First team
Match Preview: RCFC v Motherwell
27/01/2021
Motherwell Preview
Ross County host Motherwell at the Global Energy Stadium tomorrow evening. The pair have met twice already this season, with both clubs claiming one victory each.
After falling to defeat at the hands of Rangers last weekend, John Hughes will be hoping his side can conjure up an immediate response and replicate previous performances that saw the Staggies take major scalps against the likes of Aberdeen and Hibernian.
Opposition Focus
Tomorrow’s opponents sit just 1 point behind County in the league, with 2 games in hand. They are also currently level on points with Hamilton, who sit bottom of the table, but boast a significantly better goal-difference.
The relegation battle in the Scottish Premiership is well underway with just 5 points separating the bottom 6 clubs. John Hughes has already described this particular fixture as a ‘six-pointer’ with both clubs so close to each other in the table.
A win for the ‘Well could lift them above County in the table and bring them to within just 6 points of the top 6, depending on results elsewhere.
Since Graham Alexander’s appointment, the Lanarkshire club have drawn 2 matches and lost 1, with the ex-Scotland international’s first defeat coming against Aberdeen last weekend. However, there has been evidence of improvement in Alexander’s Motherwell side; they became the first team to take points off Rangers in nearly 4 months when they drew with the Ibrox club 2 weeks ago.
Motherwell have not won a match in 13 games, with their last victory coming against Livingston at the Tony Macaroni in October.
Ross County Focus
Despite a 5-0 defeat to Rangers last weekend, County remain in 10th position in the Scottish Premiership.
In fact, a win for the Staggies could bring them level on points with St Mirren and St Johnstone in 8th place if they lose to Dundee United and Aberdeen, respectively.
Prior to the 4-1 thrashing of Aberdeen at the Global Energy Stadium just 2 weeks ago, County had not won a home match since they defeated Motherwell 1-0 on the opening day of the season. John Hughes will be hoping for a repeat of that result in order to springboard his side up the league table.
Jermaine Hylton and Iain Vigurs, who have been regulars in Yogi’s teams of late, could face their former club tomorrow night. Hylton played 41 times for the Steelmen between 2019 and 2020 and Vigurs played 52 times between 2013 and 2015. Ross MacIver who came through the youth system here in Dingwall could also feature for Motherwell; he played once in the Scottish Challenge Cup for County in 2018.
Yogi certainly enjoys facing Motherwell; the County boss has won 11 of his 29 matches against the Lanarkshire side and has never recorded more wins against any other club in his managerial career.
Last Match
The last time County played Motherwell they fell 4-0 at Fir Park. Goals from Tony Watt, Mark O’Hara, Callum Lang and Devante Cole completed a comprehensive victory in October. The Staggies have turned a corner since then and will be doing all in their power to ensure the result is not repeated.
