Date	Saturday, 14 February 2015
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Ross County 3:2 Motherwell
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Attendance	3,233
Referee	Calum Murray
Comments	Match Report Report by Martin Dowden for the BBC. Ross County 3 Motherwell 2 Ross County won at home for just the second time this season to move within three points of Motherwell at the foot of the Premiership. Martin Woods hammered the hosts in front with a stunning volley, with Conor Grant levelling from a free-kick. Former 'Well defender Paul Quinn thumped in a header to restore County's lead and Raffaele de Vita added another impressive volley for the Staggies. Fraser Kerr knocked in a header on 78 minutes but the Highlanders held on. Motherwell did not lose any ground on 10th-placed St Mirren - who lost at home to Inverness CT - but the Steelmen remain in the play-off spot, having picked up just one point from their last seven outings. The visitors had started brightly and Fraser Kerr should have capitalised on a number of of free headers from Grant deliveries. But the home side gradually gained control and crucially capitalised as their influence on the match peaked. An intricate move ended with Woods playing a neat one-two with Liam Boyce to fire a tremendous dipping volley low past goalkeeper George Long. County were determined and posed a real attacking threat but Motherwell found a route back early in the second half. Debutant Grant sized up a free-kick and curled in a lovely left-footed effort which eluded the defensive wall and keeper Mark Brown. It was a head-in-hands moment for home fans who presumably feared the worst given County's home record this season. However, County demonstrated real character by surging ahead in a period of the match which proved decisive. Quinn rose above everyone in the area to connect with a flighted De Vita free-kick and powered a header home against his former club. Home fans were now ecstatic, and further so, when their third goal arrived in fine style as another cross from the right flank evaded a despairing defensive leap. De Vita came surging in from the left with perfect timing to connect with a thunderous volley which proved unstoppable. Just when it seemed Jim McIntyre's side might ease to a rare victory, Motherwell upped the ante with their second goal. A simple corner arrived in the six yard box, where Kerr was on hand to nod in off the underside of the crossbar. That goal came with 12 minutes remaining and set up as tense a finish as you could imagine, with County willing the ball away from their goal as the seconds ticked away. And the hosts held out for just their third win of a frustrating campaign to breathe life into their bid for top flight survival. Ross County boss Jim McIntyre was delighted that a positive approach resulted in a vital home win against relegation rivals Motherwell. The Staggies moved to within three points of the visitors with a 3-2 victory at Victoria Park. "We were in Motherwell's faces, very competitive, and got goals at good times," McIntyre told BBC Scotland. "We felt we had to change the system and have a real go. We went with two strikers and they certainly caused lots of problems." County deservedly led at half-time through a superb Martin Woods volley only for Conor Grant to level from a free-kick early in the second half. The home side looked to have put the game beyond 'Well with goals from Paul Quinn and Raffaele De Vita but the visitors made sure of a grandstand finish when Fraser Kerr pulled one back 12 minutes from time. However, the hosts held on for just their third victory of the campaign. "It's been a long time coming and we thoroughly deserved the win," added McIntyre. "Motherwell were throwing the kitchen sink at it and we had to defend for our lives at times. "It's an important result but what we have to do is make sure we back it up with other results. "It's great to draw Motherwell closer to us. If the gap to them had got to nine points it would have been a lot to do for us and we were very mindful of that. "We know exactly what we need to do and we know how tough it's going to be - we need to go and earn it."
Ross County
Manager	Jim McIntyre
Starting 11	21: Mark Brown, 5: Scott Boyd, 11: Craig Curran, 12: Jamie Reckord 1, 16: Liam Boyce, 24: Raffaele De Vita 1, 26: Martin Woods 1, 36: Jackson Irvine 1, 40: Michael Gardyne, 43: Paul Quinn 1, 44: Marcus Fraser 1
Bench	1: Antonio Reguero Chapinal, 7: Joseph Cardle, 10: Filip Kiss, 20: Darvydas Sernas, 25: Liam Boyce, 30: Tony Dingwall, 38: Cameron Burgess
Motherwell
Manager	Ian Baraclough
Starting 11	George Long, Craig Reid, Anthony Straker, Fraser Kerr 1, Stephen McManus, Simon Ramsden 1, Keith Lasley, Conor Grant 1, John Sutton, Nathan Thomas, Lee Erwin
Bench	Dan Twardzik, Marvin Johnson, Lionel Ainsworth, Craig Moore, Stuart Carswell, Josh Law, Thomas Dominic