Everyone...TO HAMPDEN || Motherwell vs St Mirren- League Cup Semi Final
- Marc Christie
- Oct 31
- 12 min read
Fantasise. Dream. Believe.
24 hours to go. A date with destiny. Game 3 of 3 in a manic week for the Steelmen, and the biggest of the lot. St Mirren. The national stadium. A chance to make history.
The Stephen Robinson et al. derby, taking place at Hampden Park, is our second match of the season against the Buddies. Earlier on in the season, we travelled to New St Mirren Park, and in a game where we saw positive signs but couldn’t hit the net, found ourselves maybe rueing our chances in a 0-0 draw. In Fact, St Mirren are the only team we haven’t scored against this season, which may set some of us on edge before a ball is kicked.
St Mirren have had a busy week of their own. Losing to 2 late goals away at Dundee United last Saturday, while on Wednesday, they took on the league leaders Hearts in Paisley, with the score ending 2-2.
Motherwell headed into this week in desperate need of some wins to follow the positive performances. A 2-1 win at the death against Livingston, followed by a 2-0 win under the Fir Park lights against Dundee United. After the United game, Askou voiced his thoughts on the performance, stating the "performance was more important than the win". I tend to agree, however it cannot be overstated how much of a confidence boost it must be. To win 2 tough fixtures, one perhaps not playing too well and the other being our usual selves. 6 points, 4 goals (should've been 5 if not for VAR at Livi), a clean-sheet. The only negative? SOD limping off before HT, forcing Longelo's break to be cut short. SOD is yet to appear at Hampden in a cup game in his career, and in a season where his performances are night and day in comparison to last season. A miss to be sure. BUT, the argument comes back to depth. The Fullbacks are maybe the only position we may appear a tad light, but the cover of Koutroumbis is not a bad replacement.
The opposition
St Mirren, much like Dundee United, have a stable influence in their XI. The core are frequently involved, with club captain Mark O'Hara and Killian Phillips holding the middle of the midfield down, and the back 3 of Gogic, Fraser and Freckleton. The only changes we've seen recently from Robinson are; Ayunga/Mandron dropping in and out as Nlundulu starts. Whether tactical or not, Nlundulu has been paying dividends as he has scored in both matches in the week; Richardson and McMenamin swapping in and out on the right hand side of midfield. Richardson the more defensive of the pair, McMenamin the more attacking. McMenamin starting means Fraser plays in a more central CB position as he is a natural RB.
St Mirren typically play in a 3-5-2, which all Well fans will remember under Robbo. This didn't change against either Dundee United or Hearts. As they faced the league leaders, who are currently undefeated (dropping points to only one team in the league...us...ugh), St Mirren twice took the lead. While those of us in the Well camp may be worried about seeing this, ultimately Hearts coming back twice, may just settle the nerves a little.
The Buddies made 2 changes going into this match, with one being enforced as Gogic saw red at Tannadice the week before. He was replaced by Richard King in the backline, while Mandron was dropped for Ayunga. Nlundulu has been keeping both out the starting XI for the last few games, and rewarded Robinson's decision making by opening the scoring. A lovely touch with the head, followed by an overhead kick. At the other end, a brilliant assist/poor touch from Keannu Baccus allowed Lawrence Shankland to hammer home the first equaliser of the evening.
A typical Robbo side, St Mirren are deceptively good on the ball when needed, but a big, strong side. It's no surprise they utilised this from set pieces. Hearts failure to deal with a corner, and the subsequent ball back into the Kenny Loggins, allowed Miguel Freckleton to swivel and smash in the Buddies second. What followed next? Scenes of jubilation as Freckleton made it 3-1, with Robbo watching from the stands. A free kick, whipped in by Declan Jon, saw Freckleton smash a header off the post, before launching the ball into the net. VAR decided to rear it's ugly head however. I've had a few looks at this decision now, and the dialogue is "an offside intervention by Mark O'Hara". Intervention does a lot of heavy lifting in that. The briefest, slightest of touches on Shankland as he tried to race back to stop the cross. Would Shankland have made it? Got a block? Cleared? We will never know, but I'm verging on-no chance. A harsh decision on the Buddies, and one that ultimately made a massive difference. St Mirren kept pressing, forcing Hearts keeper Alexander Schowlow into another great save, following a header from Phillips from ANOTHER ball into the box. The momentum switched, and Hearts began to press, ultimately equalising through Cluadio Braga. Hearts then fell victim to VAR themselves, their 3-2 last minute winner denier, as further limbs from the away wend were called short. This time however, a tight offside it may be, the correct call was made. 2-2, honours even before the Buddies visit Hampden.
The stats further hit home with how tight an affair this match was., which could paint a worrying picture for the Steelmen faithful. Saints holding their own against an undefeated side, who are top of the league and rag-dolled the previous champions last Saturday. Hearts narrowly edged the stats battle with possession (51% to Saints 49%) and shots (14-10, 8-6 on target) falling to the Jambos. An interesting stat to view, is the 1st half St Mirren controlled possession, yet Hearts had more opportunities on goal (5-1). In the second, the narrative was flipped.
