Latest News

Emma Black insists Motherwell won’t let their standards slip as they look to wrap up the SWPL2 title.

The women of steel have a 13 point advantage at the top of the table with seven league games remaining. Victory over closest rivals Kilmarnock on Sunday would leave them just one win away from securing promotion to the top flight of Scottish women’s football.

Despite being on the brink of success, the ‘Well defender insists that boss Eddie Wolecki Black and his assistant Donald Jennow will ensure the levels of performance will remain high.

“It would be a massive upset if we weren’t to win the league now,” Black said. “The job of the management and the more experienced players is to keep everyone grounded and maintain the high standards in training.

“Eddie and Donald will ensure those standards are kept up, there will be no issues there.

“The Kilmarnock game will be tough, we are only two wins away from winning the title and to go there and win would be a huge first step.

“They are a good team though and they’ve strengthened with the likes of Lisa Swanson, who is a Premier League player coming in. We know it’ll be difficult but on the back of the Aberdeen result and a good week of training we’ll be ready.

“Winning this title will be up there with the ones I won at Glasgow City. Any time I compete I want to win, it’ll be a really proud moment to lift the league title with Motherwell.”

‘Well head into Sunday’s clash at Stewarton Leisure Complex on the back of a superb 8-1 win over Aberdeen to reach the last eight of the SSE Scottish Cup Women’s Cup.

Wolecki Black’s side demonstrated great maturity in ensuring the difficult playing conditions didn’t disrupt their focus on booking a place in the draw for the quarter-finals.

“On Sunday we had a bit of a point to prove,” she said. “It was a disappointing result the last time we went to play Aberdeen in the league.

“Our main aim was to make sure we were in the hat for the next round, we were really motivated, and it was a really good performance.”

Looking ahead to the cup quarter-final meeting that will see Motherwell take on fellow SWPL2 side St Johnstone, the former Glasgow City star believes the draw represents a good chance to move within a game of the final.

“It’s a great opportunity playing a team in the same league and it obviously gives St Johnstone a good chance too,” she said. “We beat them there a few weeks ago on their own patch, it would be fantastic to reach the last four.”

Motherwell will face fellow SWPL2 side St Johnstone in the quarter-final of the SSE Scottish Women’s Cup.

The women of steel have already eliminated Cumbernauld Colts and Aberdeen in the previous two rounds, netting 16 goals in the process.

They will now face an away fixture against Saints for a spot in the semi-final.

The tie is due to be played on Sunday, 16 September 2018.

FULL DRAW:

• Renfrew Ladies v Glasgow City/Stirling University
• Edinburgh University Hutchison Vale v Hibernian
• St Johnstone v Motherwell
• Spartans v Celtic

Motherwell stormed into the last eight of the SSE Scottish Women’s Cup with an 8-1 victory over Aberdeen at Garthdee Sports Centre.

Sammy Hare grabbed a hat-trick and Suzanne Mulvey a brace, while there were also goals for Caitlin Russell, Megan Burns and an own goal from Dons midfielder Susan Murray.

It was the hosts who began the brighter of the two sides, with Motherwell struggling to deal with the extremely poor conditions. Claire Johnstone twice had to make excellent stops to keep the scores level.

Mulvey and Russell tried their luck from distance as ‘Well looked to take control of the game and the opening goal arrived after 25 minutes. A loose ball fell at the feet of Mulvey, who drilled a low shot into the net.

Five minutes later it was 2-0, Russell driving down the right and teeing up Hare who made no mistake from close range.

Motherwell were looking dangerous every time they attacked and they added two further goals before the interval. The first came after Kirsty Mclaughlin’s free kick was turned into her own net by Murray. Two minutes later, Russell’s brilliant run finished with a fizzing shot into the bottom corner.

It only took 40 seconds of the second half for the women of steel to pick up where they left off. Burns’ shot from distance evaded Anna Blanchard in the Aberdeen goal to make it 5-0.

The hosts pulled one back when Jo Fraser capitalised on an error by Johnstone, before rolling the ball into the empty net. But Motherwell responded within two minutes, Hare netting after a scramble in the Aberdeen box.

Kerry Montgomery was full of energy having come off the bench and after her bursting run into the box was ended by a careless foul, Mulvey stepped up to convert from the spot.

The final goal of the game came courtesy of Hare, who produced another excellent finish to round off a superb display.

The draw for the quarter final takes place on Tuesday morning, in which ‘Well could be paired with the likes of Celtic, Hibernian or Spartans.

Photography: Maureen Lyall / Aberdeen LFC

Kerry Montgomery has been selected for Northern Ireland squad for their forthcoming World Cup qualifying double header against the Republic of Ireland and Slovakia.

