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Daily Record
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Clyde 2, Motherwell 2: Well take bonus point in shoot-out
Clyde 2, Motherwell 2: Well take bonus point in shoot-out Jens Berthel Askou's side couldn't get past their League Two opponents in 90 minutes Motherwell's Lukas Fadinger takes on Clyde's Logan Dunachie as the sides clashed in the Premier Sports Cup (Image: SNS Group ) Clyde and Motherwell battled out a draw in the Pre,ier Sports Cup, with the Steelmen taking the bonus point for winning the shoot-out 5-4. Andy Halliday, Callum Slattery, Elijah Just, Eseosu Sule and Tom Sparrow scored for the Steelmen. Tom Robson, Robbie Leitch, Shay Nevans and Kyle Fleming scored for Clyde, with Calum Ward saving from Logan Dunachie.. James Hilton put Clyde ahead in 16 minutes with a goal that Motherwell keeper Calum Ward won't want to see again. However, their lead lasted just five minutes before Tawanda Maswanhise levelled from close range after Callum Slattery had struck the crossbar. And the winger struck again three minutes into the second half to put Motherwell ahead. Article continues below However, that lasted only until the 53rd minute when Liam Scullion headed in a leveller for Clyde. The first half was fairly even, and while Motherwell were the better side, they didn't create a whole lot of chances. Clyde looked dangerous on the counter-attack and it was from one of those that they took the lead, when Hilton pounced on a botched clearance to net. But Motherwell went on the attack and got their reward soon after through Maswanhise. The second half was only three minutes old when Maswanhise sent a shot ripping high into the net. In a topsy-turvy game, however, Clyde ran up the other end and levelled through Liam Scullion. The sides couldn't be separated after that, and it took a penalty shoot-out to do so. Clyde boss Darren Young handed a competitive debut to new signings James Hilton and Sam Campbell. Clyde's James Hilton celebrates putting his side ahead (Image: SNS Group ) Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou gave competitive starts to new signings Elliott Watt and Lukas Fadinger. Motherwell snap up New Zealand winger as summer rebuild continues READ MORE: Motherwell had the ball in the net in eight minutes when Callum Slattery sent Apostolos Stamatelopoulos through on goal, and he sent a neat flick over Brian Kinnear, but was flagged offside. Clyde had their first shot on goal in 12 minutes but James Hilton's scuffed shot was comfortably taken by Calum Ward. But the hosts took the lead in 16 minutes when keeper Calum Ward kicked the ball straight to Hilton, who curled the ball over and past the stranded keeper. Motherwell's Tawanda Maswanhise celebrates his goals against Clyde (Image: SNS Group ) Motherwell levelled in 21 minutes when Slattery's ferocious shot smacked off the bar, and Tawanda Maswanhise netted the rebound from close range. Hilton tried his luck with another lob in 47 minutes, but this one flew over the bar. But Motherwell took the lead 60 seconds later when Maswanhise smashed an unstoppable shot high into the net, after a bit of pinball in the Clyde box. Liam Scullion heads Clyde back level at 2-2 (Image: SNS Group ) That lasted only until the 53rd minute when Marley Redfern raced down the left wing and his cross was headed in at the back post by Scullion. Slattery sent Maswanhise through on goal on the right in 70 minutes, but this time his shot was parried round the post by Kinnear. Clyde sub Robbie Leitch was unmarked at the back post in 77 minutes, but slashed his shot wide. CLYDE: Kinnear, Hynes, Dunachie, Campbell (Cuddihy, 76), Robson, Lyon, Murdoch, Scullion (Lyon, 85), Hilton (Leitch, 63), Redfern (Nevans, 85), Williamson (Fleming, 76) Subs (not used): Pazikas (GK) Booked: Lyon (37) Article continues below MOTHERWELL: Ward, Koutroumbis (Just, 62), Gordon, Balmer, O'Donnell (Sparrow, 83), Halliday, Watt, Slattery, Fadinger (Longelo, 62), Maswanhise (L. Ross, 83), Stamatelopoulos (Sule, 54) Subs (not used): Connelly (GK), McGinn, Wilson, Whyte Referee: Matthew MacDermid
The Herald Scotland
04-07-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Motherwell fans need to lose 'get rid' urges amid new style
