Ross County move five points clear of Scottish Premiership's relegation zone as Regan Charles-Cook stars in win over Motherwell in Dingwall with 10 men after Jordan Tillson red card
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Ross County 3 (Solholm Johansen OG, Charles-Cook x2)
Motherwell 1 (Roberts)
Ross County put further distance between themselves and the relegation zone with a win over Motherwell.
A slow start only saw the game burst into life on the cusp of half time when Sondre Solholm Johansen scored an own goal in stoppage time, but Motherwell came back strongly at the start of the second, equalising through Jordan Roberts and seeing the Staggies reduced to 10 men when Jordan Tillson was sent off.
However, County were down but not out, and they roared back into life with two goals from Regan Charles-Cook – one from the penalty spot – to seal victory.
Graham Alexander made one change with none of his January signings so far in the squad, as Jordan Roberts replaced Connor Shields in the starting 11.
Malky Mackay meanwhile made brought four players into his line-up, with Harry Clarke having left the club and Jack Baldwin's suspension necessitating some rotation.
Declan Drysdale was given his debut alongside Alex Iacovitti in a new-look centre back partnership, as Ashley Maynard-Brewer also returned to the starting line-up along with Ross Callachan in place of Ross Laidlaw and Dom Samuel.
Samuel did not have to wait long for his opportunity, though, as Joe Hungbo was forced off with injury in an early blow for County.
It went from bad to worse on that front just before the half hour mark, as David Cancola went down and had to be replaced by Jordan Tillson.
On the pitch, both sides looked a little rusty after the winter break and defences were dominant.
Neither goalkeeper had a save to make in the half, with the closest each side came to scoring being when Samuel latched on to an Alex Iacovitti ball forward only to see his shot charged down, while Kevin Van Veen just missed the target from a free kick.
It looked like it may take a moment of magic – or a bit of luck – to break the deadlock, and County got the latter right on the stroke of half time.
With the last action of the half, Regan Charles-Cook used his trickery to turn Bevis Mugabe inside out down the left flank before firing a cross low into the middle – where Sondre Solholm Johansen turned into his own net.
County would have been expecting Motherwell to try and respond at the restart, and they certainly did.
The Steelmen were on the front foot, trying to put pressure on County's defenders and forcing them back closer and closer towards their own goal.
Their equaliser, though, was the opposite of that pressure. A long ball on a counter attack saw Iacovitti and Drysdale both get attracted to the ball, giving Roberts the freedom of the central channel to pick out the top corner from 25 yards out and equalise.
Things went from bad to worse for County minutes later, as Tillson was shown a red card for a two-footed tackle on Roberts that provoked a furious reaction from the visitors.
Such was the reaction in the aftermath, both Roberts and Charles-Cook were cautioned.
Still, the old adage says that it is harder to play against 10 men, and County showed no signs of fading away or parking the bus.
Instead, they retook the lead in the 73rd minute when Samuel did well to win the ball back and sent a cross into the middle.
It was aimed towards White, but he could not quite get a shot away – however the ball ran loose and Charles-Cook ran on to it to strike past Liam Kelly.
Charles-Cook would claim his second of the evening from the penalty spot, when his cross from the right was blocked by a Motherwell hand.
He stepped up and coolly dispatched his spot kick past Kelly, who dived the wrong way, to make it 3–1 to the 10 men of County.
From there, Malky Mackay made defensive substitutions to try and see the game out, and they did exactly that to move five points clear of the bottom two after both St Johnstone and Dundee lost.
Ross County: Maynard-Brewer, Randall, Vokins, Cancola (Tillson 28), Spittal, Callachan, Iacovitti, Charles-Cook (Ramsay 80), Drysdale, Hungbo (D Samuel 19), White (Burroughs 80).
Subs not used: Laidlaw, A Samuel, Paton, Wright, Mackinnon.
Motherwell: Kelly, O'Donnell, Johansen, Mugabi, McGinley, Maguire (Shields 78), Goss, Donnelly, Woolery (Amaluzor 87), Van Veen, Roberts.
Subs not used: Fox, Carroll, O'Connor, Slattery, Grimshaw, Morrison, Cornelius.
