Motherwell F.C. Women
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| Full name | Motherwell Ladies Football Club | ||
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| Founded | 2014 | ||
| Ground | Ravenscraig Sports Facility O'Donnell Way Motherwell | ||
| Club manager | Charlie Bennett | ||
| Head coach | Graeme McArthur | ||
| League | SWFL Div 2 SE/West | ||
| 2015 | 1st | ||
| Website | http://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/ | ||
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Motherwell Ladies Football Club is a women's football team that plays in the SWFL 2nd Division South East / West.[1] Motherwell L.F.C. is affiliated with Motherwell F.C. in Motherwell and often use the club's ground, Fir Park, and wear the club's colours.
History
Reformed in 2014, Motherwell Ladies had a fairly steady first season in the Scottish Woman's Football League 2nd Division, finishing third, but missed out on promotion as Mill United ran away with the title. The Cups were a disappointment, going out at the first stage of both competitions.
Ahead of the 2015 season, the team was able to recruit several ex International players to bolster the squad such as Julie Ferguson, Stacey Cook, Lauren MacMillan, Kirsty McBride and others. The team made an outstanding start, winning every single match during the first half of the season, scoring 176 goals in 18 matches. Including in those games was an impressive 0-4 Scottish Women's Cup win away to SWPL Hutchison Vale. In the same week, the Ladies won their first piece of silverware, beating Rangers Development side 2-6 at Spartan's Ainslie Park.[2]
Returning from the summer break, the team picked up where they left off, beating Edinburgh South L.F.C. 21-0, with recently-signed striker Suzanne Grant netting an astonishing eleven goals on her debut, which brought about national coverage from the likes of Sky Sports.[3] The team followed that with a brilliant comeback in the Scottish Cup Third Round against Glasgow Girls, scoring four times in the last 15 minutes to turn around a 3-0 deficit and book a Quarter Final place against Celtic. [4]
Although an understrength team would eventually lose to Celtic in that Quarter Final, they went on to finish the season in style, securing the 2nd Division South East / West title, in an "invincibles" season, winning 18 games from 18, securing 54 points.[5]
Stadium
For the 2015 season, Motherwell Ladies signed an agreement to play at the John Cumming Stadium in Carluke, but just before the season was about to begin, the Astro pitch was damaged by vandals.[6] As a result, the Ladies play either at the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility, the Daisy Park in Motherwell or at Fir Park Stadium.
Current squad
As of 19 August 2015. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Coaching staff
- As of 10 July 2015
| Name | Job title |
|---|---|
 Graeme McArthur
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Head Coach |
| Malcolm Taylor
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Assistant Coach |
| Wes McQuarrie
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Goalkeeping Coach |
| Sunnan Shah
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Strength & Conditioning Coach |
| Caitlin Whitson
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Physiotherapist |
Achievements
- SWFL Second Division Cup
- Winners (1): 2015[7]
- SWFL 2nd Division South East / West
- Winners (1): 2015[8]
References
- ^ "SWFL 2nd Division South East / West". Scottish FA. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
- ^ "SWFL 2nd Division League Cup". Scottish FA. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
- ^ "Best debut in history?". Sky Sports. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ "Scottish Cup Quarter Final line up". She Kicks. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
- ^ "SWFL 2nd Division South East / West". Scottish FA. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- ^ "Carluke's John Cumming Stadium damaged by vandals". Carluke and Lanark Gazette. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ^ "Ladies team win League Cup". Motherwell fc. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
- ^ "SWFL 2nd Division South East / West". Scottish FA. Retrieved 1 November 2015.