Friday night football excites Fir Park chief

TONIGHT’S Motherwell against Hibernian match is the second in the SPL’s experiment with Friday night football, and Fir Park chief executive Leeann Dempster believes the club are “lucky” to be involved in the pilot project.

The first SPL fixture on a Friday was declared a partial success after Aberdeen increased their gate for the visit of Dunfermline in September, and Dempster said: “It’s interesting to try it and I think we’re lucky to be one of the first clubs to try it. It would have been remiss of us to say no.

“In the past we have tried lots of initiatives and if I’m being honest, they get some supporters through but they don’t tend to come back. We work really hard to come up with good value and prices to get supporters in week after week. But it’s also important to try something different.

“People have asked why we have reduced the prices and say it’s going to skew the numbers, and I can understand that. But it’s an exciting thing to try and the more people we get into the stadium to try it the better.

“The 12 o’clock kick-off on a Sunday is difficult for us. Wherever we can, we have to make sure our kick-offs are three o’clock on a Saturday but that’s not always possible.”

Motherwell right-back Tom Hateley said: “It’s something I’m looking forward to. Whenever we play a midweek game, more often than not we have a big crowd and it turns into an enjoyable game.”

Meanwhile, Hateley’s set-pieces have been a key feature of Motherwell’s impressive start, which sees them in third place ahead of tonight’s match.

The 22-year-old has been whipping balls in from free-kicks and corners, and twice looked like he was shooting from the corner flag in Saturday’s goalless draw with Dundee United. His tactics have paid off on numerous occasions – he has created goals in each of the last five games in which Motherwell have scored and scored three this season, two from free-kicks.

“I’ve shot from a few corners that haven’t quite gone in,” he said. “I look to deliver with a lot of pace and a lot of action on the ball and make it hard for defenders and goalkeepers to defend. The boys know where I’m trying to put the ball and the most important thing is we get a goal from it. Fingers-crossed I’ll get a few more assists.”