Date	Saturday, 23 February 2013
Competition	Scottish Premier League
Fixture/Score	Ross County 3:0 Motherwell
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Attendance	3,797
Referee	Willie Collum
Comments	Match Report Report by Charles Bannerman for the BBC. Ross County 3 Motherwell 0 Motherwell dropped from second to third in the Scottish Premier League after a decisive defeat by Ross County. Ivan Sproule opened on 34 minutes, striking a Rocco Quinn pass under Motherwell keeper Darren Randolph. Sproule should have doubled County's lead shortly after the re-start, but made amends by setting up Richard Brittain to score on 70 minutes. The home side cemented the result in the final minute, Iain Vigurs volleying home from close range. It was a five-star performance from County that saw the SPL debutants move into the top six for the first time. And the win also extend their unbeaten run to eight games, from which they have taken 20 points - more than half their current total of 38. The first chance fell to Motherwell, but it was almost their only opportunity of the game when Michael Higdon's shot was blocked in the second minute. County replied when Sproule volleyed over before both Vigurs and Quinn tested keeper Darren Randolph. The breakthrough came on 33 minutes when Vigurs supplied Sproule, who ran powerfully towards goal and slid the ball past Randolph. Sam Morrow came close to County's second when he had a shot deflected past and, just before half-time, Adam Cummins headed a free kick over the bar at the other end. Early in the second half Chris Humphrey gave Mark Brown some rare action while it was Randolph to the rescue when he intervened to deny Sproule who had been set up after a run down the left wing by Paul Lawson. The returning James McFadden came on for Motherwell just after the hour and cannoned a disappointing 22-yard free-kick against the wall. County then proceeded to extend their lead when Brittain fired home Sproule's cross from the edge of the box. This finally silenced a small but very noisy nucleus of Motherwell fans who had attracted the attention of two dozen police and stewards after half-a-dozen smoke bombs had filled the ground with pungent fumes. Brittain next curled a free-kick narrowly by after Stefan Wolfarth had been body checked by McFadden and Vigurs prompted Randolph into another fine save. However, Vigurs' next effort in the 89th minute was more successful when. From around eight yards, he smacked home a ball from the right to complete an emphatic victory. Ross County manager Derek Adams was full of praise for his side after a 3-0 win over Motherwell which moved them to fifth in the league table. The Scottish Premier League debutants have now gone eight games unbeaten and Adams is keen to maintain momentum. "We're moving on up the league, we're eight unbeaten and we just want to keep it going," he said. "It was a very good win for us, against a team that are pushing for second position." Although stressing that his side were achieving success through team performances, Adams singled out the contribution of January arrival Ivan Sproule. "He's been excellent," said the Ross County manager. "He's got five goals in five games and we've got [Richard] Brittain scoring and [Iain] Vigurs scoring. "It was a very convincing performance. I thought the back four defended well "We've created good opportunities and finished them off well." The Highlanders travel to face Aberdeen in midweek and the County boss felt the win over 'Well put them in a confident frame of mind for the trip to Pittodrie. "We're looking forward to the game and we just want to keep on going on this unbeaten run," he said. "Obviously, we've opened up the gap with the teams at the bottom and we've closed the gap with the teams at the top." Adams also argued that his side's jump up the table showed why the SPL's proposed league reconstruction was a bad idea. Scottish football bodies are considering a format of two top divisions of 12, which would split into three leagues of eight midway through the season. "We've cut the gap between Motherwell and ourselves to two points and moved up positions in the league," added Adams. "This is why I keep saying that the restructuring of Scottish football should not be happening. "I'm deeply against it and this is one of the reasons why."
Ross County
Manager	Derek Adams
Starting 11	25: Mark Brown, 4: Grant Munro, 5: Scott Boyd, 8: Paul Lawson, 10: Richard Brittain 1 1, 11: Iain Vigurs 1, 12: Rocco Quinn, 16: Ivan Sproule 1, 17: Samuel Morrow, 18: Evangelos Oikonomou 1, 22: Mihael Kovacevic
Bench	1: Michael Fraser, 13: Andre Hainault, 15: Steffen Wohifarth, 20: Gary Glen, 21: Alex Cooper, 23: Archie Macphee, 26: Tony Dingwall
Motherwell
Manager	Stuart McCall
Starting 11	Darren Randolph, Shaun Hutchinson 1, Simon Ramsden 1, Zaine Francis-Angol, Adam Cummins, Nicholas Law, Chris Humphrey, Keith Lasley, Stuart Carswell, Henrik Ojamaa, Michael Higdon
Bench	Lee Hollis, Steven Saunders, Omar Daley, Kallum Higginbotham, Robert McHugh, James McFadden