Aberdeen v Motherwell 18/02/2026 Cup 🏆

[texanwellfan]

Didnt get to watch the game but seen some clips. jBA’s selection may or may not have been good enough, due to the red cards we won’t know the answer. We do know that he has been pretty much right, this season so far, in his selections. 
just have to deal with the defeat in whatever way you choose and then move on to next game. 
still 100% behind JBA and the players. 

[thewelllfan]

13 hours ago, Onthefringes said:

You’ve obviously not been listening to the manager… ‘load management’ is often mentioned. Given hectic schedule, I was comfortable with changes.

We get it, an opportunity missed. A lot of variables went against us tonight. ‘All on Jens’ and questioning Matty Connolly’s inclusion is quite the stretch. Maybe some should look at the bigger picture…

 

I've listened to the manager talk about load management doesn't mean I need to agree with him. Had he rotated the team on Sunday I wouldn't have been bothered in fact if you look at other posts that was what I had expected him to do. 'Questioning Connolly's involvement' obviously he quite literally had killed the game plan within a minute and a half I'm not seeing a load management argument there. 

[bobbybingo]

42 minutes ago, thewelllfan said:

I've listened to the manager talk about load management doesn't mean I need to agree with him. Had he rotated the team on Sunday I wouldn't have been bothered in fact if you look at other posts that was what I had expected him to do. 'Questioning Connolly's involvement' obviously he quite literally had killed the game plan within a minute and a half I'm not seeing a load management argument there. 

Connelly didn't kill the game plan. He made a mistake that could've resulted in a goal (prior to the free kick). He didn't cause Priestman to slip and get a red card.

[Orinoco]

As ive said Gordon is more to blame than Connelly. He made a mistake on the ball that can happen, but then stupidly took out their player under the knowledge that Beaton was card happy and VAR itching to get involved. Given scottish officials decisions to make seldom goes well for players.

Manager was wrong to put Gordon in the middle of the three. He is the weakest on the ball.

[thewelllfan]

21 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

Connelly didn't kill the game plan. He made a mistake that could've resulted in a goal (prior to the free kick). He didn't cause Priestman to slip and get a red card.

I mean as far as I'm concerned his giveaway caused the red and then from that he doesn't save the resulting FK (I accept there's a deflection but there was literally only 1 side of the goal for Nisbet to aim for). He was Ok after that but the damage was done. Your not going to find anyone blaming Preistman as he was trying his best to get back and slipped it's unfortunate. Gordon also killed us just that 1 happened first and made it an uphill struggle.

[thewelllfan]

3 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

Manager was wrong to put Gordon in the middle of the three. He is the weakest on the ball.

He couldn't have played him anywhere else he's to slow to be the WCB in that shape. If Jens stays I wouldn't expect Gordon to be at the club next season.

[wellfan]

20 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

As ive said Gordon is more to blame than Connelly. He made a mistake on the ball that can happen, but then stupidly took out their player under the knowledge that Beaton was card happy and VAR itching to get involved. Given scottish officials decisions to make seldom goes well for players.

Manager was wrong to put Gordon in the middle of the three. He is the weakest on the ball.

Gordon was at fault for the foul he committed because he’s shite at football, but he wasn’t at fault for VAR and Beaton being utter bastards intent on ruining football.

[Big Stall]

3 hours ago, MJC said:

Perhaps start taking Cup games more seriously? Perhaps the team on the park at the time not folding and losing to teams that they are well capable of beating in Cup ties?

It’s not on just any one particular manager. I’m talking about us as a club and as a team failing to reach the Quarters of the Scottish Cup four seasons in a row especially when you look at the sides we have been paired with and who have knocked us out in those campaigns.  I don’t think that that is anywhere near good enough or acceptable. If anyone disagrees that’s up to them but I have given my reasons why I and I stand by it.

Pretty sure old firm fans have a fair claim to say its unnaceptable they havent rolled over the top of us every game this season.

Its football pal, infact its sport. You win some you lose some. The match i watched lastnight, the team defo could not have been accused of not trying.

