Motherwell

Jenna Thomson
Fan writer

Motherwell have a first win of the new year under our belts, but being robbed of victory against Rangers still stings.

The controversial decision to disallow Jack Butland's own goal, which put the Steelmen 3-2 up, shows how backwards the officials in Scottish football are.

Every point matters at this stage of the league and I would be saying the same if this happened in a game between St Mirren and Dundee United.

I don't blame Stuart Kettlewell for his outbursts in the dugout or in press conferences because I am bad enough with my reactions in the stands as a fan never mind if my job was impacted by these decisions.

While I slowly remove my tinfoil conspiracy hat and try to focus on more positive things, the win over Aberdeen on Sunday was huge for us. Two strong home results before four away games in a row is the ultimate confidence booster.

We are in a good place and Europe is seeming more and more possible as the months progress.

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Manager Stuart Kettlewell will serve a one-match touchline suspension when Motherwell go to Kilmarnock on Wednesday.

The Fir Park boss has been issued the ban by the Scottish FA after being sent off in his side's game with Rangers at the end of December.

Following the 2-2 draw, Kettlewell said he was "flabbergasted" by the decision to disallow his team a goal when Tony Watt was judged to have fouled Jack Butland at a corner.

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Ewan Wilson says it "feels amazing" to score his first Motherwell goal amid a "whirlwind" breakthrough season for the Fir Park club.

The teenager spent last season on loan at Stirling Albion before a short stint at non-league Beith Juniors.

But this campaign the wing-back has become an important player for Stuart Kettlewell and he opened his account for the Lanarkshire club by smashing in the opener in the 2-0 win against Aberdeen on Sunday.

"It feels amazing [to score]," he told BBC Scotland. "I've been working so hard towards it and it's just I'm just grateful that it's happened."

On the season so far, he added: "It's been a whirlwind but very satisfying. I haven't done much yet, this is only my first year, so I'm just striving to keep going and continuing to keep my place in the team."

Kofi Balmer: Plays on the right of a back three so figure he can do a job at right-back here. Solid and assured throughout on Sunday, especially in the second half when Aberdeen rallied.

Tawanda Maswanhise: Hugely impressive. Quick, direct and provides so much energy for the team. The Zimbabwean former Leicester City player has been a great find for Motherwell.

Motherwell fans, we asked for your views on Sunday's Scottish Premiership victory over Aberdeen.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Derek: It was a hard watch, and that's with three points in the bag. If we are fifth, it says so much about the standard of Scottish football. The quality is wafer thin.

Eddie: It's a win we badly needed, but you're not going to entice people back to Fir Park with our style of play.

Alan: An excellent result which should be celebrated. An attacking approach by Stuart Kettlewell gives us the result required. Let's not forget where Aberdeen sit in the league and give our players the congratulations they deserve.

James: Big improvements in chunks, but second half was really poor. Tawanda Maswanhise is a constant threat, we need to find a regular partner for him up front. Possession has to be better. A good victory though. Well deserved

Grant: A far better performance than at Tynecastle, players looked more relaxed on the ball, Aberdeen had the better of the first 30 mins but we came into it and scored both goals. We were more assured in the second half and always looked like we had the game under control

Ryan: Great win. Tough run now as not back at Fir Park until next month. Hopefully get some decent signings in.

The Sportscene team analyse Tawanda Maswanhise's goal in Motherwell's 2-0 win over Aberdeen.

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• Tawanda Maswanhise has scored five goals in the Premiership this season (one in this game), no Motherwell player has more.

• Motherwell have beaten Aberdeen for the first time in the Premiership since 13 August 2022, a run of seven games without a win.

• Aberdeen have lost their last five games in the Premiership, their last joint longest losing streak was from 11 September 2021 to 16 October 2021.

Motherwell score two first-half goals to take all three points against Scottish Premiership opponents Aberdeen (UK only).

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Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell: "Big thing for us today was to get a reaction from the players. I'm delighted with the reaction I got from some of the guys that came in that maybe haven't played as much recently. They added plenty.

