The Motherwell announcer whipped up the crowd on Saturday for the arrival of their recently updated mascots, ‘Steelman’ and his trusty sidekick ‘Ravensteel’, by reeling off some of the other famous partnerships that have lit up Fir Park over the years.

Dougie Arnott and Tommy Coyne, for instance. And who could forget the much-loved predecessors to Lanarkshire’s newest foam superhero, the iconic Claret and Amber bears? But might there be a new dynamic duo ready to earn a place in the hearts of the Fir Park faithful?

Ryan Bowman certainly hopes so. The big forward climbed off the bench at half-time to play a huge part in reversing the flow of a game that visitors Ross County had dominated to that point without converting their superiority into anything tangible, and it was his presence that brought strike partner Louis Moult to life.

Richard Tait shrugged off his own personal nightmare against the excellent Michael Gardyne in the opening 45 minutes to get the first goal for Motherwell shortly after the restart, before Bowman and Moult linked up to cut County open and leave Kenny Van der Weg with no option but to bundle Moult over just as he was about to double the Steelmen’s lead. That meant an early bath for the big Dutchman, and Moult converted from the spot to seal the points and get his first league goal of the season.

As a player, Bowman isn’t the easiest on the eye, but when he is in the mood he can be extremely effective. Both he and Moult caused the County backline major problems in the second period, and he is hoping that they can show what they are capable when played together on a more regular basis.

“It’s the second time we have played up front together all season,” Bowman said. “The other time was against Queens Park in the cup but it was only for 25 minutes. I got two goals that day and Moulty got one.

“The partnership worked again today, and he got his goal, which he deserved. I would have liked a goal too but the main thing is the win.

“The manager just told me to play as close as I could to Moulty. He said we are going two up front so link up as much as you can and just go and run about. That’s what I did and it came off for us.

“I’ll do my best to keep Moulty here as long as possible. With all the goals he scores, people are going to be wanting him. But hopefully we can keep hold of him and if we do that it will be a massive bonus for us.”

Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson deserves credit for being pro-active with his tactics after things had gone so badly for his side in the first half. He scrapped his 4-2-3-1 set-up and matched up to County’s 3-5-2, with Tait going left and Chris Cadden putting the reins on Gardyne down the right.

The introduction of young Alan Campbell along with Bowman made a huge difference too, the youngster doing well to disrupt County’s midfield with his harrying and tackling, while getting his foot on the ball too.

There will be a concern for Motherwell over just how poor they were in the first-half, but their resolve to come back and improve beyond recognition in the second period would be heartening for manager Robinson, who slated his players for a lack of desire at the break and got bucketloads of it in return.

For County, the afternoon was a lesson in what happens when you don’t punish teams when you are in the ascendency, and manager Jim McIntyre may think on how his side didn’t really create a clear-cut opportunity for all of their possession and territorial advantage in the first half.

The one real golden chance they had on the day fell to Alex Schalk, who was played in behind by Jason Naismith shortly after Motherwell’s opener.

As he got close enough to see the whites of keeper Russell Griffiths’ eyes though, he failed to hold his nerve and blasted over to sum up a frustrating day for the Staggies.

“I had a huge opportunity to get us back in the game and these are moments you need to take,” Schalk lamented.

“I just needed to put it in the back of the net. It’s pretty much the same as last week when I went through and scored. After the red card it’s damage limitation. That’s about the story of the game.”

If the Highlanders can marry their often excellent passing game with a cutting edge though, there is little doubt that they can pose problems for Rangers when they come calling to Dingwall next Sunday.

“It’s a very good game to bounce back and we need to,” said Schalk. “Losing two out of three is hard, especially after dominating the first 45 like that in an away game. It’s the perfect game and nice Sunday afternoon to look forward to.”