Given why you had decided the outcome weeks ago, its unclear why you are so upset about it......

[MJC]

34 minutes ago, Big Stall said:

Given why you had decided the outcome weeks ago, its unclear why you are so upset about it......

Because I hate seeing us lose, nothing unclear about that surely?

I predicted we would lose this tie, yes, because like I also said, I simply do not trust Motherwell to win any cup tie against anyone and last night was a prime example of why I don’t trust us. Even if we had won last night would anyone really have been surprised if we then fucked up against Dunfermline? 
 

We have the wrong mentality as a club when it comes to Cup ties and I don’t know how we change it.

[Spit_It_Out]

With Beaton and MaClean a part of the Var team it was only going to go one way with red card.

However it blows my mind that every televised game that involves a Premiership side at home in the cup has to have VAR that is a ridiculous rule it should be everyone has it or everyone doesnt.

 

[grizzlyg]

55 minutes ago, MJC said:

Because I hate seeing us lose, nothing unclear about that surely?

I predicted we would lose this tie, yes, because like I also said, I simply do not trust Motherwell to win any cup tie against anyone and last night was a prime example of why I don’t trust us. Even if we had won last night would anyone really have been surprised if we then fucked up against Dunfermline? 
 

We have the wrong mentality as a club when it comes to Cup ties and I don’t know how we change it.

To be fair our mentality in the league has been s**t hot so far.   We bounced back before so we all need to get right behind team and JBA for 12 massive games

[Big Stall]

1 hour ago, MJC said:

Because I hate seeing us lose, nothing unclear about that surely?

I predicted we would lose this tie, yes, because like I also said, I simply do not trust Motherwell to win any cup tie against anyone and last night was a prime example of why I don’t trust us. Even if we had won last night would anyone really have been surprised if we then fucked up against Dunfermline? 
 

We have the wrong mentality as a club when it comes to Cup ties and I don’t know how we change it.

I hate to break it to you but getting beat, away at pittodrie is not some giant killing shock.

In terms of questioning mentality, coming from.you 🤣

[MJC]

24 minutes ago, Big Stall said:

I hate to break it to you but getting beat, away at pittodrie is not some giant killing shock.

In terms of questioning mentality, coming from.you 🤣

Maybe on paper it isn’t, if you look at the difference in budgets and size of both clubs as I know is something of a favourite go-to for us and some of our fans.

But that Aberdeen team really aren’t anything special. They are nine points and thirteen goals behind us in the league and we have a game in hand. We have beaten them in three out of the last four meetings before last night and they are also managerless. 
 

As for the mentality side of things. When Motherwell FC start showing that they can win big games in Cup ties (and let me be as clear as I possibly can here, I am not talking about us actually going the distance and winning the competitions, just not losing to poor sides in the early rounds four years in a row) then I might change my position on our mentality.

[Orinoco]

19 behind and 31 goals worse off with game in hand. 

[MJC]

49 minutes ago, grizzlyg said:

To be fair our mentality in the league has been s**t hot so far.   We bounced back before so we all need to get right behind team and JBA for 12 massive games

It has been yes and it has been absolutely brilliant so see. But at the same time it is tainted with that frustration that we saved our worst two performances of the season for two massive Cup ties and lost both. A scenario we have seen all too often with various Motherwell sides under various managers and with various players.

Since we last lifted silverware 35 years ago this May, Dundee Utd have managed it twice…St.Mirren have managed it twice, St.Johnstone have done it three times, Kilmarnock have done it twice and even Livingston, ICT, Raith Rovers and Ross County have managed it once.

That is a hard one to take.

[MJC]

3 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

19 behind and 31 goals worse off with game in hand. 

You’re right!

Thank you for only solidifying my point that losing to them was a major boot in the stones and that they were a side we really should have been beating.

[bobbybingo]

5 minutes ago, MJC said:

Since we last lifted silverware 35 years ago this May, Dundee Utd have managed it twice…St.Mirren have managed it twice, St.Johnstone have done it three times, Kilmarnock have done it twice and even Livingston, ICT, Raith Rovers and Ross County have managed it once.