We could play better in the second half. We can handle the ball better, we can pass it better, we can be far more creative and make the game easier. But, there's another team there.

"Today, we get the added bonus of the clean sheet.

"Really nice to see Ewan Wilson get his goal. The quality off the finish and composure's fantastic. [Tawanda] Maswanhise, he's that breath of fresh air out there - another you player that contributes for us today."

On the possibility of new signings this month, Kettlewell said: "It's a possibility. I never envisaged wholesale changes but if you can pick off the correct one or two just to help the group...it's to give us more strength in depth. It's going to be gruelling, it's going to be tough. We have to ensure we have as much quality as we can get in that dressing room."

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Aberdeen's wretched winless run stretched to 10 Scottish Premiership games as Motherwell halted their own poor form with a dominant win at Fir Park.

Let us know your thoughts on Motherwell's win here., external

Jack Herrall
BBC Sport Scotland

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It sounds odd to say, but Motherwell played their best football in the first half against a full Aberdeen contingent.

Then again, they seem to prefer the first half in most games.

Motherwell have scored 7 goals in the last 15 minutes of the first half, only Celtic (13) and Hibernian (8) have scored more in the Premiership this season, and they have also scored 17 first-half goals in 21 games, only Celtic (25) and Dundee (19) have bettered that haul in the league too.

After looking rather sluggish against Hearts last time out, they look rejuvenated and at it from the off.

In attack they seemed inventive and full of ideas, routinely playing around Aberdeen with ease thanks to the likes of Maswanhise, Ebiye, and Wilson showing great composure and skill to enter the final third at will.

Now fourth, and only four points off Aberdeen, they can continue to look up based on their performance today, particularly in the first half.

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Tawanda Maswinhise was mightily impressive this afternoon.

A constant threat, a well-taken goal, and an all-round attacking performance.

What a find for Motherwell.

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Motherwell striker Apostolos Stamatelopolous is a major doubt with a strain and Lennon Miller, Steve Seddon, Ross Callachan, Callum Slattery and Zach Robinson remain out.

Aberdeen striker Ester Sokler went off injured on Thursday and will be assessed, but centre-half Slobodan Rubezic and midfielders Sivert Heltne Nilsen and Ante Palaversa are all back from suspension.

Goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov has been ruled out for four weeks following his recent return from a hamstring injury, while Vicente Besuijen, Jack Milne and Pape Habib Gueye are still sidelined.

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• Motherwell have lost six of their last seven league meetings with Aberdeen (D1) since a 3-2 victory in August 2022.

• Aberdeen have won each of their last three away league visits to Motherwell, this after only winning one of their previous five beforehand (D2 L2).

• Motherwell are winless in four league games (D2 L2), last going longer without victory in December 2023 (run of 15).

• Aberdeen are winless in nine league games (D3 L6), losing each of their last four in a row – not since October 2021 have the Dons lost five in succession in the Scottish Premiership.

• Aberdeen's Duk has scored five goals in his last five Scottish Premiership appearances against Motherwell – this despite only starting two of those games.

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell says teenage midfielder Lennon Miller's broken foot may force him into a change of plans during the January transfer window. (Daily Record), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Stuart Kettlewell has urged his Motherwell team to step up in the absence of "standout" Lennon Miller after accusing players of going through the motions in Thursday's defeat at Hearts.

Midfielder Miller, previously an ever-present this season, is out for up to eight weeks with a hairline fracture in his ankle and his absence was keenly felt in the 1-0 loss at Tynecastle.

Kettlewell's pllans for the likes of Callum Slattery to get much-needed game time following injury were hit on Friday by the postponement of a planned training-ground friendly with Rangers because of the freezing weather.

The Fir Park boss, whose side host Aberdeen on Sunday, said: "What I'm going to be looking for is many people to put their hand up and step forward to be able to start the game.

"Not just to be there, not just to be a part of a group, but to be able to be in a position where you're fresh to play.

