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Pictures from the 3-0 win over Inverness CT in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League at Fir Park.

These action shots and more are available to buy online at www.motherwellpics.com.

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[tab:Match report]

Kris Jack at Fir Park

A Keith Lasley thunderbolt thirteen minutes from time put the icing on the cake as Motherwell secure all three points in style against Inverness this afternoon.

Stuart McCall’s pre-match wish for entertaining football was granted in the glorious Motherwell sunshine. The debut of the new home kit, alongside new boys Law and Higdon, reaped their rewards as Steven Hammell, Jamie Murphy and Keith Lasley emphatically helped ‘Well to their first win of the 2011/12 campaign.

The score line suggests a complete whitewash by Motherwell, but the early going did not show signs of what was to come. Chances for both teams came and went early on, with Murphy pulling his shot wide after a good link up with Higdon. The impressive Law then had a shot blocked after a tight passing move between Higdon and Murphy.

Down the other end, Foran cracked the post from 20 odd yards. Indeed the former ‘Well favourite and his strike partners of Tade and Shinnie made some decent movement, but could not find the killer edge. Johnny Hayes also looked lively, going at Hateley time after time, but found the ‘Well defender in a stubborn mood.

Despite trading opportunities, it was the home side who took the lead.  A three man move between Hateley, Murphy and Humphrey found the Jamaican winger hitting a first time ball across goal. The ball evaded Higdon, before being smashed home on the half volley by Steven Hammell . His third goal in over 380 games was definitely one that he and the fans savoured.

Soon after, ‘Well hit a sucker punch second. A lengthy series of passes proved it’s worth when Murphy played a neat 1-2 with Law and sped clear of Tokely before rolling the ball under the oncoming Esson. 2-0 Motherwell, and the complexion of the game had changed.

Thistle came close to pulling one back when Tansey’s 30 yard free kick cannoned back of the upright, with Randolph beaten.

Randolph’s only action of the game came just before half time, when Tade’s cross form the right was poked goalward by Tansey. A point blank save by the Republic of Ireland International maintained the clean sheet going in to half time.

The second half was a much scrappier affair, littered by some niggly tackles and, at times, odd officiating. Higdon and Tokely, Jennings and Tansey, and Craigan and Foran all had a bit of handbags and crunching tackles. Jennings, Hutchinson, and Lasley were booked for ‘Well, as was Foran for Inverness.

Tokely was leading a charmed life as three fouls on Murphy went unnoticed, much to the ire of the fans. The game threatened to boil over after a clear hand ball by Aldred was missed by referee McLean. A foul by Lasley in the aftermath lead to fervent remonstrations by all in claret and amber as referee Steven McLean struggled to keep a lid on tempers.

Fortunately for Lasley, the booking wasn’t to be the only thing for him to take from this game. Inverness had wasted three consecutive corners, before Humphrey was sent racing clear. His hold up play led to a corner, which Hateley swung to Murphy at the back post. His knockdown found Lasley, who looked up and smashed a rip-snorter in to Esson’s top right corner.

The scouts in the stand from Tottenham, Wolves, Stoke and west Brom would have had enjoyed the openness of the game, showcasing the talent in the SPL. Humphrey and Murphy may have been the main reason for their visit, but Hutchinson, Hayes and Shinnie all impressed in the Lanarkshire sunshine.

A game which was much closer than the score suggests,  would have delighted the majority of the 4190 in attendance, and sent those in Claret and Amber home happy with three great goals and three SPL table-topping points.

[tab:As it happened]

Graham Barnstaple at Fir Park

Full time: 3-0, excellent start to the season, top of the League for a few hours!

90mins – Two minutes being added on.

88mins – Man of the Match has just been announced as Steven Hammell, plenty of candidates this afternoon.

83mins – Well sub Higdon off, replaced by Gary Smith – good reception for Higdon as he goes off.

81mins – ICT sub Graeme Shinnie on for Gregory Tade.

77mins – GOOOAALLL – 3-0 A Hateley corner is headed out by Craigan to Lasley who hits an unstoppable shot from 20 yards into top corner.

74mins – Higdon sends Murphy away on right and his angled drive flies just wide.

72mins – Foran shown yellow for late challenge on Craigan, four bookings is ridiculous in this game!

71mins – Another chance for ICT, Foran knocks down to Sutherland but he side foots over from close range.

63mins – Jennings yellow, after ref misses blatant hand ball at the edge of ICT box by Tansey. Third soft booking, Lasley and Hutchinson.

