Ross County Edge Motherwell in Sleety 2-1 Thriller
Ross County got back to winning ways with an enthralling 2-1 victory over Motherwell on a sleety Saturday in the Highlands. A delayed kick-off threatened the game, but second-half goals from Ronan Hale and a spectacular Josh Nisbet strike gave County a 2-goal lead, with Moses Ebiye’s late header merely a consolation goal for Stuart Kettlewell’s men. Motherwell started the stronger of the two sides, Marvin Kaleta was constantly causing problems for Ryan Leak. An early free-kick saw Lennon Miller have a strike just whistle past the County post as we approached the fifteen-minute mark. County started to grow into the game. However, Noah Chilvers was everywhere and anywhere in the middle of the park, and he almost made it 1-0. His neat footwork on the edge of the area bought him a yard of space. He drove inside the Well area, but his strike stung the hands of Oxborough as he pushed it over the bar. County took the lead just minutes into the second half, Chilvers in the action again. His neat flick inside the box found Ronan Hale, whose clever spin got him in front of goal. He struck it low past Oxborough to give him his first goal since his penalty against Celtic. Motherwell tried to respond immediately. Laidlaw was doing well in commanding his box, and balls were constantly being thrown into the County area. Lennon Millers’ strike from range might’ve broken a seat in County stand as his effort sailed well over. But County would then double their lead just moments after their first. Josh Nisbet picked the ball up on the edge of the area and struck it sweetly into the top corner. Oxborough dived and was fully stretched but couldn’t lay a finger on it as the County fans exploded behind the goal. With five minutes remaining, Motherwell pulled a goal back to try and get themselves back in the game. A beautiful free kick from Miller found the head of substitute Zach Robinson, who headed the ball past Laidlaw. There was one of the longest VAR checks in recent memory, which involved both sets of players doing a warm-up, but the goal stood to give the Well fans a lifeline. Motherwell kept pushing for an equaliser; ten minutes of additional time made the home fans groan, but Well never troubled Laidlaw again as the hosts held on to claim all three points. Ross County: Laidlaw; Brown, Leak (Campbell), Wright, Randall (c), Hale (Samuel), Chilvers (Grieves), Harmon (Denholm), Lopata (Efete), Nisbet, White Motherwell: Oxborrough; Seddon (Paton), Gordon, Balmer, Sparrow (Moses Ebiye), Halliday (Paton), Casey, Kaleta (Jair), Wilson, Miller (c), Stamatelopoulos (Robinson) Attendance: 3410 (279 Away)
Killie fail to crack Saints
A glancing Makenzie Kirk header gave the Saints a much needed victory at McDiarmid Park. The result means Kilmarnock must now overcome a slump of their own if they are to fight their way back into the top six. Killie began the fixture looking like to home side but the Saints grew into the game quickly. Benjamin Kimpioka’s curling shot parried by Robby McCrorie was the closest either side would come to a goal in the first half. Joe Wright fired one for the visiting side from distance but it sailed over the bar. Danny Armstrong similarly unable to hit the target with a free kick of his own, the ball passing comfortably past Josh Rae’s left-hand side. David Watson’s thigh injury meant he was replaced by Fraser Murray at the break as manager Derek McInnes was hampered in his attempts to find an equaliser. The second half seemed to pick up where the first left off with few chances created. That was until Andre Raymond’s whipped cross was met by a fantastic header from Makenzie Kirk to open the scoring. St. Johnstone had lost their previous three games but you wouldn’t have guessed it judging by their performance, looking much improved with the ball at their feet as the game progressed. In something of a rarity, they also looked solid at the back. The fourteen corners they defended without conceding a marked improvement on weeks gone by. Meanwhile Killie’s struggles to find the target continued, Liam Donnelly firing yet another shot over the bar for the away side. His evening would soon go from bad to worse as a second yellow saw the midfielder leave his side a man short for the second time this season. Unable to crack the defence open, they make the trip home empty handed once again. Resolute Saints hold out The honeymoon had clearly ended for manager Simo Valakari but tonight’s result helped prevent disillusionment from rearing its head in Perth. Three defeats in a row did not spell the end of the world but the Saints had some questions to answer about their defensive solidity. With twenty-seven shipped in thirteen, they entered this fixture as the league’s leakiest backline. Fair to say an impressive display for only their second clean sheet of the season will have put some of those questions on the back-burner. A first start for Bozo Mikulic, Valakari’s first signing, saw him paired with Jack Sanders at the back. The duo keeping out Marley Watkins and Darius Vassell, no mean feat given the damage they’ve done to other teams this season. Difficult games against Rangers and Aberdeen await in the coming weeks but the display tonight will give the side now just three points off to top six a much needed boost. Killie yet to kick on A fifteen minute delay to kick-off was perhaps a bit of foreshadowing for the side still waiting to get their own season going. Finishing fourth represented a big achievement for the Ayrshire side last season but McInnes’ ambitions will not let him be satisfied with it being a once in a few years occasion. The European run had stunted their start to the campaign but a few months on and with the international breaks in between, tired legs have ceased to be an excuse. Now with three defeats on the trot, the manager will need to re-energise his side if they are to fight their way back into the top half, now sitting six points behind St. Mirren. As the game wore on it became difficult enough for them to score with eleven men, but Liam Donnelly’s second yellow made the task all the more difficult. It is the fifth time they have seen a man sent off this season. Speaking to SPFL News Now, McInnes’ acknowledged his frustrations with the performance of the officials but was quick to point that they had ‘not lost the game because the referee, I need to stress that’.