Ross County

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• Motherwell have scored 22 goals in the last 15 minutes of the second half, only Celtic (25) have scored more in the Scottish Premiership this season.

• Ross County have conceded 17 goals to opposition substitutes in the Scottish Premiership this season, more than any other team.

• Ross County have conceded 22 goals in the last 15 minutes of the second half, more than any other team in the Scottish Premiership this season.

• Motherwell have scored 14 goals via substitutes in the Scottish Premiership this season, only Celtic (21) have scored more.

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Ross County manager Don Cowie told BBC Radio Scotland: “I'm disappointed at the way the game finished, we gifted them two goals in the first half and they punished us for that.

“At 2-1 with ten minutes we’re still in the game, just disappointed at the way we lost our discipline and when you do that against a good team with good players, they pick you off and that’s what they did.

“We maybe just got a little desperate, players coming out of their shape and trying a little too hard and coming out of their shape, and players like [Blair] Spittal and [Theo] Bair they take advantage of that.

“The message from me is really clear, you can feel sorry for yourself tonight but when you wake up tomorrow you’ve got to be positive and think about a massive game on Wednesday.

On Ross Laidlaw’s first-half errors, he added: “He’s disappointed but I was really clear at half time, he knows he’s made two errors but on the back of games against Hibs and Rangers he did more than enough to get three points so it was about us trying to bail him out.

“We didn't manage to do that but I’m sure he’ll respond.”

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Were you at the match in Dingwall or following along from elsewhere?

We want your views on Ross County's loss here.

Jack Herrall
BBC Sport Scotland

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At a crucial point in their fight for survival, County's home form failed them as this was their first home defeat in seven.

Cowie made three changes at half-time, all attacking, but his side's periods of dominance failed to produce any clear-cut opportunities.

Late goals have been an issue for them this season, too, and they've now conceded 22 in the last 15 minutes of games - more than any other team in the league.

Their safety, importantly for them, remains in their own hands with only two games to go.

Simon Murray was isolated at times today, but when he was surrounded by other players he was at his best. He'll be key for their final two games you'd imagine.

Simon Murray was tireless up top for the hosts and took his goal well.

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Ross County: Laidlaw, Randall, Baldwin, Dhanda, Murray, King, Efete, Brophy, Nightingale, Leak, Reid

Substitutes: Wickens, Sims, Loturi, Harmon, Henderson, Khela, Jenks, White, Ayina

Motherwell: Kelly, O’Donnell, McGinn, Cassy, Blaney, Gent, Halliday, Miller, Nicholson, Spittal, Bair

Substitutes: Oxborough, Mugabi, Paton, Zdravkovski, Shaw, Devine, Moses, Ferrie, Butcher

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Ross County start this match with the same starting XI as their previous win against Hibernian.

Teddy Jenks returns to the bench in the place of James Brown who drops out of the matchday squad.

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Ross County boss Don Cowie expects to be selecting from an unchanged squad. Max Sheaf (muscle), Dylan Smith (ankle) and Scott Allardice (knee) are still out. Ross Callachan is back training after 13 months out with a knee injury but is unlikely to be involved this weekend.

Motherwell are also set to be unchanged as Jon Obika (hamstring) and Adam Devine (knee) work their way back to fitness. Callum Slattery (knee) and Adam Montgomery (hamstring) are out for the season.

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Eamonn Brophy says Ross County are not looking beyond Saturday's match against Motherwell in their fight to avoid relegation.

County sit 10th in the Scottish Premiership, two points ahead of St Johnstone in the relegation play-off spot, and the sides will meet in Perth on Wednesday (19:45 BST).

Brophy insists County cannot afford to focus solely on the match against Craig Levein's side with three games of the season remaining.

“People are saying it’s a six-pointer and it is a massive game, but we just want to take one game at a time, try and get three points against Motherwell and then go into that game against St Johnstone trying to get three points,” he said.

“That game is going to be the decider in a lot of people’s eyes but at the end of the day it’s only three points and we’ve got nine points to play for. Hopefully we can take as many points as we can from all the games.”

Two of County's remaining three fixtures are at home, where they have won four and drawn two of their six matches since Don Cowie took over from Derek Adams in Dingwall.

Brophy also hopes County's additional "hunger" can provide an edge against Motherwell, with the Fir Park side already assured of top-flight football next season.

“Obviously Motherwell will go out and try to win the game but our mindset has got to be that we don’t want to be involved in the play-offs,” said Brophy.

“They are safe and they can maybe finish seventh but we want to stay in the league so our hunger to win the game has got to be more than theirs.

“Obviously we’ve played against them a few times this season and the last game against them wasn’t great but we’ll try and put that right. We’ve got a lot more to play for than they have and hopefully we can show that on Saturday.”

The Ross County talisman is a striker who has been underrated for much of his career and this season is no different.

Murray's strike against Hibs last week was his 19th in a stellar campaign and fifth in his last six Premiership games.

The 32-year-old is just one behind Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi on the league scoring charts, with his performances pivotal to County's excellent home form.

His work off the ball and ability to create (he has five assists this term) as well as score have allowed his team under Don Cowie to go six unbeaten in Dingwall, defeating Rangers, Hearts, and Hibs in the process.

Murray has already netted twice against Motherwell this season, too, so expect him to play a big part when the Steelman visit on Saturday as County look to further strengthen their pursuit of survival.

