| 3 | Rangers | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 22 |
| 4 | Dundee United | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 19 |
| 5 | Motherwell | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 19 |
| 6 | St Mirren | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | -5 | 15 |
| 7 | Dundee | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -6 | 12 |
Motherwell managed to briefly peg back their experienced opponents in the Reserve League on Monday, but ultimately lost out 6-2 to Rangers.
Jamie Semple and Shaun Bowers scored for the visitors, with the Light Blues’ goals coming from Cameron Palmer, Eros Grezda, Andy Dallas and a Dapo Mebude hat trick.
Reserves boss Stephen Craigan believes an experienced Rangers side deserved their win on Monday.
The young Steelmen recovered from two down to get the game back to 2-2, but ended up losing out 6-2 at the Hummel Training Centre.
Motherwell Reserves put in a strong showing but their enthusiasm to complete a comeback victory saw them picked apart 6-2 by Rangers.
Jamie Semple and Shaun Bowers grabbed second half goals to claw back a two-goal deficit, before a succession of counter attacks saw them come undone.
Rangers fielded an experienced starting team, including Lee Wallace, Jordan Rossiter, Eros Grezda and on loan Roma forward Umar Sadiq.
It was the latter who had the opening chance of the game. Using his pace to work an opportunity, his shot from close range was well saved by Rohan Ferguson at his near post.
The goalkeeper was called into action again soon after, having to acrobatically turn away another effort from the Nigerian.
Motherwell had to be patient to create their own chances but very nearly opened the scoring on the half hour mark. James Scott used his strength to beat Rossiter to the ball wide in the box, but his shot from an angle flew past the far post.
The resistance would be broken soon after. With the visitors failing to clear their lines, Palmer was given room to fizz a low effort from 25 yards into the bottom left corner.
Struggling to get a foothold in the game, ‘Well went two behind. Attacking with pace and intensity, Grezda was the beneficiary as he was given the chance to slot home the second.
Rangers withdrew their four first team players at the interval, while the Steelmen brought on Jake Hastie for Yusuf Hussain.
Those changes allowed Motherwell to find some joy, getting on the ball and creating chances.
The first fell to Broque Watson 10 minutes in to the second period. Played in by a great cross-field ball from Adam Livingstone, he attempted to lob the goalkeeper from a tight angle, but the stopper just managed to get enough on it to keep it out.
Minutes later the deficit was halved. The lively Hastie drove out of midfield before playing a dinked ball into the path of the onrushing Semple.
Taking the ball on the bounce, he fired home a brilliant half volley from just inside the area past McAdams.
The game flowed from end to end. Atakayi had several chances well saved by Ferguson, while the visitors continued to be patient and press on the counter.
Their patience was to pay off. Winning the second ball off a corner, Craigan’s men patiently engineered the chance for Bowers to fire low past the goalkeeper from the edge of the box to equalise.
Fired up, Rangers took the chance to regain the lead soon after. Getting a second bite at a shot after an initial block, substitute Mebude rifled the ball home with 15 minutes left to play.
Pushing men forward, Motherwell would be punished again five minutes later. Bursting past the defenders and surging into the box on the right, Dallas had time to place his finish past Ferguson.
Worse would follow. Committing bodies forward, ‘Well were again caught short on the counter, with Atakayi setting up Mebude for the fifth.
Mebude would then grab his hat-trick late on, as failure to clear a poorly-hit corner allowed him to tap in at the back post.
Three of Motherwell’s five loanees were in action on Saturday, as they racked up further minutes.
Ross MacLean got an hour as Morton took on Dunfermline Athletic in the Ladbrokes Championship.
Having fallen behind to the Pars through Andy Ryan’s goal, the ‘Ton were under pressure to get a result in new boss Jonatan Johansson’s first game in charge.
Thankfully for them, it arrived with nine minutes to spare when a mistake by visiting ‘keeper Lee Robinson allowed Scott Tiffoney’s shot to find the net.
Elsewhere in the second tier, Jake Hastie played 73 minutes as Alloa Athletic’s five-game unbeaten run was ended 2-0 at home by Ayr United.
Lawrence Shankland was again on the scoresheet for the Honest Men, scoring in both halves to take his tally for the season to 15 goals in 12 appearances.
Shea Gordon again missed out through injury as Partick Thistle moved level on points with Morton in sixth, twice coming from behind to defeat Queen of the South 3-2.
In League Two, PJ Morrison helped inspire Albion Rovers to their first point of the season, as they drew 1-1 at Cowdenbeath.
Neil McLaughlin was an unused substitute for Stirling Albion, as they lost 2-1 at home to Annan Athletic.
Want to win a year’s supply of IRN-BRU and also support the future stars of Motherwell at the same time?
Tickets are now on sale for the Colts’ IRN-BRU Cup third round match with Sligo Rovers and everyone who buys a ticket in advance will be entered into a prize draw to win.
Stephen Craigan’s side take on their Irish opponents on Saturday, 13 October at Fir Park and we want to get as big a crowd as possible along to cheer on the young Steelmen. Kick off is at 3pm.
To win, just buy an adult ticket via our online ticketing platform at tickets.motherwellfc.co.uk. Alternatively, you can buy by phone on 01698 333333, or directly from the Motherwell ticket office.
Adult tickets are priced at £8, concessions £4 and kids aged 15 and under go for £2.
Concessions are 16 to 18 year olds, full time students with a valid matriculation card and ages 60 and over.
