Five-star Motherwell see off Ross County to move up to seventh

Posted Sunday, May 12, 2024 by PA

Motherwell moved into seventh place in the Scottish Premiership thanks to a 5-1 win over Ross County in Dingwall.

Two first-half errors from home goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw, capitalised on by Blair Spittal and Paul McGinn either side of a Simon Murray equaliser, gave the Steelmen a narrow 2-1 advantage going into half-time.

That is the way the game remained until the 82nd minute with the outcome still in the balance, but three late goals ensured the visitors would return home with all three points.

Spittal notched his second of the day with an excellent finish from just outside the box before Davor Zdravkovski made it 4-1 when he tapped in from close range. Harry Paton then added the cherry on top when he netted against his former club to complete the scoring.

It was the visitors who posed the early threat in Dingwall.

Laidlaw needed to make saves to deny Georgie Gent and Andy Halliday in the opening exchanges, before a mistake from the Staggies goalkeeper led to the opener after eight minutes.

A long ball forward from opposite number Liam Kelly looked to be bouncing harmlessly through to Laidlaw, only for him to misjudge the path of the ball and parry it in the direction of Spittal, who was left with an open goal to score against his former employers.

County responded well, levelling five minutes later through Murray, who slotted past Kelly after being played through by Eli King on the counter.

From there the Staggies put pressure on their opponents, with Connor Randall coming closest after seeing his chip cleared off the line by Shane Blaney.

Another Laidlaw error, this time coming to collect a Gent free-kick and not getting to the ball, allowed McGinn to restore Motherwell’s lead before the interval.

As time wore on Motherwell looked to try and hold on to their advantage, dropping deeper and inviting County to try and break them down.

Yan Dhanda would go close with one effort across the face of goal that went wide of the mark, but that was one of the few occasions the Staggies had a clear sight of goal.

Motherwell on the other hand would extend their lead, with Theo Bair teeing up Spittal to curl the ball past Laidlaw and into the corner of the net.

That goal essentially sealed all three points for the Steelmen, but the scoring did not end there as Bair again turned provider, this time setting up Zdravkovski for a simple finish in the 90th minute.

And, in stoppage time, Canada midfielder Paton wrap up the scoring when he passed the ball into the bottom corner.