| 3 | Rangers | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 23 |
| 4 | Dundee United | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 23 |
| 5 | Motherwell | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | -3 | 19 |
| 6 | St Mirren | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | -6 | 18 |
| 7 | Dundee | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | -3 | 16 |
It’s time to make your choice for the Tullibardine Player of the Month for September.
Ryan Bowman, Carl McHugh, Curtis Main and Danny Johnson are the possible picks for the second month of the season, after Gaël Bigirimana scooped the August award.
To vote, just head to our Facebook page and make your choice.
Motherwell travelled to Kilmarnock on Saturday looking to build on a battling showing in the midweek cup defeat to Hearts.
This is the Story of the Match from the trip to Rugby Park.
Watch the highlights from Rugby Park as Motherwell slump to a 3-1 defeat against Kilmarnock in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Carl McHugh, Chris Cadden and Aaron Taylor-Sinclair reflect on a disappointing day at Rugby Park.
Deapite going a goal up, the Steelmen fell to a 3-1 defeat against Steve Clarke’s side.
Carl McHugh said: “It simply wasn’t good enough. We weren’t like our usual selves and need to put that right with some important games ahead.”
Stephen Robinson was left frustrated by a poor second half showing as Motherwell slumped to a 3-1 defeat against Kilmarnock.
The ‘Well boss felt the hosts had the quality needed to win the game and was disappointed by his side at Rugby Park.
He said: “I was really disappointed with our second half performance. We put forward thinking players on to try and win the game, but Kilmarnock just had that bit more quality than us.”
Motherwell surrendered a one-goal lead as they lost 3-1 at Kilmarnock in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Curtis Main opened the scoring for a visiting side who flew out of the starting blocks. But the striker would then miss a penalty soon after that the Rugby Park side took advantage of, with Chris Burke, Greg Stewart and Eammon Brophy all netting afterwards.
Stephen Robinson made one change from the team who battled but lost out late in the cup to Hearts in midweek. Allan Campbell dropped to the bench, with Aaron Taylor-Sinclair coming into the side.
Kilmarnock were without the hero of their win last weekend over Celtic, with Stuart Findlay dropping out of the team altogether. Scott Boyd came in in his place.
Motherwell started the brighter of the two sides, launching ball after ball into wide areas to try and build attacks.
The first big chance of the game would fall to Grimshaw. A cross from the right found him in plenty space at the back post but the ball just wouldn’t sit right quickly enough, allowing the defender to get back across and stop him from getting a shot away.
‘Well would make no mistake with the next. A long ball forward was brilliantly met by the flick of Bowman 40 yards from goal. Anticipating his strike partner winning the ball, Main made an excellent run in between the centre backs to collect the through pass.
Bearing down on goal, it looked as though Boyd might just get there in the nick of time but the striker picked his moment perfectly, rifling the ball under the dive of MacDonald into the bottom left corner of the goal to open the scoring.
Motherwell continued their control on the game and, mounting attack after attack, they were awarded a penalty when Taylor-Sinclair was felled in the box as he found himself with space for the shot.
Main stepped up to try and get his second in quick succession, but his low penalty to the right was read perfectly by the goalkeeper, who dived low to collect.
Spurred on by MacDonald bailing them out, Killie came flying out of the traps and they came within a whisker of an equaliser with 25 minutes on the clock.
A corner from the right saw Broadfoot peel off to find himself with all the time in the world to aim his back post header back across goal, but the alert Tait rose bravely to head the ball off the line at the last possible second.
Both teams fought and scrapped in an end-to-end battle, carving out half chances until the hosts levelled things with five minutes to go ’til the break.
Gathering the ball on the left, Jones drove at Tait before cutting inside and firing low at goal. Carson did brilliantly to tip it away, but Burke read the rebound to steal in at the back post and knock home the equaliser.
That advantage would be doubled before the break. Stewart’s surging run against McHugh and Donnelly saw him twist and turn before finally settling on a shot from 25 yards which bounced beyond the dive of Carson.
Killie started the stronger after the interval and were awarded a penalty of their own 13 minutes into the half. Donnelly left out his leg as Brophy surged through, leaving Don Robertson with no choice but to point at the spot.
