Date	Saturday, 07 May 2022
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Ross County 0:1 Motherwell
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Attendance	3,067
Referee	David Munro
Comments	Match Report Report by Jack Herrall for the BBC. Ross County 0 Motherwell 1 Motherwell manager Graham Alexander says his side showed themselves "in a really good light" as they took a notable step towards securing European football by edging out Ross County. Kevin van Veen's penalty secured just a second Scottish Premiership win of 2022 for Alexander's side and a first clean sheet in 14 league matches. Motherwell leapfrog County into fifth, two points clear with two games left. "The clean sheet has been a long time coming," said Alexander. "So great credit to the players for that. We felt at half-time that if we kept a clean sheet we'd win the game because we had the quality." County are now winless in three games since the split, but started this match looking the more determined to make the stride towards Europe. Regan Charles-Cook had a shot blocked, Jake Vokins tested Liam Kelly from 20 yards, and David Cancola sent an effort from the edge of the box just over the bar. Motherwell grew into the game but both teams struggled to create clear-cut opportunities. The visitors' best first-half opening came when Joe Efford's shot on target was clawed wide by Ross Laidlaw and, from the resulting corner, Connor Shields sent a close-range header too high. Cancola went close again for County after the interval as his curling effort zipped the wrong side of the post, following impressive link-up play down the left flank. Kelly pulled off a tremendous stop to keep the score level after Keith Watson cut back to Blair Spittal, and Motherwell capitalised with the game's defining moment. Alex Iacovitti was penalised for his challenge in the box on Van Veen, who coolly sent goalkeeper Laidlaw the wrong way from the spot. This was Motherwell's first clean sheet in 14 league matches, and their second win in 16, suggesting they are finding their form at the perfect moment to capture European football next season. Liam Kelly is always a crucial player for Motherwell but his glut of second-half saves provided the platform for a much-needed victory. The league's top scorer, Charles-Cook, was kept quiet all afternoon and hasn't found the back of the net for eight games, just as his side could do with his clinical touch in front of goal. County as a whole lacked composure in the final third as their European hopes suffered a major blow. Ross County manager Malky Mackay: "I'm not unhappy with the performance because we've certainly controlled a lot of the game, but we've got to make sure we take our chances, and we didn't. "Liam Kelly pulled off a couple of really, really good saves but there's a couple more where we've not hit the target and we've let them off the hook." Motherwell manager Graham Alexander: "I think the league table tells you that the teams are evenly matched, most weeks you see really tight results and it comes down to moments. "I think what the players did in the first half was show great discipline against the ball, we didn't get loose, we controlled the opponent and we knew we had to go for it in the second half."
Ross County
Manager	Malcolm (Malky) Mackay
Starting 11	1: Ross Laidlaw, 2: Connor Randall, 3: Jake Vokins, 4: David Cancola, 5: Jack Baldwin, 7: Blair Spittal, 8: Ross Callachan, 16: Alexander Iacovitti 1, 17: Regan Charles-Cook, 22: Jordon Tillson 1, 26: Jordan White
Bench	21: Ross Munro, 10: Dominic Samuel, 11: Joshua Sims, 15: Keith Watson, 18: Jack Burroughs, 20: Declan Drysdale, 23: Joseph Hungbo, 24: Benjamin Paton, 30: Matthew Wright
Motherwell
Manager	Graham Alexander
Starting 11	Liam Kelly, Ricki Lamie, Juhani Ojala 1, Liam Donnelly, Stephen O'Donnell, Jake Carroll, Mark O'Hara, Sean Goss 1, Joseph Efford, Ross Tierney, Connor Shields
Bench	Kevin van Veen 1, Liam Shaw, Callum Slattery, Dean Cornelius, Sam Campbell, Matty Connolly, Robert Mahon