Read all the weekend's Premiership picks

• After their 3-0 win in December, Ross County could win back-to-back home games against Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership for the first time since November 2015.

• Motherwell have only lost one of their last eight league meetings with Ross County (W5 D2), winning 5-0 against them most recently in February.

• Ross County have won each of their last three home league games, their second-longest ever such winning run in the top flight, behind only a run of five wins from February to April 2015.

• Motherwell have kept just three clean sheets in the Scottish Premiership this season, half as many as any other side (Ross County next fewest with 6). They have gone 11 league games without a shutout, although their last was against Ross County in February (5-0 win).

• Theo Bair has scored 15 goals for Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership in 2023-24. Since the SPFL was founded in 2013, only John Sutton in 2013-14 (22) and Kevin van Veen last term (25) have netted more in a league season for the club.

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Simon Murray is the exactly the kind of striker Ross County need in their bid for Premiership survival, says former Scotland frontman Lee Miller.

The 32-year-old has scored 19 goals for the Dingwall side this season, and Miller believes relegation rivals St Johnstone will be wishing they had a player of Murray's stature.

"Don Cowie's done a remarkable job, he's got them playing really good football," he told BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"He's got strikers that can score goals. Jordan White and Simon Murray and [Eamonn] Brophy. These are striker that have got a goalscoring record, prolific at times.

"I really like Simon Murray. You put him in any team and he just works his socks off, hassles defenders. He's an absolute pest.

"He doesn't stop running, he anticipates things. He can create a goal out of nothing. When you're down there at that end of the league, that's the type of player you want in your team.

"If Craig Levein was offered him, he'd take him in a heartbeat."

Ross County will look to continue their impressive home form and push further to confirming their safety when they welcome Motherwell on Saturday.

Should Don Cowie stick with the winning formula or change things up? Choose your XI here.

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Don Cowie is calling on Ross County to "maintain the very good home form" that has lifted them out of the relegation zone as they prepare to welcome Motherwell.

Saturday’s win over Hibernian extended the Highlanders’ unbeaten run in Dingwall to six games, which also includes victories over Rangers and Hearts.

The weekend success also moved them out of 11th place, leapfrogging a St Johnstone side who are now two points behind Cowie’s men.

"The supporters have been a massive part of it," the County boss said of his side’s positive run in Dingwall.

"The support they’ve given the group has been brilliant, we need it until he end of the season. They see a team working hard, entertaining at the same time, and they’ve really bought into that.

Following the visit of Motherwell, County face a potential season-defining trip to St Johnstone, but Cowie insists the team’s attention is solely on Saturday.

"[Saturday will be a] difficult game, but we feel positive and confident and we’ll be prepared and ready for it.

"Our focus right now is Motherwell, then we’ll start to look at St Johnstone. We’ve got three games left and it’s about getting nine points. If we get that we know we’re safe and we’ve done our job."

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Don Cowie has been speaking to the media prior to Saturday’s Premiership meeting with Motherwell.

Here are the key lines from the Ross County manager:

• Cowie expressed his delight at Saturday’s win over Hibernian, saying his side "responded really well after going behind" to get the three points.

• But consistency is still something the County boss is "searching for" and he says the team "have got to keep persevering".

• Following the news a man has been arrested for allegedly racially abusing Yan Dhanda on Saturday, Cowie says the midfielder "is in a great place" and "handled himself extremely well".

• The County boss says the fans "have been a massive part" of their positive results in Dingwall.

• And Cowie has called on his side to maintain that "very good home form" against a "very dangerous" Motherwell team.

Ross Morren
Fan writer

Ross County’s 2-1 victory over Hibernian is possibly their most important so far this season.

The three points lifted the Staggies up to 10th and out of the dreaded play-off position for the first time in 2024. With just three games to go, it could be a huge moment in their battle to secure their Premiership status.

County showed plenty of courage and character during their victory on Saturday. Prior to their win against Rangers, the Staggies had previously failed to win any of their last 45 matches when conceding the first goal.

They’ve now won back-to-back home games after going a goal behind and made it 14 points out a possible 18 available in Dingwall since Don Cowie has taken over.

Two players who embodied the desire in the County squad on Saturday were the goalscorers, Simon Murray and Jordan White.

Fans are running out of superlatives to describe Murray’s performances this season. His energy and ability to sense danger put him in the perfect position to capitalise on Rocky Bushiri’s mistake and fire in his 12th Premiership goal of the season to haul County back on level terms.

White’s action has been limited over recent months, but he came off the bench in the 76th minute and immediately got himself involved in with his pressing and physical presence.

His biggest contribution came in the 88th minute as he grabbed his first goal since February to seal a huge win for the Staggies and send the home fans at the Global Energy Stadium crazy.

The psychological boost from Saturday’s victory and subsequent move up the table at this stage in the season could breathe fresh life into County’s survival bid.

The players answered any questions that might have been lingering following the defeat to Livingston last week by going toe-to-toe against arguably the strongest team in the bottom six and coming out with three points.

Ross Morren can be found on The County Corner., external

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

What a huge win for Ross County as the Dingwall side climbed out of the relegation play-off spot with victory over Hibs.

Once again, a large part of the support's thanks must go to Simon Murray.

Nineteen goals for a relegation-threatened side? That's a seriously impressive tally for a player who has always been unfairly underrated, in my opinion.

Jordan White is eager to play a key role in Ross County's survival fight. (Press and Journal - subscription), external

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