Mrs Reid was due to give birth yesterday, but there's still no sign of Jnr putting in an appearance.  Rest assured I'll keep you posted.  In the meantime...

Tonight's Scottish Cup tie at Inverurie has been postponed for a 3rd time after the Harlaw Park pitch failed a 9am inspection.  The teams will try again on Wednesday night (subject to a 2pm inspection tomorrow), and if that doesn't happen it's then on to NEXT Monday/Wednesday.  This tie is in danger of becoming a complete farce.

The eventual winners will be at home to St Mirren in the 5th Round, with that match scheduled for February 7.

Saturday's result: Motherwell 1, Falkirk.

Motherwell somehow failed to take all three points in a match they dominated for long spells against easily the dirtiest team I've seen so far this season.  The first half in particular was virtually all Motherwell, and Fitzpatrick somehow managed to head over with an empty goal at his mercy.  We finally got the goal we deserved shortly before the interval, when Clarkson headed home from a Hammell cross.

A Clarkson effort rebounded off the bar before Falkirk equalised through a superb Holden strike on 53 mins.  Motherwell continued to have the upper hand, and O'Brien was next to hit the woodwork with Porter somehow heading the rebound over.  The second half soon deteriorated into a bit of a kicking match, with the referee somehow allowing numerous heavy challenges from Falkirk players to go unpunished.  A Quinn effort whistled inches wide in injury time as Motherwell were left to rue the missed opportunities that had cost them two points.

Team (4-4-2): Graeme Smith, Quinn, Craigan, Reynolds, Hammell (Lasley 60), Klimpl, Hughes, Fitzpatrick, O'Brien, Porter (Murphy 81), Clarkson. 
Subs Not Used: Krysiak, Malcolm, Sutton, Darren Smith, McGarry.

Booked: Klimpl.

Motherwell scorer: Clarkson (43).

Attendance: 5,018.

Mark McGhee's post-match comments were as follows:
"I felt we dominated the game.  We played some good stuff, especially considering the way the pitch was cutting up.  I'm disappointed not to have won the game but satisfied with the performance.  I felt it was a continuation of our previous games; we just didn't take our chances.  

"With the conditions, there were a lot of bouncing balls and you have got committed players out there that are going to go for it.  That causes a few mistimed tackles but I've not got a problem with that. It was a good, competitive game."

There's been precious little transfer news so far during this transfer window, other than...

• Inverness goalkeeper Michael Fraser will arrive at Fir Park in the summer after signing a pre-contract, with Graeme Smith looking likely to quit under freedom of contract.  
• Mark McGhee hopes to sign Byron Webster on loan until the end of the season after the English defender impressed on trial.  The club are in talks with Czech second division side FK SIAD Most over a deal for the 21-year-old former York and Leeds player.
• Chris Porter has reiterated his desire to return south when his contract expires in the summer, saying:
  "Although I am not ruling out anything, if I was to leave Motherwell my preferred option would be to head back to England.  I want to progress my career and that means that, if I am to move, it has to be to a better level than I am currently playing at.  But I've still got a job to do here at Motherwell and my number one focus is scoring goals for the team to help us move further up the table."

Last Sunday's result: Dundee Utd 0, Motherwell 4.

No, I still can't believe it either.  Goals from Fitzpatrick, Kimpl and Clarkson had us 3 up inside half and hour, and had me staring at my TV set in disbelief.  A Porter effort on 63 mins completed the rout.  It's unbelievable Jeff!

Team (4-4-2): Graeme Smith, Quinn, Reynolds, Craigan, Hammell, O'Brien (McGarry 72), Hughes, Klimpl, Fitzpatrick,Porter (Darren Smith 83), Clarkson (Murphy 72).
Subs Not Used: Krysiak, Malcolm, Sutton, Hutchinson.

Booked: Hammell.

Motherwell scorers: Fitzpatrick (23), Klimpl (27), Clarkson (33), Porter (63).

Att: 7,090

Motherwell have won their court case with John Spencer, with their former player ordered to repay a £100,000 loan.  Full details here, although be warned that some of the figures mentioned in the article might make you want to cry.

Our trip to Rugby Park on Saturday March 21 will now kick off at 12.30pm for live Setanta coverage.  Think I'll watching this one in the boozer.

A few interesting Mark McGhee articles to mention:

• MM admits third place could be out of reach (and that was BEFORE the Falkirk game) - The Herald

• "Jim O'Brien had learned nothing since he was 10" - The Telegraph

• MM targets a cup run - Sporting Life

The Supporters' Trust are organising a Sports Dinner to raise funds for a permanent memorial to Phil O'Donnell.  Details here.