62mins – Crowd today is 4190.

62mins – ICT sub, Andrew Shinnie off, Shane Sutherland on.

60mins – Humphrey on the break, cross picks out Murphy but his shot is blocked on its way to Esson for an easy save.

56mins – ICT come close again, Hayes cross is headed wide by Richie Foran – game not over yet.

48mins – First yellow sees Hutchnson in the book for a foul on Tade.

48mins – Two minute later a Higdon knock down picks out Law and his volley dips just over the bar from 18 yards out.

46mins – Law cuts on off the left and shoots from 18 yards out but he is denied by diving save from Esson.

45mins – Teams back out and no changes for either side, as Well kick off.

Half time: Shots on target – Motherwell 6, ICT 2, off target Well 2, ICT 5, fouls committted – Well 5 ICT 10, corners Well 1 ICT 2

Half Time: Hammell’s first goal since Feb 2004 when he scored against Partick Thistle.

Half time: 2-0 Well, playing some nice stuff, but ICT are still looking dangerous up front. Key is wide men Law and Humphrey.

44mins – Hammell almost scores again, denied by Esson after combining with Murphy at the edge of the box.

41mins – ICT hit the post again, this time a Tansey free kick from 25 yards out bounces clear.

33mins – Another Humphrey cross into the box, picks out Higdon but he can only head straight at Esson.

28mins – GOOOALLLL – 2-0 Well, Law slides a great ball through for Murphy who slides the ball under Esson.

26mins – Only Hammell’s third goal of his Well career in his 386th game for the club – prolific.

25mins – GOOALLLLLL – Humphrey cross to the back post is met on the volley by Hammelll who scores off the inside of the post.

22mins – Tade knock down in box blasted over by Foran from about 12 yards out – should’ve hit the target at least.

18mins – Richie Foran hits post with a 20 yard shot – narrow escape from corner with Craigan heading clear from under own bar.

15mins – Game has started at good pace with both sides trying to get ball down and play. Two decent chances made so far – good game.

2mins – Higdon flick sends Murphy clear and he can only manage to slide a shot just wide of the post. Good lick up between to two strikers.

Kick-Off: Game underway with the visitors kicking off and we are shooting towards an empty South Stand with away fans in POD.

[tab:Reaction]

Motherwell manager Stuart McCall:

“I thought it was a terrific game and all credit to Inverness, they could’ve had a couple of goals, they hit the woodwork a couple of times.

“It was a good, open game, especially first half when we played some terrific stuff. The quality of the goals, all three of them were outstanding. Overall, I’m really pleased with the start.

“Three points, three goals, you can’t ask for any more.”

Inverness CT manager Terry Butcher:

“Three-nil looks like a bit of a hammering but it certainly wasn’t that. It didn’t look like a 3-0 game to me.

“We know the areas that we want to fill and we are making progress in those areas so hopefully we can do that.”

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With the Davie Cooper Stand offer proving so successful last season, the club have rolled this out to all home stands in a scheme we’re calling “WELLevate”.

In a throw-back to an era where youngsters, the lifeblood of the club, were first introduced to the magic of Fir Park by being ‘lifted over the gate’.

Modern Health and Safety regulations would hamper any replication but in 2011, ‘WELLevate’ is the closest you’re going to get.

An entirely new initiative whereby if you buy and adult or senior citizen season ticket, you can bring along any kid aged 12 or under for free all season (season ticket book will be issued). 

We have also reduced the prices of ALL Juvenile and Young Adult season tickets throughout the stadium.

Chief Executive Leeann Dempster added, “We are particularly proud of our ‘WELLevate’ scheme and believe it offers tremendous value for money to our loyal supporters.

“We piloted something similar in the Davie Cooper Stand last season and the outstanding success, coupled with feedback from fans, made it an easy to decision to roll it out across both the East and Phil O’Donnell Stands.

“We are desperate to encourage youngsters and families back to Fir Park and a competitive pricing policy is vital if we’re to achieve that.”

Easier to buy…

As ever, we’ve made buying your Motherwell Season Ticket as easy as possible. We will, once again, run the interest free option where fans can spread payments over four months (May, June, July and August) without incurring any additional charges.

If you want to spread payments, Zebra Finance will also return to offer the facility to pay over a 10-month period (19.9% APR).