All supporters will be seated in the John Hunter stand at Fir Park. Away fans will be in the north section of the stand, with Motherwell supporters taking up the rest of the stand.
Tickets are being sold online on a free seating basis. Fans will not be allocated specific seats at the point of purchase.
Sligo Rovers fans should buy direct from their club. An allocation of tickets are being sent to be purchased directly from Sligo.
Four of five Motherwell’s young loan players were in SPFL action this weekend.
Peter Morrison made his debut for Albion Rovers as they faced North Lanarkshire rivals Clyde at Broadwood.
The young goalkeeper had an extremely busy afternoon for Rovers, facing over 20 shots at his goal. The young stopper impressed though, making a string of excellent saves to keep John Brogan’s side in the encounter. The Albion boss described the goalkeeper’s performance as “outstanding”.
The game was ultimately decided by Martin McNiff’s first half strike, resulting in a 1-0 win which keeps the Bully Wee in amongst the contenders at the top. Rovers, however, find themselves rooted to the bottom.
In the Championship, Ross MacLean was named in the starting line up for former Motherwell under 20s boss Jonatan Johansson’s first game in charge of Morton at Tannadice.
Michael Tidser had given the ‘Ton an 11th minute lead from the penalty spot and it looked as if the visitors were going to hold on for all three points. However, a 93rd minute leveller from Terrors sub Fraser Fyvie earned his side a point.
Jake Hastie was again named in the starting eleven for Alloa as they earned a very respectable point at East End Park against Dunfermline.
The result maintains an impressive five-match unbeaten run for the Wasps, with just the single away defeat since last February in a run of thirteen matches.
Northern Ireland youth International Shea Gordon remains sidelined with an injury picked up against in Partick Thistle’s narrow Betfred Cup defeat to Celtic last month. In his absence, the Jags lost out by the odd goal in five as Inverness Caley Thistle went top of the table.
Finally, Neil McLaughlin featured for Stirling Albion as they collected their second win of the campaign. The youngster was a late sub, with Binos holding on to a 1-0 lead earned via Ross McGeachie’s 12th minute goal.
Photograph: Albion Rovers FC
Motherwell Colts’ IRN-BRU Cup match with Sligo Rovers will be played at Fir Park.
The game is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 13 October with a 3pm kick off.
Tickets will be on sale for fans of both clubs via our online ticketing platform shortly. A pay gate will also be in operation on the day.
Adult tickets are priced at £8, concessions £4 and kids aged 15 and unders go for £2.
Concessions are 16 to 18 year olds, full time students with a valid matriculation card and ages 60 and over.
SSE Airtricity League Premier Division side Sligo Rovers saw off Livingston Colts to reach the third round stage, while Stephen Craigan’s youngsters defeated East Stirlingshire and Dundee Colts.
Motherwell’s reserve side continued their unbeaten start to the 2018/19 season with victory in their Reserve Cup match with Dundee.
Neil McLaughlin, Jamie Semple and Conor Sammon netted for Stephen Craigan’s side at Forthbank.
Stephen Craigan was pleased to see his side pick up a 3-1 victory over Dundee in Group D of the Reserve Cup.
The Northern Irishman still wants more from his players though, as he continues to guide them on an unbeaten start to 2018/19.
He said: “Naturally I’m happy that we won, but I still feel that the standard of our play at times didn’t reach the levels that we did on Thursday night.”
Motherwell Reserves produced an assured display as they defeated Dundee 3-1 in group D of the Reserve Cup on Tuesday afternoon.
Stephen Craigan made a late change to his team, replacing Akeal Rehman with Neil McLaughlin in the starting eleven. The Northern Irishman also named Conor Sammon in his side due to the forward being ineligible to play against parent club Hearts on Saturday, and the experienced striker nearly made an immediate impact.
Charging down Dee stopper Samuel Jackson inside the opening five minutes, the Irishman’s lunging block looked set to turn the ball home, but some wicked spin denied the opener and allowed the keeper to gather without too much trouble.
He had a lot more to do in the 20th minute though, producing a fine stop to keep the scoreline level at Forthbank Stadium. James Scott, partnering Sammon up front, showed fine composure to shift the ball on to his left foot before firing an effort towards the roof of the net, only to see it tipped on to the crossbar.
Shortly after though, the Colts took the lead. Captain Barry Maguire burst in to the box, but instead of going for goal, showed terrific composure to turn and tee up the more central Neil McLaughlin, who slid the ball home from just inside the box with a very neat finish.
Despite controlling much of the first half, the second got off to a poor start when an aimless cross was sent in to the box and looked set to be gathered by Rohan Ferguson. However, the keeper made a rare mistake by his high standards, allowing the ball to slip from his grasp before seeing it be prodded in to an empty net by Dee striker Matthew Henvey.
Just after the hour mark, Colts boss Craigan made his first change of the afternoon, calling on Jamie Semple to replace goalcorer McLaughlin. And within minutes, the decision paid off as Semple put the Fir Park side 2-1 up.
Ghosting in at the back post, the youngster turned home a terrific cross towards the back post with his knee after the flight of the ball was misjudged by the Dundee defence. Semple showed terrific reactions to get enough on the ball to turn it inside the post and regain control of the Reserve Cup tie.
With just minutes remaining of the group D fixture, Alfredo Agyeman did terrifically well to beat his man in the box before being bundled to the deck. The referee had no doubts, pointing to the spot immediately. Sammon stepped up and confidently dispatched the spot kick, sending Jackson the wrong way and wrapping up proceedings in Stirling.