Ok, I admit it. When Calum Ward was dribbling the ball out from the back the other day and trying to thread passes on the edge of his 18-yarder as if he was Franz Beckenbauer in his pomp (he isn't) my heart was in my mouth just a little. I don't know if it's a reflexively Scottish thing to immediately get the heebie jeebies when your team tries something as 'continental' and 'woke' as playing the ball out from the back, but watching the Motherwell players trying to execute the philosophy of Jens Berthel Askou for the first time, even in a pre-season kickabout, seemingly sparked a dose of the vapours among a good chunk of the support. One can only imagine how many of the Fir Park punters would react if the team attempts this on the opening day of the league campaign against Rangers. Though, we don't really need to imagine it at all, because we can simply recall the reaction when Jim Gannon and then Graham Alexander initially tried it during their own tenures as manager. (Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group) With the greatest of respect to the likes of club legend Stephen Craigan and then later on, cult hero Bevis Mugabi, they didn't look altogether comfortable with the notion, to say the least. And as for the fans? Well, the good folk from St John's better be on alert for a sharp increase in medical incidents just above the dugouts. Read more: These managers soon ripped up Plan A, and tailored their style to suit the tools with which they were working. And after the friendly defeat to FC Twente, many speculated online that Berthel Askou would soon come to a similar realisation that his players just weren't good enough to pull this sort of thing off. That a modern, progressive style just isn't for the likes of us. But here's the thing. I'm not sure he will. Granted, he might not have his keeper playing quite so high up the pitch at times, and he clearly doesn't intend him to be on the ball quite as often as he was in the midweek game. Much of that was caused by the players ahead of the defence not quite executing the sort of movement he wants from them, by the by, hence the frequent shouts accusing them of 'hiding' from the dugout. There will be tweaks to what we saw against Twente when the competitive stuff gets underway, for sure, but when Berthel Askou arrived, his pitch was that a more 'dynamic' and 'aggressive' approach with 'more dimensions' was vital to the success of his team. Having met him, he doesn't seem the type to be swayed from that belief by groans from the crowd and people imploring him 'to get the ball up the f****** park'. Let's not forget, this is what a large section of the fanbase (me included) wanted. An end to years of predominantly long hoofs, 50/50s, and scrapping for second balls. Entertaining and enterprising football. Players taking the ball under pressure and being comfortable on it. High pressing, high intensity. And yes, a little higher risk. There were glimpses of it under Michael Wimmer, and now it seems from early impressions that Berthel Askou is going to crank that up another notch. (Image: GordonTerris/Herald&Times) He has time to bring in players more suited to such a game model, but there were signs on Tuesday that even with the current group, this can work. When it came off, and when Motherwell broke the Twente press, they created opportunities. A proper balance will have to be found. There's nothing wrong with going long when the occasion demands it, and as some of the pitches deteriorate towards the winter, those occasions will increase. I can understand the reticence from some to embrace this sort of style. In a division where the margins are razor thin, increasing the risk around your own area seems counter-intuitive. But the rewards could be great. Brendan Rodgers picked up on this theme a couple of years ago. Ok, he has far better players at his disposal than Motherwell do, but when discussing taking his Celtic side into the Champions League, he hit back at those who criticised him for playing out against teams better than his own. "People don't pick up on the balls that get smashed up the pitch that come right back at you and it ends up in a goal,' Rodgers said. 'No-one ever talks about that. But the minute a short build-up leads to a goal? 'I guarantee the stats are greater for mistakes in the long ball build-up. Any top team in the world will build from the back. If you make a mistake, you can't kill your goalkeeper. It's about decision making.' This isn't Berthel Askou reinventing the wheel, here, after all. Teams around Europe have been doing this for years. And the players, no matter what you may think about some of them and their technical limitations, are capable of controlling the ball and passing it 10 or 15 yards. It all boils down to their decision-making, and with more practice and repetition, that will get better. But it will also take patience from the crowd. If we want to move away from the drudgery of the past and towards a more sophisticated and entertaining brand of football, we have to give Berthel Askou a chance to implement it. Therefore, I am hereby banning myself from uttering the words 'get rid!' in the early stages of the season, and I politely suggest you do the same. Even if we all know that little voice inside of us, who wants us to play it safe and to pretend it's still 1987, will be screaming at us to do so. Even if one hand is over my eyes, I'll be keeping the other one over my gub.