In head to head, the result itself is an anomaly. The last 5 games have all ended with a winner (Hearts winning 3 to St Mirren's 2). Yes I know, the last match between the two ended 1-1, but it's ultimately the Saints we face at Hampden. Hearts dominate the fixture historically (25 wins to the Edinburgh side in comparison to St Mirren's 12). This result, was the 12th draw overall.
Motherwell have waited nearly a year (363 days exactly) to return to Hampden, where we fell 2-1 at the same stage of this competition last year to Phillipe Clement’s Rangers. In that time, both clubs have seen themselves replace managers twice. Meanwhile, across the M74, Robbo is currently the longest serving gaffer in the top-flight. You’d have to go back to season 2017-18 for Motherwell’s previous trips to Hampden, in the famous double final season, where we ultimately lost both finals to treble winning Celtic. Our gaffer at the time? Stephen Robinson.
St Mirren’s last time out at the National stadium was in 2021 and saw them knocked out in the Semi Finals of the Scottish Cup. St Johnstone prevailed 2-1 on their way to a memorable cup double. St Mirren also lost at the same stage of the League Cup the same season. A 9th minute Scott Robinson goal was enough to see Livingston prevail. This was under Jim Goodwin, before his move to Aberdeen and subsequent appointment of Robinson by the St Mirren hierarchy. The Saints have won a trophy significantly more recently than us however, with Goodwin in the side, winning the League Cup with a 3-2 win against Hearts in 2013. Most notably, this was before the League Cup was revamped to include a group stage.
St Mirren's road to Hampden saw them begin in the group stages, alongside Ayr United, Arbroath, Forfar Athletic and Annan Athletic. The Buddies finished in top spot with 10 points. 3 wins and a draw (losing the penalties bonus point against Arbroath) was enough for the Paisley Saints to progress relatively comfortably. They then defeated Hearts and Kilmarnock in the knockouts, winning both on penalties as games ended 1-1 and 2-2 respectably.
Motherwell also started in the group stages, also finished top of the group and also with a record of 3 wins a draw. However, alongside our victories against Morton, Stenhousemuir and Peterhead, we won our penalty bonus point against Clyde, finishing with 11 points. The Well then face another Saint, this time in Perth, as we overcame Saint Johnstone 1-0 AET. Our following match saw us travel to Pittodrie to take on the Sheep, where we triumphed 1-0 again.
The last 10 matches between our opponents have resulted in 3 wins a piece, with 4 draws added in. Our previous 2 appearances have ended up in draws, so recent history does show this could be a very tight affair. However, we can analyse further as the previous encounter with Saints was Askou's well.
We faced St Mirren early on, as Askou introduced himself and Wells new philosophy slowly to Scottish football. This proved difficult at the time as players returned from injury. Our 4-2-3-1 hasn't changed, but a major change in this match was the inclusion of our Warrior, Tawanda, as the main striker, as Stamatalepolous started from the bench (replacing Tawanda towards the final 3rd of the game). Our CB partnership was McGinn and SOD, as Gordon was out with a knock, and we hadn't yet signed Stephen Welsh.
Stats wise, we dominated possession. A game of limited opportunities however, as St Mirren's measly xG (0.84) outweighed ours (0.59). St Mirren had one more shot than we had in the game, however Shamal George was forced into one further save than Ward, perhaps highlighting how the game swayed to and fro throughout. Askous Barcelo...sorry, Motherwell side played 600 passes, over double of the Buddies (284). We also drew far more fouls from the opposition (16 free kicks won to the Saints 5), with Saints receiving 5 bookings to our 1 (with a potential red card thrown into the mix for them).
An interesting stat I found while researching can maybe give both teams a further incentive to perform and buck trends. Since the League cup revamp to include a group stage, only three teams have come out form the group stages to get to the final; Motherwell (2017-18), Livingston (20-21); and St Johnstone (20-21), with the latter being the only team to qualify from the group, and win.
Familiar faces
It’s been well documented by many fans of the Steelmen that we share a lot with St Mirrenwell. So much so, it’s even seeped into their club staff, with club legend Keith Lasley running the day to day in Paisley. Stephen Robinson as the gaffer. Dairmuid O’Carroll was also at St Mirren after his stint with Motherwell but has recently departed for Newcastle. His replacement? Brian Kerr. Yes, former Motherwell midfielder Brian Kerr. Peter Hartley, former club captain of the Mighty, sees himself as “Head of First Team Transition and Loan Pathways”. A lot of fond faces in the opposition dugout come Saturday evening.
In the player department, it was at a time very heavily an ex Well contingent that helped Saints to 3 top 6 finishes and their first European run since 1987. Now, many have moved on. Liam Donnelly recently joined the Saints after a stint with Kilmarnock. Mark O’Hara sees himself as the club captain under Robbo, with Michael Mandron and James Scott the remaining ex Well players in the side (the latter finding himself off out on loan).
