Both sides keen to go into winter break with a Lanarkshire derby win
Every player remembers their full debut, but Allan Campbell’s was a bit more memorable than most.
The midfielder was just 18 years old when he was handed his first start, away to Hamilton, on Hogmanay 2016.
As a lifelong Motherwell fan who had been with the club since he was nine, Campbell knew all about the Lanarkshire derby and what it meant to supporters on both sides of the divide.
And to make the occasion even more special, 10- man Motherwell went on to rescue a point courtesy of a last-minute Louis Moult header. Almost exactly three years on from that date and the sides meet again this afternoon in the final match before the winter break. And Campbell would love nothing more than to sign off with a derby win. He recalled: “I made my first start in the firstteam away to Hamilton and we scored a last-minute header to draw the game. So there were great scenes after that one!
“That’s one of my favourite football memories.
“The derby games are always a good rivalry and the fans expect a lot. It’s always a great atmosphere.
“Every derby is important to the fans no matter which clubs are involved. And it’s no different here. “When the whistle goes there’s always an edge to the game and an extra bit of physicality.
“The fans are always in good voice and the atmosphere is normally decent. It’s always special. But it’s important we stay disciplined and make sure we win the game.
“The boys are desperate to end the year on a high. It’s been a tough week but the aim was always to go into the winter break with a smile on our faces. We’ve had a good result up in Dingwall and now we want another three points against Hamilton
“We’ve prepared well and we’re fresh and raring to go.”
Accies haven’t won this fixture since August, 2018, and midfielder Blair Alston is determined to put that right, especially with his side struggling at the wrong end of the table.
He said: “Maybe the derby aspect will give us a wee extra boost but the most important thing is we take three points, no matter who it’s against.
“I think the league will be tight for a long time. There’s not much between the teams near us in the table.
“If we can get a more positive result today then we can start looking up and not over our shoulders.
“There will be an extra edge to things as it’s a derby but every game is important to us.
“There won’t be many games where we go in thinking we’re going to cruise through them and win 5-0.
“And, similarly, there won’t be many matches where we think we won’t be able to take anything from them.” The appearance of Alston ( above) as a sub in the Boxing Day defeat to St Johnstone was his first since suffering a knee injury in October.
And he admits he’d rather the shutdown wasn’t about to start, given how long he has waited to get back in the team again.
He added: “The winter break is probably going to come for me at the worst time. The injury took a bit longer than we thought to get back.
“It was a bit of a pain. There’s been a lot of rehab and trying to get myself back fit.
“I just hope we can get a good result today and then I can get going again in the middle of January. You always want to finish ahead of a break on a good result and a good performance.
“We ’ l l look to put the disappointment of the St Johnstone match behind us.
“I’m happy to be back fit again but hopefully I can contribute more to the team moving forward.”