Brophy stepped up to extend the lead and he sent Carson the wrong way, slotting his penalty low to the left to make it 3-1.
Danny Johnson and David Turnbull almost immediately replaced Tait and Bigirimana, as the Steelmen went on the offensive to get back into the game.
Chances started to come. First Tom Aldred had a goalward header denied at close range from Turnbull’s corner, with the Killie defence alert to make the block.
Bowman would be next to test the resolve, with MacDonald reacting well to gather another header at close quarters.
A remarkable let-off for the visitors would follow. Stewart had time to get in behind down the right and drive inside. In the chaos that ensued, McHugh’s attempted clearance cannoned back off his own post and, as everyone threw themselves at it, the ball was thankfully cleared.
Donnelly would later be taken off for Conor Sammon as Motherwell went with four strikers on the pitch. But it would ultimately prove fruitless, save for two attempts from distance from Johnson which amounted to nothing.
Instead it was Kilmarnock who continued to look the more likely, with Carson being called upon late on to keep the score down.
Motherwell travel to Rugby Park for their third game in the space of a week as they search for a return to winning ways.
Following Betfred Cup heartbreak on Wednesday night, the Steelmen now face a tough task against Steve Clarke’s side.
Following a stunning campaign in 2017/18, Kilmarnock have managed to string together a fine start to the new season too.
In the Ladbrokes Premiership, they have only suffered defeat against the two sides from the capital, Hearts and Hibernian, and find themselves one point behind second placed Rangers.
The Ayrshire outfit may have lost two in their last four matches, but their heaviest league defeat has only been by a single goal this term.
Against league leaders Hearts, Killie lost 1-0 before being on the wrong end of a five goal thriller against Hibs.
They may have won two out of three matches against Motherwell last season, but Killie have not had the strongest run against the Fir Park side on their own turf in recent years.
In the last five matches in Kilmarnock, ‘Well have won four and Killie once, but manager Steve Clarke has a perfect record against the Steelmen in his two games.
And Stephen Robinson’s men are certainly in for a tough encounter as they bid to get back on track in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Richard Tait is confident that results are just around the corner for Motherwell after suffering cup heartbreak on Wednesday.
The defender is hungry to get back in to action just three days after the trip to Tynecastle.
But with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park up next, Tait is expecting a difficult game.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted on Wednesday,” he said. “But I think it showed in our performance that we’re back to ourselves.”
Keith Lasley is eager for the Steelmen to get back to action after Wednesday’s Betfred Cup defeat against Hearts.
Kilmarnock are up next for the Fir Parkers on Saturday as Premiership football returns.
“It’s good to have a quick turnaround after the cup defeat,” he said. “We have a chance to get straight back out there.”
It’s back to Ladbrokes Premiership action on Saturday as Motherwell head to Kilmarnock.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.
Kilmarnock have 10 points from six games so far in the 2018/19 season, compared to Motherwell’s four.
Motherwell though have won six of the last 10 trips to Rugby Park, although Killie won the only outing in the 2017/18 campaign, with Scott Boyd’s header the difference in a 1-0 victory.
Due to emergency gas works, temporary three-way traffic lights are now in place at Campbell Street’s junction with Holmquarry Road and Low Glencairn Street.
The lights will be manually controlled from 7am to 7pm to help minimise inconvenience. SGN have also put in place lane restrictions for southbound traffic in Campbell Street, near the junction.
To help improve traffic flow along the B7038, SGN have also closed Old Street at its junction with Campbell Street. Please plan your journey to Rugby Park accordingly.
You can pay at the gate at Rugby Park. Adult tickets are priced at £22. Concessions, deemed to be over 65s, under 21s or students, can get in for £17. Children aged under 16 can get tickets for just £5.
Please note that there will be no live television pictures from this game. Live audio is available to our streaming subscribers at tv.motherwellfc.co.uk.
Peter Hartley and Andy Rose will be assessed late to see if they are fit. Conor Sammon is free to play after being ineligible in midweek. Craig Tanner and Charles Dunne remain on the sidelines.