Montgomery, 30, joined ‘Well ahead of the 2018 campaign and has already bagged four goals in eight stars for the women of steel.

The nine-times capped midfielder has been included in Alfie Wylie’s squad to face the Republic at the Tallaght Stadium in Dublin on Friday, 31 August, before heading back across the border to face the Slovaks at Shamrock Park, Portadown on Tuesday 4 September.

Motherwell Ladies defender Niamh Johnston believes the women of steel can mirror their male counterparts’ success in cup competitions this season.

Eddie Wolecki Black’s side travel to Aberdeen on Sunday, as they aim to book their place in the quarter finals of the SSE Scottish Women’s Cup.

Having seen Stephen Robinson guide the men to both the League Cup and Scottish Cup finals last season, Johnston is determined for the ladies to continue the trend.

“It’s quite bizarre when you look at it, we are almost replicating the success of the men’s team,” she said. “I think it would be fair to say that due to their cup runs the men enjoyed one of the best seasons in their modern history and we are looking to mirror that success.

“We’ve enjoyed a really successful league campaign so far, but as a footballer you love playing in cup competitions. I remember saying after the Rangers game in the League Cup back in February that I felt we just needed a few more weeks of working together to be at the level required – we’ve had that in abundance now.

“We’re not going to get too ahead of ourselves, but we know when you get into the latter stages of a cup then anything can happen, our focus is firmly on beating Aberdeen and making sure we are in the draw for the last eight.”

Motherwell returned to action last Sunday with a hard-fought 2-1 victory at St Johnstone. Despite moving another three points closer to the SWPL2 title, Johnston admits the players weren’t satisfied at the performance and now aim to put matters right against the Dons.

“I think on Sunday a lot of us came into the dressing room after the game as if it had been a loss or a draw,” she added. “We had to look at the positives though, we came away with the three points, it was always going to be difficult and there was always going to be a bit of rust.

“Tensions got pretty high on the park and that’s because we expect so much of ourselves, but it’s important to remember a lot of football is about momentum and it will take a few games for us to get back into our stride.

“It’s also important to keep in mind that several our squad work full time and the break was an opportunity for some of them to go on their summer holidays – so even though we’ve been worked very hard in the past few weeks, that momentum has been broken up a little bit.”

The two meetings between Motherwell and Aberdeen this season have been hugely contrasting. ‘Well cruised to a 6-0 victory in the clash at Braidhurst before a fiery 1-1 draw at the Aberdeen Sports Village in June in which three players in claret and amber saw red.

Johnston, who served a two-match ban following her dismissal that day, admits it was a game that she struggled to get over, but insists the only focus on Sunday is reaching the last eight.

“It took about a week to recover from the last Aberdeen game, it’s one that I will never forget,” Johnston reflected. “I think we must remember that we came away from it with a draw at a difficult venue, I’ve been up there with both Celtic and Rangers and never has it been easy to come away with a positive result.

“We aren’t going their looking for revenge, we’ll remain professional having prepared well and looked at both meetings with Aberdeen this season, all our attentions are on reaching the next round.”

Motherwell’s women’s team marked their return to action following the summer break with a 2-1 victory over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

Megan Burns lashed home the winning goal after 62 minutes to clinch a crucial three points and steer the women of steel closer to the SWPL2 title.

‘Well started the game brightly and, having passed up a handful of good scoring opportunities, opened the scoring after 12 minutes. Sammy Hare found space in the box, before firing the ball high beyond Corrie McIlravey-Davidson in the Saints goal.

It was just reward for Motherwell’s bright opening to the game and there would be further chances for Suzanne Mulvey and Hare, before the hosts levelled against the run of play. A fluent counter attack ended with Rebecca McGowan’s superb shot into the top corner.

The second half began at a much slower pace, with chances at at a premium. But it would be Eddie Wolecki Black’s side who would restore their advantage.

Mulvey laid the ball to Burns, who demonstrated excellent close control before blasting a trademark effort into the roof of the net.

Kirsty McLaughlin struck the crossbar as Motherwell tried to add to their lead, but the final stages would be somewhat nervy as Saints pushed to get back on terms for the second time in the match.

It appeared that both teams were tiring, with the effects of the summer break clearly taking its toll, but the visitors’ defence held firm to secure the victory.

Attentions after the match turned to the action at Rugby Park, where Kilmarnock secured a late win against Edinburgh University Hutchison Vale, meaning the gap at the top remains 13 points with seven games remaining.

The two sides meet at Rugby Park on Sunday 19 August – an encounter where a Motherwell victory would move them within two points of securing the league title.

Next up for the ladies is a meeting with Aberdeen in the last 16 of the SSE Scottish Women’s Cup on Sunday, 12 August. Kick off at the Aberdeen Sports Village is 3pm.

