the Steelmen were denied the three points which looked most unlikely in the first half, when Callum Slattery’s penalty kick was well saved by Willie Dennis.

However, ‘Well continued to press for a winner and it duly arrived seven minutes into added on time when Harry Paton capped a fine second half performance steering his shot beyond Dennis to send the ‘Well fans into ecstasy as the dejected Kilmarnock players slumped to the Fir Park pitch.

On paper, Fir Park hopes of extending an unbeaten league run to nine games was hindered by a lengthening list of injuries.

Missing key players, especially in forward positions, Stuart Kettlewell gave on loan Huddersfield defender Brodie Spencer his debut. In the absence of Connor Wilkinson, Joe Efford made his first start of the season alongside Theo Bair in an impoverished home attack.

Kilmarnock seemed fully aware of the home side’s injury woes and went on the offensive from kick-off.

It took the Ayrshire side only 12 minutes to gain the advantage.

At a second attempt Danny Armstrong whipped his cross to the back post where Marley’s head guided the ball tight inside the post before Kelly’s outstretched hand could keep the ball out.

With ‘Well’s front two unable to keep the ball in Killie’s half the home defence was kept under constant pressure and after 22 minutes the visitors came close to doubling their lead when Kyle Vassell’s header flashed across Kelly’s goal.

The Killie striker was lucky six minutes later as he attempted to usher the ball over his own byeline. Slattery, though, nipped behind him to keep the ball in play before rolling it back for Blair Spittal whose powerful angled drive was parried by Willie Dennis.

Despite Killie having the bulk of the possession in ‘Well’s half, Kettlewell’s men made some threats on the visitor’s goal as half-time approached.

A couple of teasing crosses forced Dennis to leave his goal line and collect the ball as Bair waited for a slip.

Just before the break Stephen O’Donnell curled another cross into a packed box only to watch Lennon Miller, at full stretch, stooping to head the ball over the bar.

Despite that belated burst of action from the home side Kettlewell made a tactical switch at half-time bringing on Harry Paton for Efford.

And it almost paid off within five minutes. O’Donnell’s deep cross found Paton beyond the six-yard box and although the substitute did well to cut the ball back, Bair could only volley the bouncing ball over the cross bar.

Paton’s introduction in midfield provided ‘Well with greater width and the opportunity to push forward in greater numbers to support Bair and exert some pressure on the Killie defence.

And the change in approach paid off after 58 minutes when the Steelmen grabbed the equaliser.

O’Donnell and Slattery combined on the right and when the latter’s cross found Spencer on the opposite side the debutant quickly passed the ball into Casey, 12 yards from goal. The central defender, with the confidence of a striker, dragged the ball to his right before driving it low and hard beyond Dennis and raise hopes of an unexpected fightback.

Suddenly Kimarnock looked nervous as the Fir Park players fancied claiming all three points.

Another cross from O’Donnell in the 73rd minute found the overlapping Spence and although he kept his header on target it was straight into the ‘keeper’s gloves.

Four minutes later Casey was dumped at the edge of the opponent’s box by Armstrong’s challenge.

After a lengthy VAR check it was judged that the offence was inside the penalty area. But Slattery’s dreams of claiming a winner from the spot disappeared when his well struck shot was pushed away by Dennis low to his left.

When the fourth official’s board indicated eight additional minutes there was a roar of anticipation from the home fans that a sensational comeback could be achieved.

And with 97 minutes on the clock the winner finally arrived. Spittal did well to carry the ball to the byeline. And when his cut back rolled across the box, fittingly Paton stepped onto the pass before firing the ball past Dennis to cap an incredible fightback.

Theo Bair says the team love playing at Fir Park and are looking forward to being back home. 

The Canadian international speaks about his targets for this season and how big an impact he feels he can make in ML1 this campaign.

Brodie Spencer has joined the club on a season-long loan from Huddersfield Town, subject to international clearance. 

The Northern Irish international is a full-back and joins from the Championship side for the rest of the season, having penned a new contract with The Terriers until 2025 prior to the switch.

He joined Huddersfield from Cliftonville in 2020 and initially played in the under 17 side at the club. He made a quick impression at that level and the decision was taken to skip the Under 19s team and go straight into the B team.

In May 2022, the defender won the Antoni’s Memorial Academy Player of the Year trophy at Huddersfield for his impressive displays.

He the progressed to first-team level and has made six senior appearances in all competitions.

The 19-year-old made his international debut for the Northern Irish senior side 2022 against Kosovo, where he assisted one of the goals. He has three caps so far.

“Brodie is a real quality player with bags of potential” Stuart Kettlewell said.

“I think it says a lot when the parent club offer a player a new deal before loaning him out. It shows their real desire to see the player grow and I think Brodie will do just that.

“With international caps in the senior team at such a young age, it only shows how much quality he’s got.

“It’s been a busy couple of days but I’m buzzing to be here,” Spencer said.

“This is a great opportunity for me to get minutes and impress in a first-team environment.

“I feel like the club and the manager is a good fit for me and I can’t wait to get going.”

Spencer will wear the number 22 kit this season.

Stuart Kettlewell addresses the recent debate around Charles Dunne’s tackle on Mika Biereth against St Mirren last weekend.

The manager also provides an injury update on Biereth, Jon Obika and Pape Souare.

He goes into detail around how sore the defeat against St Mirren was and how the team were aware they could improve drastically on the performance and result.

With Kilmarnock beating both Rangers and Celtic this season, Kettlewell remains calm in his approach to the game.