They have. And all of those clubs have spent a varying number of years in lower divisions during the last 35 years, as have Hearts and Hibs, who've also won silverware. I suppose it depends how folk measure success.

Out of interest, would you say there's no hope of us winning the league this season?

[MJC]

Just now, bobbybingo said:

They have. And all of those clubs have spent a varying number of years in lower divisions during the last 35 years, as have Hearts and Hibs, who've also won silverware. I suppose it depends how folk measure success.

Out of interest, would you say there's no hope of us winning the league this season?

There is absolutely zero chance of us winning the league this season. Let’s be clear on that to start with. Apart from us being ten points behind the current leaders Hearts (who won’t win it) and eight behind 2nd place Rangers, we just do not have that killer touch, that clinical streak in us that we would need to be considered as serious contenders. Our away form isn’t that good and certainly not the standard of a side who are truly in a title race. We have lost at Ibrox, Parkhead and chucked away a 3-0 lead in less than half an hour at Tynecastle so far this season, add to that we have failed to win away in the league at Pittodrie, Easter Road, Falkirk, Dens Park and Tannadice. We will be nowhere near the title come the end of the season.

As for your point about those clubs I mentioned spending time in the lower leagues. Yes they have, but they can all point to tangible success which we have failed to match despite not playing outwith the top flight during the same period. I don’t know about anyone else but I would take that over 40 odd years (or 22 for the “only saved by technicality” pedants) of top flight football and zero trophies.

[star sail]

I find it difficult to know where to start when reading the comments of the last 24 hours.

One thing is for certain, all the good will that has been built up over the last 6 months seems to have been tested very quickly. We can talk about a special bond between manager, players and supporters all we like but when all it takes is an accidental slip on a slick Pittodrie surface to show the cracks in the supports patience then it is clear that there is no special bond. We are not any different from any other support in the country.

Nobody knows if the team selection would have worked last night. Going down to 10 men after 3 minutes changes the game completely. 

We played with a man short for 3/4 of the game and probably still looked like the better team. The attitude of the players was fantastic. 

We cannot expect that the same starting 11 play ever game. Watt is coming back from injury. Slattery has looked tired in recent games. I find the energy that Just manages to put in game after game quite remarkable . The modern game requires some squad rotation. JBA has always been clear about that.

Anybody expecting that we just turn up to a Scottish Cup tie away to Aberdeen and walk away with a simple victory are displaying OF levels of delusion.

We can talk all we like about building a platform for the future, building a playing style and identity, a new way of looking at the game in Scotland. What the last 24 hours has shown however, is all that really matters is the result and that even an exceptional manager like JBA has very little wriggle room to manoeuvre. 

It is disappointing but not surprising. 

The result will dictate if it is all sunshine or all shite after Saturday night. It's the way it always was and the way it always will be.

 

 

[wunderwell]

Funnily enough if Said scores a tap in against Aberdeen in the first half (or any of the other good chances we had in that game) - we would have subbed the key men off earlier and load balancing would have been easier.

Not to say that JBA wouldn't have made the same changes, just giving an additional point across. 
Being more ruthless and clinical allows us that platform.

[grizzlyg]

23 minutes ago, star sail said:

I find it difficult to know where to start when reading the comments of the last 24 hours.

One thing is for certain, all the good will that has been built up over the last 6 months seems to have been tested very quickly. We can talk about a special bond between manager, players and supporters all we like but when all it takes is an accidental slip on a slick Pittodrie surface to show the cracks in the supports patience then it is clear that there is no special bond. We are not any different from any other support in the country.

Nobody knows if the team selection would have worked last night. Going down to 10 men after 3 minutes changes the game completely. 

We played with a man short for 3/4 of the game and probably still looked like the better team. The attitude of the players was fantastic. 

We cannot expect that the same starting 11 play ever game. Watt is coming back from injury. Slattery has looked tired in recent games. I find the energy that Just manages to put in game after game quite remarkable . The modern game requires some squad rotation. JBA has always been clear about that.