Motherwell Ladies captain Suzanne Mulvey believes that capturing the SWPL2 title with the club would be right up there with her greatest achievements in the game.

The striker has bagged 18 goals this season as the women of steel close in on promotion to the top flight of Scottish women’s football.

‘Well return to action after the summer break with a visit to McDiarmid Park on Sunday to face St Johnstone. Having built up a 13-point advantage at the top of the SWPL2 table, and with just eight games of the league season remaining, the title and promotion to the top division could be secured by the end of August.

“I’ve won pretty much everything there is to win in the Scottish game, but this would be right up there with my proudest moments,” Mulvey said.

“We’ve come so far and it’s a great reflection on Motherwell as a club and as a community. It’s a great time to be a Motherwell player and going forward it’s only going to get better.

“I feel fitter, we’ve been worked very hard, because we had that two weeks break we’ve just been worked by Donald and Eddie even harder on our return. I feel that will show.

“We’ve got a 13-point lead and the way we are training shows that we want to get the title wrapped up as soon as possible. It’s not over and done with yet, but if we can continue playing to the level we were before the summer break then I think there’s a good possibility we can win the league very soon.”

News that boss Eddie Wolecki Black will be moving on to take up the position of head coach at Celtic in the coming weeks came as a disappointment to all involved with the ladies setup at Fir Park.

Mulvey admits the team were sad to see their well-respected boss depart but is keen to stress Motherwell’s journey is far from complete.

“It’s a fantastic appointment for Celtic,” she said. “They’ve got a fantastic manager and person in Eddie. I’ve worked with him a few times and have so much respect for him both as a coach and as a person.

“For us though, Eddie has started the journey by putting together the players and the coaching staff. Although he is leaving, we have a lot of experience in both the coaching and playing staff.

“We’ve shown already this season we are capable of dealing with a lot of things. We have the right people to keep things moving in the right direction.

“We still want to carry on the journey, we want to win the league, to have a good run in the cup and from there carry on and continue to develop both as a team and as individuals.”

Despite having racked up several emphatic victories during their opening 13 games of the league season, Mulvey maintains there are still plenty of challenging tasks ahead for the team.

“Before we even kicked a ball this season, we were regarded as the top team and the team that everyone else wanted to beat,” she added.

“There have been comments from opposition players basically ribbing our players about how many international caps we have – it’s the only time I’ve been slagged off for having Scotland caps.

“I feel a lot of the teams have good young players, but perhaps lack that bit of experience. Going back to [the 1-1 draw with] Aberdeen, their best player was Susan Murray who had retired a few seasons ago, Aberdeen asked her to come back and help a bit and she made a big difference for them.

“I’m more than happy with what I’ve contributed so far this season and I’d love to continue to score goals too. For me though, the main target is to win the league as soon as possible and hopefully give Eddie a good send off.

“From there it’s not over. There is still the cup, as well as trying to remain unbeaten in the remaining games.”

Over the course of the break, Sophie Gallacher departed the club, moving on due to work commitments.

The ‘Well captain was keen to pay tribute to the striker’s contributions during her time at Fir Park and insisted she should be a part of the celebrations should the team secure the title.

“Sophie is a fantastic talent. We didn’t get to see what she was capable of this season due to injuries.

“It’s a real shame to see her go, but everyone who has kicked a ball, has been part of the coaching staff, contributed behind the scenes should all be part of the celebrations when we secure the title.”

Eddie Wolecki Black, manager of the Motherwell women’s team, is to leave in mid-August to become the new head coach at Celtic’s women’s team.

The 53-year-old was appointed at Fir Park in late 2017 and has led the team to a 13-point lead to the second tier of the Scottish Women’s Premier League.

Recruiting a wealth of new players in the summer, Motherwell have thrived under his stewardship and currently have a +47 goal difference on their push to reach the top flight.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Motherwell,” he said. “I had a very difficult decision to make and I leave with a heavy heart, but this is a big opportunity.

“I’m staying with the team with a view to staying with them until the title is won. They are in a very good position and I want to see it through.

“We did a lot of recruitment in the summer and there’s so much talent in the squad. They’ve played their way into title contention through hard work and ability, and they are a fantastic group.

“I want to thank everyone involved at Motherwell. They’ve been so supportive and I’ve really enjoyed my time.”

Alan Burrows, chief executive at Motherwell FC, added: “We are sorry to see Eddie go. He has transformed our women’s team since joining late last year and has put them on course for promotion to the top flight.

“He has put foundations in place now for his successor to build on and we are grateful for the work he has put in. We wish him well in his new position when the time comes.”

Everyone at Motherwell wishes Eddie well for his new position and are looking forward to continuing to work with him until the SWPL2 title is decided.