Date	Saturday, 21 November 2015
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Ross County 3:0 Motherwell
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Attendance	3,378
Referee	Crawford Allan
Comments	Match Report Report by Martin Dowden for the BBC. Ross County 3 Motherwell 0 Liam Boyce ended a five-game run without a goal as Ross County eased to victory over Motherwell. Craig Curran swivelled smartly to smash a shot high into the net on 22 minutes at Victoria Park. With the hosts well on top, the lead was doubled when Tony Dingwall played smart one-two with Martin Woods before rounding goalkeeper Connor Ripley. Boyce then added his 12th goal of the season, converting a late penalty after he had been fouled. Jim McIntyre's side were looking to reassert themselves after a run of three defeats in their last four outings and they did so with something to spare. Four points separated the home side in fifth to the visitors in 10th place, highlighting how tight the mid-section of the table was prior to kick off and the importance of three points to either side. County were first to threaten directly when Curran's challenge distracted Ripley, who managed to recover after letting the ball slip from his grasp. The action was engaging enough without getting fans off their seats but the temperature rose when Motherwell winger Lionel Ainsworth centred and Louis Moult crashed to the ground after a nudge. Referee Crawford Allan waved play on and on first view it looked the correct decision. County then broke and were furious when awarded a foul despite Jonathan Franks breaking through on the right. It nearly worked out when the subsequent free-kick saw Boyce nod home, only to see the offside flag go up against Andrew Davies, who had headed the ball back across goal. The breakthrough arrived when Dingwall danced across the box looking for an opening to strike. His drive deflected to the left, from where Woods delivered toward Curran, who hooked a shot in for a goal of real quality. Motherwell threatened to hit back when Ainsworth dispossessed Richard Foster and drove forward with lightning pace. He had support but elected to go alone and his low shot was touched wide. Just before the break some lovely interplay in tight areas released Franks down the right and Boyce was inches away from connecting with his searching cross. Boyce perhaps should have scored early in the second half when the ball arrived at his feet eight yards out but he could only touch it wide. The decisive moment arrived soon after and it was worth the wait. Dingwall executed a terrific exchange with Woods and raced away from defenders before rounding the goalkeeper to roll home. Louis Laing came close to pulling one back with a long-range shot which narrowly missed the target, but Motherwell just could not find a solution to mount any sustained pressure. Woods went close with an angled strike, which was touched away by Ripley, before Boyce completed the scoring. The Northern Ireland striker was clipped in the box and his penalty was confidently lofted into the net to put the seal on a very positive afternoon for the home side. Manager Mark McGhee conceded Motherwell were second best as a 3-0 loss at Ross County left the visitors in the relegation play-off place. "I can't argue, they deserved to win," he told BBC Scotland. "I thought we were disappointing in all areas of the field and the game. "They just had more energy, they were more aggressive. They were better in every area." McGhee has now lost two from four since returning to Fir Park. The Steelmen were without a trio of key players through injury as Craig Curran, Tony Dingwall and Liam Boyce netted for County. "We've had a situation where we've lost Stephen McManus, Keith Lasley and Steven Hammell; we're playing without a lot of experience we could have in the team," he said. "We're playing with Marvin Johnson at left back. We've been forced into these things, that wasn't a choice, it was all we could really do. "Hopefully, we'll get through this period when we'll have these boys back where we can work out a better, more complete shape and we can get back to getting decent results. "The way I want to play is winning football but in a way that makes us much more difficult to beat. That involves having these boys back, working harder and eventually bringing in one or two that will help them." It was a much more positive afternoon for Staggies boss Jim McIntyre, who was delighted with his front line as his side got back on track after a spell where they struggled to pick up wins. "We thoroughly deserved the three points today," he enthused. "It was so important that we got back to winning ways especially here in Dingwall. "The league is bunched up and it was a very important result for us. "I was delighted with our goals and for Liam Boyce to get back on the goal trail. He made it himself with fantastic strength to get the penalty. He's been doing a great shift for the team and I think it's important that you recognise that sometimes it's not always goals they bring to the team. "It's also that work rate. He uses his body so well also and that's key to being a front player. "I thought Curran's finish was excellent. He gives us so much energy but also has very good quality so really pleased with them." Dingwall has now scored in consecutive matches and seems to be back in form after a slow start to the season. "That's two very good games back to back that he's had and it's important for him because he's taken a while to get going this season and earned his place back in the team," McIntyre explained. "He's put two performances together and scored in both."
Ross County
Manager	Jim McIntyre
Starting 11	21: Gary Woods, 2: Marcus Fraser, 5: Scott Boyd, 10: Liam Boyce 1 (1 pen), 11: Craig Curran 1, 12: Richard Foster, 15: Andrew Davies, 17: Jonathan Franks, 19: Tony Dingwall 1, 36: Jackson Irvine, 42: Martin Wood
Bench	31: James Severn, 6: Christopher Robertson, 8: Ian McShane, 14: Darren Holden, 18: Stewart Murdoch, 23: Alex Schalk, 24: Raffaele De Vita
Motherwell
Manager	Mark McGhee
Starting 11	Connor Ripley, Louis Laing, Kieran Kennedy, Josh Law 1, Jake Taylor, Liam Grimshaw, Lionel Ainsworth, Stephen Pearson 1, Marvin Johnson, Louis Moult, Scott McDonald
Bench	Craig Samson, Theo Robinson, David Clarkson, Jack Leitch, Dom Thomas, Chris Cadden, Ben Hall