How to buy…

• Pop into the Fir Park Ticket Office now.
• Phone our Ticket Office hotline on 01698 333 333 (Option 2).
• Book online at: http://motherwellfc.iristickets.co.uk/

Prices…

For a full price breakdown, Click Here

‘Well boss Stuart McCall reckons his side are in decent shape ahead of tomorrow’s SPL opener against Inverness Caley at Fir Park.

Gavin Gunning, Francis Jeffers, Maurice Ross, Steve Jones and John Sutton all departed during the summer with Nicky Law and Michael Higdon coming in.

But McCall has been encouraged by the emergence of some of the young talent who are likely to supplement what looks, on paper at least, a fairly strong starting eleven.

[pullquote]I think the squad is possibly better than last season. The younger lads are a year older, naturally, and I think they’re ready to step up[/pullquote]

“I said last season we had a good quality squad although it lacked strength in depth,” the former Scotland International said.

“This season we have lost more players than we’ve gained so we are going to have to be lucky with injuries. If you look at the basis of the squad, we’ve got a lot of young boys. Well, I keep saying young boys, I mean they are 20, 21; lads who should be forcing their way in.

“We’ve got Bob McHugh, Gary Smith and Steven Lawless in the striking department. We lost Maurice Ross and Gavin Gunning from the defensive area so we certainly need one in to opus the rest of the lads. At the moment we have Steven Sanders and Pagey (Jonathan Page), Jordan Halsman came on the other day at left-back.

“But I think the squad is possibly better than last season. The younger lads are a year older, naturally, and I think they’re ready to step up. Rather than me going out looking for loan lads from England, let’s give the lads here a chance.

“They showed in parts at the end of last season in reserve games that they can do it, they have started pre-season well. Hopefully they can step up to the mark and I’m sure one or two of them can do that. Even if one of them steps up and becomes a regular, it will be good.”

Talking of bringing a player in, much of the pre-season speculation has cantered around Blackburn Rovers’ young Irish defender Gavin Gunning, who spent six months on loan at Fir Park last season, and former ‘Well ace Mark Reynolds.

McCall was keen to reiterate his interest in Gunning but ruled out any return for Reynolds who will look to make a impact for Sheffield Wednesday this season after leaving Fir Park last January.

He continued, “There are still bits of wheeling and dealing to be done. We would have liked to have got Gavin in a couple of weeks ago, but financial implications mean that can’t happen.

“Whether we do that in the next couple of weeks, we’ll see. But we’re on the lookout for other players. A lot of the lads are back now in England playing so we can have a look at the reserve games and the lads coming through. We’re monitoring things but nothing to report at the moment.

“In terms of Mark Reynolds, I don’t know where that came from. There is no way we can match his wages. As good a servant Mark was, and we would welcome him back with open arms, but financially it’s just not viable and that won’t be happening.”

Motherwell Football Club are tonight delighted to showcase our new silver away kit for season 2011/2012.

It is Motherwell’s second year with manufacturing giants PUMA and the first with new principle sponsors Cash Converters.

The Steelmen have never previously played in silver and Retail Manager Alan Provan is hopeful ‘Well fans will respond to something different from the usual style of change kit.

He said: “When you think of a Motherwell away kit, it’s almost always white, claret or, on occasions, black. However, we were very keen to try out something a little different in this, our 125th anniversary year.

“The idea was actually initially suggested as a way to mark twenty years since the 1991 Cup win with the silver/silverware link.

“But it went beyond that when we were presented with the initial designs which were fantastic.

“I am absolutely delighted with how they have turned out and together with our new home kit; I think we have one of the best kit sets in the SPL this season.”

Both the home and away kits are available to pre-order now from motherwelldirect.co.uk.

The new PUMA 2011/2012 home kit will be released both in-store and online this coming Thursday (28th July) with the silver away kit set to follow in early August.

The new SPL season kicks-off tomorrow so don’t miss out on exceptional value by picking up your 2011/12 Season Ticket.

Former managers Terry Butcher and Maurice Malpas bring their Inverness side to Fir Park and we want you ‘Well fans to be there to roar on the team.

And what makes our tickets great value? Well, it’s not just the £118 pounds you could save over the course of the season as compared to paying at the gate, we have three more great reasons to be a Steelmen Season Ticket holder.

DAVIE COOPER OFFER

The fantastic “2 Kids go free in the Cooper” offer which kicked-off last season has returned once again. That means any adult or senior citizen purchasing a season ticket can claim up to two Juvenile / Young Adult Season Tickets absolutely free of charge.