Askou is keen to convey that, while we have had a good lead into the game, this has no advantage. A big game, a chance for a final, everything in Askou's mind is "reset". Askou is also very keen to convey that it doesn't matter if we had played St Mirren, Rangers or Celtic in this semi final, it would be a hard game. The Buddies previous encounter with us is mentioned, as a tough game, and he considers this game to be even tougher, as both teams have "everything to win". We all know, when you get to Hampden, form can matter, but in a one off knockout game, form can also mean nothing.
JBA is also keen to not dish out certain targets for the club, his main target is to "win as many games as possible", and we are hopeful for "reaching a final". There is reference to if we win, we would have to face one of Celtic or Rangers anyway. Askou believes we have shown and demonstrated in every game "when we are at our best, any team in the league find it difficult to play against us". However if we are not, we can also "lose to any team in the league". "Football in a nutshell." Equally this statement is mirrored in our results. Slight moments where we lapse concentration, make the wrong decision, or in games where we simply didn't perform to our best, we have managed to lose points. The positives we can take, we have held our own against EVERY team in remaining in this competition, with 2 points out of 9 available from them. Fans who watched us at Paisley, at Parkhead and at home against Rangers will feel that we deserved more. Further highlighting Askou's point. "Football in a nutshell."
The pitch is referenced also, with the size potentially being a good factor for us in how we play. Askou is again, keen to highlight we don't consider anything like that. We play the way we play. Regardless of "size, shape or colour pitch they offer us". Again, Askou further pushes that we have the same rhythm going into the game, not changing how we play. Treating this as every other game, to not allow the situation to overcome us. We have all been there, and seen the magnitude of a game crush us at Kick Off. Going into this sensible, can only be a benefit. The only change in prep JBA mentions in penalty prep. Taking penalties after small sided games, to keep the competitive edge to them, while also going into it with the body in near post match conditions (I know, a major difference between the boys at training and potential thousands at Hampden). Doing penalties can only be a positive, as the Buddies have faced penalties in every knockout game. It's asked who our penalty takers will be, and there is a list. JBA will have contingencies in place as the game goes on if our takers aren't on the field.
Now, the worry. SOD going off injured on Wednesday. Askou says we'll assess SOD today, and is keen to press further that Tawanda, seen limping at FT is also fine. It seems to be some muscle fatigue after a hard fought encounter against Dundee United. A sigh of relief. The only player not fit is Aston Oxborough, as we all know.
It may be a lot of players first time at Hampden, but it will also be our gaffers to. An experience he is excited for. An excitement he can feel around the club. An experience we all need to make noise for.
Kyrk speaks about the enthusiasm around the club, highlighting we have sold more tickets for this semi final than we did last year against Rangers. Perhaps something we can put down to the performances we have seen on the pitch from the boys in Claret and Amber. It's also highlighted how important a Hampden trip is for a club like ours, with 2 trips in 2 years not "something to be sniffed at". The financial implications "allows us to invest in other things", with the cash injection highlighted, albeit it briefly. The importance Kyrk highlights is perhaps why we all love football; Winning trophies, becoming successful.
Kyrk also drops a little insight into his own relationship with Jens, being "sat on his sofa, eating pizza, watching Champions league football chatting about Motherwell". It's also revealed that Askou attends board meetings. The "comfort in their relationship" can only be a benefit in my opinion. In a current footballing landscape where the higher ups seem to be in the shadows, only being called for when things go wrong, it's great to hear what is happening in terms of communication. A clear strategy; a clear communication channel with "open dialogue"; everyone on the same page. This translates throughout the club, with all pulling together in the same direction.
There is mention of ongoing projects outwith the squad and management. "Safeguarding the future of the football club", "a pipeline of young talent coming through" and making sure the fans experience "physically and digitally are as good as they can be". Lots of work ongoing and to be done, but i can see positives already. We've seen some young starts on the bench for the Well already this season, we've seen the club expanding the fan experience improve, with Mrs Baileys Bar improving and offering further for the fans. All on the up in my eyes.
Attendances are up, even highlighting that we get large travelling support to Fir Park, as well as a mention of the Well taking great numbers away from home. Kyrk admits "this is the big conversation we had in regards to the type of manager we wanted to bring to the club". "Give them a reason to come back to Fir Park". In relation to bringing in Askou, the "type of personality...was important...somebody that could connect with the supporters.", Silky football, a never say die attitude, and a team who gives their all. Doesn't seem a lot to ask for, but it can be hard to find all 3 components. This, for me, is what brings me back time and time again. Under previous management, i personally just...didn't care. In my eyes, why should I, when it's clear they don't, and don't want to fight. This team? They play their style, regardless of opposition. They fight, and dig in. They don't give up. This manager? Open and frank. Could've sold us sunshine and daisies when we won at the death at Livi, but was quite honest with stating we weren't at our best. That. That is what dragged me back from fringes, and to a plastic seat on a cold Saturday afternoon at Livingston to witness the scenes as Just slammed home the winner.
Mr Macmillan, mission accomplished.
This is it. A time for our club to show that style can, and will, equal substance. A big push today, and we can dare to dream. 24 hours to go. Everyone to Hamden. We'll see you there. SHE WORE, SHE WORE
Issue 2
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