Anybody expecting that we just turn up to a Scottish Cup tie away to Aberdeen and walk away with a simple victory are displaying OF levels of delusion.

We can talk all we like about building a platform for the future, building a playing style and identity, a new way of looking at the game in Scotland. What the last 24 hours has shown however, is all that really matters is the result and that even an exceptional manager like JBA has very little wriggle room to manoeuvre. 

It is disappointing but not surprising. 

The result will dictate if it is all sunshine or all shite after Saturday night. It's the way it always was and the way it always will be.

 

 

I don't think things will go back to bad old days. I think last night was just at lot of frustration at a missed opportunity and a questionable starting line up. 

I am now fully focused on the league and hopefully a memorable finish

[Stuwell2]

3 hours ago, MJC said:

We have the wrong mentality as a club when it comes to Cup ties and I don’t know how we change it.

So you’re saying that various different managers and players since the club was founded have mostly all had this wrong mentality? I think Hibs went about a century without winning a cup, did they all have this same mentality? Is it contagious? 

[Happy Dosser]

10 minutes ago, star sail said:

I find it difficult to know where to start when reading the comments of the last 24 hours.

One thing is for certain, all the good will that has been built up over the last 6 months seems to have been tested very quickly. We can talk about a special bond between manager, players and supporters all we like but when all it takes is an accidental slip on a slick Pittodrie surface to show the cracks in the supports patience then it is clear that there is no special bond. We are not any different from any other support in the country.

Nobody knows if the team selection would have worked last night. Going down to 10 men after 3 minutes changes the game completely. 

We played with a man short for 3/4 of the game and probably still looked like the better team. The attitude of the players was fantastic. 

We cannot expect that the same starting 11 play ever game. Watt is coming back from injury. Slattery has looked tired in recent games. I find the energy that Just manages to put in game after game quite remarkable . The modern game requires some squad rotation. JBA has always been clear about that.

Anybody expecting that we just turn up to a Scottish Cup tie away to Aberdeen and walk away with a simple victory are displaying OF levels of delusion.

We can talk all we like about building a platform for the future, building a playing style and identity, a new way of looking at the game in Scotland. What the last 24 hours has shown however, is all that really matters is the result and that even an exceptional manager like JBA has very little wriggle room to manoeuvre. 

It is disappointing but not surprising. 

The result will dictate if it is all sunshine or all shite after Saturday night. It's the way it always was and the way it always will be.

 

 

You summarised pretty much what I have been thinking since  last night. Some of the reaction to our defeat has been difficult to believe, given the amazing transformation in our style  which had been achieved by both manager and players working in unison  this season. Maybe some posters should find something else to do with their Saturdays if they are so disenchanted with  and critical of the team they claim to support after a freak result in a game with so many refereeing  "inconsistencies" and played  on a poor playing surface whose condition should have been taken into account by any sensible referee/VAR team at the first and crucial sending-off.

IMO, the last time we played football of such quality was the era of the Ancell Babes. We had (from memory) six full internationals in the team but won nothing because  our attacking philosophy neglected the more practical/cynical aspects of the game. People who saw that team still talk about it, whether they supported MFC or not.

Frankly, I wouldn't swap watching MFC for St Mirren this season, despite their winning the League Cup. I've had enough of the  eye-bleeding football  inflicted on us  by various recent Motherwell managers, thanks very much.

I'll be interested to see how JBA plans our recovery from a disappointed night so I look forward to the rest of the season. Let's get behind the team and management  and see where they take us.

And smile, we could be Arsenal fans 😱.

 

 

[Orinoco]

Must be, Dundee fc 117 years since then won the cup. For a city club thats mental.

[SteelmaninOZ]

7 hours ago, grizzlyg said:

I don't think it will get toxic, its just a real frustration going out to an average side and with wrong set up.

Anyhoo after the st mirren semi final defeat look at how we have bounced back plus Welsh will be available again.  I expect a reaction from players on Saturday and hopefully get back to winning ways.

Altogether now........COYW!!!

COYW!!!