The National
04-07-2025
- Sport
- The National
Motherwell fans need to lose 'get rid' urges amid new style
Ok, I admit it. When Calum Ward was dribbling the ball out from the back the other day and trying to thread passes on the edge of his 18-yarder as if he was Franz Beckenbauer in his pomp (he isn't) my heart was in my mouth just a little. I don't know if it's a reflexively Scottish thing to immediately get the heebie jeebies when your team tries something as 'continental' and 'woke' as playing the ball out from the back, but watching the Motherwell players trying to execute the philosophy of Jens Berthel Askou for the first time, even in a pre-season kickabout, seemingly sparked a dose of the vapours among a good chunk of the support. One can only imagine how many of the Fir Park punters would react if the team attempts this on the opening day of the league campaign against Rangers. Though, we don't really need to imagine it at all, because we can simply recall the reaction when Jim Gannon and then Graham Alexander initially tried it during their own tenures as manager. (Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group) With the greatest of respect to the likes of club legend Stephen Craigan and then later on, cult hero Bevis Mugabi, they didn't look altogether comfortable with the notion, to say the least. And as for the fans? Well, the good folk from St John's better be on alert for a sharp increase in medical incidents just above the dugouts. Read more: These managers soon ripped up Plan A, and tailored their style to suit the tools with which they were working. And after the friendly defeat to FC Twente, many speculated online that Berthel Askou would soon come to a similar realisation that his players just weren't good enough to pull this sort of thing off. That a modern, progressive style just isn't for the likes of us. But here's the thing. I'm not sure he will. Granted, he might not have his keeper playing quite so high up the pitch at times, and he clearly doesn't intend him to be on the ball quite as often as he was in the midweek game. Much of that was caused by the players ahead of the defence not quite executing the sort of movement he wants from them, by the by, hence the frequent shouts accusing them of 'hiding' from the dugout. There will be tweaks to what we saw against Twente when the competitive stuff gets underway, for sure, but when Berthel Askou arrived, his pitch was that a more 'dynamic' and 'aggressive' approach with 'more dimensions' was vital to the success of his team. Having met him, he doesn't seem the type to be swayed from that belief by groans from the crowd and people imploring him 'to get the ball up the f****** park'. Let's not forget, this is what a large section of the fanbase (me included) wanted. An end to years of predominantly long hoofs, 50/50s, and scrapping for second balls. Entertaining and enterprising football. Players taking the ball under pressure and being comfortable on it. High pressing, high intensity. And yes, a little higher risk. There were glimpses of it under Michael Wimmer, and now it seems from early impressions that Berthel Askou is going to crank that up another notch. (Image: GordonTerris/Herald&Times) He has time to bring in players more suited to such a game model, but there were signs on Tuesday that even with the current group, this can work. When it came off, and when Motherwell broke the Twente press, they created opportunities. A proper balance will have to be found. There's nothing wrong with going long when the occasion demands it, and as some of the pitches deteriorate towards the winter, those occasions will increase. I can understand the reticence from some to embrace this sort of style. In a division where the margins are razor thin, increasing the risk around your own area seems counter-intuitive. But the rewards could be great. Brendan Rodgers picked up on this theme a couple of years ago. Ok, he has far better players at his disposal than Motherwell do, but when discussing taking his Celtic side into the Champions League, he hit back at those who criticised him for playing out against teams better than his own. "People don't pick up on the balls that get smashed up the pitch that come right back at you and it ends up in a goal,' Rodgers said. 'No-one ever talks about that. But the minute a short build-up leads to a goal? 'I guarantee the stats are greater for mistakes in the long ball build-up. Any top team in the world will build from the back. If you make a mistake, you can't kill your goalkeeper. It's about decision making.' This isn't Berthel Askou reinventing the wheel, here, after all. Teams around Europe have been doing this for years. And the players, no matter what you may think about some of them and their technical limitations, are capable of controlling the ball and passing it 10 or 15 yards. It all boils down to their decision-making, and with more practice and repetition, that will get better. But it will also take patience from the crowd. If we want to move away from the drudgery of the past and towards a more sophisticated and entertaining brand of football, we have to give Berthel Askou a chance to implement it. Therefore, I am hereby banning myself from uttering the words 'get rid!' in the early stages of the season, and I politely suggest you do the same. Even if we all know that little voice inside of us, who wants us to play it safe and to pretend it's still 1987, will be screaming at us to do so. Even if one hand is over my eyes, I'll be keeping the other one over my gub.
