Referee for Saturday’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with Rangers will be Mike Tumilty.
40-year-old Tumilty will be taking charge of his fifth ‘Well game of the campaign, having previously been the man in the middle for the 1-0 win at Rugby Park back in August, the 2-0 away success at Tynecastle at the end of September, the 2-1 win at the Caledonian Stadium in early November and, most recently, the 3-1 defeat at Rugby Park six weeks ago.
Five games is way more than he managed the whole of last season, where he took charge of just the one ‘Well game. That was at Fir Park; a single Lukas Jutkiewicz goal was enough to give the Steelmen a 1-0 win over local rivals Hamilton Accies in February.
The season before last, he overseen the home win against Accies (again) as well the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Kilmarnock in a miserable Monday night at Fir Park – live on the now defunct Setanta Sports.
It’s been a busy season for Mike who has handled fourteen SPL games already this campaign, most recently Dundee Utd’s 2-0 success against St Johnstone three weeks ago.
His overall record in charge of Motherwell is pretty good. Of the eleven Motherwell games he has officiated, the Steelmen have won eight, drawn nil and lost three. Nineteen goals have hit the back of the opponents net, whilst eleven have been conceded.
35 yellow cards have been flashed in those games, 22 to a player wearing Claret and Amber. Thankfully, not one single player has seen red.
He will be ably assisted by Willie Conquer and Stephen Mitchell with Steve Conroy appointed as fourth official.