"Lennon has been a pillar of our team, he's been a mainstay, he's been a standout for us. I would pitch him in that standout category in the division as a whole.

"There's absolutely no doubt that he's going to be a huge loss for us. But we're going to have to have players that step forward and show that kind of level of responsibility. We're going to have players that come and take part in a game of football.

"For that first half, first 20 minutes (on Thursday), it was completely unacceptable. It didn't get much better in the second half, but it was completely unacceptable from the point of view of how we handle a ball, how we try and pass the ball, how we try and get the ball back, our energy, our intensity.

"You can have your worst day in possession of a football, you can mis-control it, you can misplace passes, but the one thing you have to do is you have to be flat out.

"My demand now goes to the players and everybody here at the football club that we show a reaction on Sunday."

We asked for your views on Motherwell's 1-0 defeat against Hearts at Tynecastle.

Here's what some of you said:

Grant: Really poor, no shots on target or corners in the first half. Important players out injured, but the players coming in really have to step up to the plate. We always give teams in need the win and I'm now dreading our next game against Aberdeen.

Ryan: Lennon Miller was a big miss. We were not in the game at all until the final five minutes. Our performances have been very Jekyll and Hyde all season which I don't know why.

Eddie: When is the manager going to take responsibility? He signed the players and set up the system. The football is dire to watch and we barely reach 40% possession even at home.

James: Pathetic display. Just not good enough. Poor passing, no energy, easy to play against. Some deadwood needing rid of, and some new faces required to spark things up.

Kevin: We could have 11 Brazilians playing for us and Stuart Kettlewell would still have them all behind the ball and passing back the way. He keeps going on about this tenure. The longer his tenure continues the more he's making Craig Levein look attack minded. Brutal.

David: One shot on target after 80 minutes, fourth bottom in the Premiership for goalscoring and the fifth leakiest defence, says it all about Motherwell under Kettlewell.

Sportscene pundits Peter Grant and Steven Naismith analyse what went wrong for Motherwell in the meek defeat at Hearts.

Watch the best of the action from Tynecastle as Hearts beat Motherwell 1-0 in the Scottish Premiership.

(Available to UK users only)

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• Motherwell have failed to win in their last four games in the Premiership, their last joint longest winless streak was from 15 May 2024 to 10 August 2024.

• Hearts attempted 29 crosses in this match, higher than their season average of 28.0 in the Premiership.

• Motherwell have failed to score in six of their 20 games, only Ross County (nine) and Kilmarnock (seven) have failed to score more often in the Premiership this season.

• Hearts have scored in their last four games in the Premiership, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of seven games from 21 September 2024 to 2 November 2024.

• Hearts have stopped the opposition from scoring a first-half goal in 12 of their 21 games, only Dundee United (13) and Celtic (17) have done this more often in the Premiership this season.

Much-improved Hearts enjoyed the fresh start of a new year as they claimed an important and deserved Scottish Premiership victory against Motherwell.

Musa Drammeh profited from loose goalkeeping from Aston Oxborough to open the scoring after seven minutes and give Hearts the lead.

The close-range strike was initially ruled out for a foul on the Motherwell goalkeeper by James Wilson, but referee Calum Scott was sent to the monitor for a review and he overturned the original call after seeing minimal contact from the Hearts striker.

That goal turned out to be the winner but that should not have been the case for Hearts, who were totally dominant but could not find a second goal despite 17 shots.

Let us know your thoughts on Motherwell's performance.

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Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell: "For me, 1-0 flattered us. I've just asked [the players] why that was the case. We come to another fantastic venue with a great atmosphere you're sitting in a decent spot in the league and our form has been relatively good.

"I'll always take ownership for team selection and style of play. But what the players give me every week is good energy and a basic application to the cause, which we need at Motherwell to bridge the gap we have financially to the vast majority of other teams.

"We do that time and again but for some reason we didn't today. We've asked the group to take responsibility for it because we go again in a couple of days. There's no time to rest and settle, we need to take ownership for a really poor performance today."