Date	Saturday, 13 September 2014
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Ross County 1:2 Motherwell
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Attendance	3,043
Referee	Steven MacLean
Comments	Match Report Report by Andrew Thomson for the BBC. Ross County 1 Motherwell 2 Two stunning Motherwell second-half goals ended a run of four straight defeats away to Ross County. The home side dominated the first half with Michael Gardyne putting a shot just wide, but Motherwell gradually grew stronger. Rocco Quinn had to clear off the line before Iain Vigurs' free-kick broke the deadlock after half-time. John Sutton made it two with a 30-yard strike, but Liam Boyle made it a nervy finish when he bundled the ball home. It leaves County still searching for their first point of the season despite Jim McIntyre taking charge for the first time following the exit of Derek Adams. Motherwell, though, gained their first league win since the opening day of the season. Stuart McCall made three changes to the Steelmen's starting line-up going into the game, while Ross County's Jim McIntyre's team features six new faces. That included debuts for new signings Jackson Irvine and Darren Barr, while former County favourite Gardyne made his return to the club. Motherwell had the first chance when John Sutton came close with a shot that whistled passed Antonio Reguero's left-hand post. But, after that, County found their stride. First, Joe Cardle was found in space on the left wing. He beat one man and sent a wicked-looking cross into the Motherwell box, but it went just behind striker Jake Jervis, who had looked poised to strike. A few minutes later, Gardyne came close. After weaving through the Motherwell box, he fired a powerful right-footed shot, but Dan Twardzik saved well at his right-hand post. County's Rocco Quinn crossed to Melvin De Leeuw at the back post, but he wasn't able to get enough on the header. Motherwell came back into the match as the first half drew to a close. Josh Law fired the ball towards the bottom right of Reguero's goal, but he palmed his effort away to safety. Then former County player Iain Vigurs knocked the ball into Lee Erwin at the back post, but his header was cleared off the line. Motherwell came out the traps at top speed after the restart. Vigurs lined up to take a free kick at the edge of the box and he curled his shot beautifully round the defensive wall and into the back of the net. Moments later, Sutton added an equally impressive second. He chested the ball down just outside the penalty area and then sent a perfect left-footed volley into the County goal. Following these two decisive Motherwell strikes, the game looked to be petering out, but County found some urgency again in the closing stages. Boyce pulled one back by blasting the ball into the Motherwell goal from close range. Quinn then came close to getting an equalizer as the final whistle approached, but goalkeeper Twardzik did well to dash County hopes by pulling off a great save to stop the ball finding the bottom corner. While Motherwell will hope their victory will kick-start their season, there will be continued concern at County, who have now lost six league games in a row, the poorest start of any top-flight team for many years. Ross County manager Jim McIntyre has assured fans they will get better after they fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Motherwell in his first game in charge. Liam Boyce's late goal was not enough after stunning strikes by Iain Vigurs and John Sutton. McIntrye has been in charge of bottom-of-the-table County for just three days and felt that was a factor. "Every man gave their all and that's all we can ask," he told BBC Scotland. "Things will definitely get better." The Dingwall side have yet to pick up a point this season, a run that led to Derek Adams' exit from the club. However, the former Queen of the South boss said he saw enough positives to be confident about a revival. "I thought we started really well," he said. "For 25 minutes, we looked more likely to score. "We had a couple of opportunities that, when you're on top in a game, you've got to take, especially at this level. "In the second half, the goals changed the game. You've got to give credit, it's two great strikes. But we rallied again and we had a real go for the last 15 minutes. "We're disappointed to lose the match, of course we are, but we've been in the door three days. "The boys have tried to take on as much information as what we're trying to put in them and I thought their efforts were excellent. "There's always things to do better and things to tidy up on, but having had three days to work with them, it's a big ask to get them totally the way you want them so that's a work in progress and we'll continue to do that on the training park. "We'll take positives, but we've lost the match."
Ross County
Manager	Jim McIntyre
Starting 11	1: Antonio Reguero Chapinal, 4: Rocco Quinn, 5: Scott Boyd, 7: Joseph Cardle, 9: Jake Jervis, 11: Melvin De Leeuw, 13: Darren Barr, 20: Jordi Balk, 23: Graham Carey, 36: Jackson Irvine, 40: Michael Gardyne
Bench	21: Mark Brown, 8: Richard Brittain, 10: Filip Kiss, 14: Darren Maatsen, 15: Yoann Arquin, 16: Liam Boyce 1, 19: James Fenlon
Motherwell
Manager	Stuart McCall
Starting 11	Dan Twardzik, Stephen McManus, Simon Ramsden, Mark O'Brien 1, Craig Reid, Josh Law, Paul Lawson, Keith Lasley 1, Iain Vigurs 1, Lee Erwin, John Sutton
Bench	Gunnar Neilsen, Stuart Carswell, Lionel Ainsworth, Robert McHugh, Zaine Francis-Angol, Robbie Leitch, Henrik Ojamaa