TO no great fanfare or wild acclaim, Motherwell have stealthily maneouvred themselves into third place in the table.
It has reached a point where Stuart McCall's side are now simply expected to occupy a berth near the top of the division and once again they are making good on that presumption. This was a match they were widely tipped to win and they did so without any great fuss, bouncing back from a half-time deficit to run out fairly comfortable winners.
They are now six games unbeaten and in good shape ahead of a trip to Celtic Park next weekend. After a wasteful first half, Motherwell showed their clinical side after the interval to sweep Ross County aside. John Sutton scored his fourth and then fifth goals of the season to edge them in front before substitute Bob McHugh made sure of the win with a late header. It wasn't Motherwell's most thrilling performance of the season, but it was more than good enough to ensure the bandwagon rolls on.
"In the first half we weren't brilliant, but we still had chances," said McCall. "I felt if we upped the tempo slightly then chances would come and we just had to be more clinical. We're delighted with how we're doing and we've just got to keep it going."
For County, here was more misery on the road. Derek Adams' side have now not won away from home in nine matches and may come to view the chance missed by Richie Brittain at the end of the first half, that would have put them two goals in front, as the turning point in the game. Adams, though, wasn't too disappointed with his team's performance.
"I thought we played very well in the game," he said. "We were 1-0 ahead by half-time and didn't look under any real threat. But in the second half we didn't deal with cross-balls into our box. From that of point of view, it's disappointing, but overall it was a good performance from us."
There was an element of good fortune about County's goal. Not only did it arrive against the run of play but the shot also required a sizeable deflection to take it beyond the goalkeeper. To be fair to County, the build-up play had been slick as Graham Carey fed the overlapping Ben Gordon whose cutback was firmly struck by Melvin de Leeuw before good fortune intervened.
It had been one of those halves for Motherwell, who dominated possession only to squander their chances. Within two minutes they could have been in front - Mark Brown reacting well to snuff out Henri Anier's shot - while other openings were similarly repelled by the goalkeeper or failed to hit the target.
Brown kept out a Sutton effort with his legs, while a James McFadden free kick struck the top of the wall and trickled out for a corner. Despite their dominance, Motherwell were in fact lucky not to be two down by the break, Brittain unusually leathering a shot high into the stand after being picked out by de Leeuw. County would come to regret that miss.
Motherwell made a change at half-time, bringing Lionel Ainsworth on for the hamstrung McFadden, and the substitute would be instrumental in the home team drawing level. Sutton was unlucky to see his free-kick deflected past the post, but respite for County was only temporary. From Ainsworth's resultant corner, Sutton was in the right place to head beyond Brown.
County passed up some chances - one flowing move ended with Stuart Kettlewell being denied by Lee Hollis - and Motherwell made them pay. Anier's pass sent Sutton running clear and the Englishman's shot into the top corner gave Brown no chance. County seemed a beaten side and a third Motherwell goal confirmed they would be, Bob McHugh's header looping over Brown and into the net.
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