We had a 13% increase in our Season Ticket base last year, the majority of which came from this offer, it’s little wonder given an adult and two juvenile’s ticket for the Davie Cooper Stand will cost just £300 – or just over £5 each per game!

WELLevate

With the Davie Cooper Stand offer proving so successful last season, the club have rolled this out to all home stands in a scheme we’re calling “WELLevate”. In a throw-back to an era where youngsters, the lifeblood of the club, were first introduced to the magic of Fir Park by being ‘lifted over the gate’.

Modern Health and Safety regulations would hamper any replication but in 2011, ‘WELLevate’ is the closest you’re going to get. An entirely new initiative whereby if you buy and adult or senior citizen season ticket, you can bring along any kid aged 12 or under for free all season (season ticket book will be issued). We have also reduced the prices of ALL Juvenile and Young Adult season tickets throughout the stadium. An adult

SPECIAL OFFERS

In an exciting new scheme, Motherwell Season Ticket holders will benefit from a range of discounts and offers from a range of companies throughout Lanarkshire and beyond.

Take advantage of any one of these terrific offers from such names as McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Subway, Brewers Fayre, Access NL, LivingWell Health Club and Evans Halshaw.

For a full list of what is available, CLICK HERE.

Motherwell FC can confirm that young midfielder Peter Innes has left the club to join Third Division side Alloa Athletic.

Innes, 20, came through the Youth Development programme and won the 2009/10 Under 19’s Player of the Year (pictured above) before signing professional terms twelve months ago.

The former Scotland youth International spent the majority of last season on loan at Albion Rovers, helping the Cliftonhill side to promotion to the Second Division.

Motherwell Football Club would like to thank Peter for all his effort during his time at Fir Park and wish him every success in his future career.

Motherwell will have to do without Ross Forbes this Saturday as the midfielder serves a one match ban carried over from last season.

Forbes, 22, will sit out the SPL opener with Inverness Caley Thistle at Fir Park after going over the disciplinary points threshold following a booking at Tannadice on May 7th.

[pullquote]The rest of the boys have been planning for Inverness but my focus is on Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Saturday week.[/pullquote]

The former Scotland U21 star admits missing out is a disappointment but has already set his sights on the Kilmarnock game on July 30th.

“I knew about the suspension at the end of last season but, as the Inverness game gets closer, you become a little disappointed to miss out on the opening fixture,” he admitted.

“Along with the rest of the squad, we’ve been working hard to prepare for the new season. The rest of the boys have been planning for Inverness but my focus is on Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Saturday week.”

Motherwell boss Stuart McCall along with Keith Lasley and Jamie Murphy will meet the media tomorrow to preview Saturday’s league opener. The best will appear on the Official site later in the afternoon.

With competitive SPL action just two days away, cbfootball.co.uk is delighted to announce that Score Selector is back and ready for you to enter your first set of scores.

This is your opportunity to show off your SPL knowledge by predicting scores for each SPL fixture throughout the 2011/12 campaign. 

You can create your own mini leagues to see how you compare against friends, family and workmates, as well as measuring up how you perform amongst your fellow supporters.

As well as the grand prize of £10,000 for the overall winner, we have a weekly prize of an iPod shuffle, and a monthly prize of £500 for the person with the most points over the month. There is also £5000 up for grabs for the first person to correctly guess all 6 scores in a fixture group – remember this is a one off, when it’s won, it’s gone. 

Accounts and mini leagues from last year are still valid, and you have the opportunity to change your screen name up until the first day of the new season. 

So check out the Score Selector section at www.cbfootball.co.uk and enter your predictions for the first set of fixtures for this season, or register if you’re a newcomer.  Good luck for the season ahead!

Score Selector is open to over 18s only. Terms and Conditions apply, see www.cbfootball.co.uk for full details.

As an introductory offer, and to allow you to try our new hospitality menu, we are offering a much reduced meal package for two this Saturday vs Inverness CT. 

Start the season in style with a two person hospitality package for just £118.

We would like to introduce our facilities and great match day atmosphere to as many potential new clients as possible with a view to driving membership. Therefore, members are welcome to bring along someone that could be interested in a joining the club or indeed individual match day tickets throughout the season.  

As a Centenary or Millennium Club member you may purchase two meals for the combined price of £49. 

Thursday 21st July is the final booking date for this offer to allow time to finalise seating and catering.