BY RIGHTS, with barely an hour on the clock, Raffaele De Vita should have given up the fight and raised a weary arm to the technical area.

Instead, the exhausted Italian refused to acknowledge the cramp pains spearing through his legs and mustered a moment of sublime skill and control on the volley to sink Motherwell.

County's latest recruit thrashed home the finish that ultimately won the game, epitomising a never-say-die attitude that could yet catapult the embattled Dingwall club to safety.

The former Livingston and Swindon Town attacker was dead on his feet long before the debut strike, having worked tirelessly throughout and played a telling part in both County's earlier goals.

On a day when the deficit at the foot of the table could have stretched to a galling nine points on both Motherwell and St Mirren, the home side's spirited endeavour clawed it back to a mere three with 13 games to play.

De Vita, released by Cheltenham Town last month, said: "The most important thing was the win - it was pretty much a cup final for us.

"If we had lost that game we would, of course, have said we'd keep going until the end of the season, but the gap would have been too big, if I'm being honest.

"It's a massive win. On top of that, I was happy to be involved in every goal. It was a good debut and I'll remember it with a smile on my face.

"Their [equalising] goal could have killed any team, but in the short time I've been here, I've seen that this is a group of players who never put their heads down. We always react.

"We did it again and, in this case, we've managed to win the game."

De Vita's control of the ball and piercing play on the left mirrored Michael Gardyne's fine efforts on the right as County finally looked like a team capable of posing a potent attacking threat.

The pieces have taken time to fall together for manager Jim McIntyre, but all the signs are good for County now. Da Vita, though, is long enough in the tooth at 27 to know there remains everything to do.

He said: "It's all to play for. I've not played in Scotland's top flight before, but the lads said once you get into the split, if you're around about the other teams, you've got a massive chance to stay up.

"My last game in England was on boxing day, so I wasn't feeling the greatest in the second half. I was suffering with a bit of cramp.

"I wanted to help the team but when you're cramping, you know you might make a mistake and you don't want to cost the team a goal, so eventually I had to go off.

"I could actually feel it coming on a little bit before the goal, but I stayed on. And I'm glad now I stayed on a little bit longer!"

The Italian was to play a pivotal part, creating two goals - for Martin Woods and Paul Quinn - and scoring an eye-catching one himself. Motherwell lacked nothing in spirit, but a fine debut goal from classy young Everton loanee Conor Grant and a late second from Fraser Kerr were never likely to turn the tide.

Grant, watched by Everton youth guru Joe Royle, was exceptional all afternoon but County were always the more threatening team.

Goalkeeper George Long, another making his debut after a loan from Sheffield United, demonstrated his worth with two saves inside three minutes - tipping over a Liam Boyce strike from 25 yards before producing fresh acrobatics to deny Scott Boyd in the box.

But County's breakthrough came in 34 minutes, when Woods worked a one-two with De Vita, before dispatching a beautifully-controlled left-foot volley beyond Long's reach.

When Motherwell mustered a reply nine minutes after the break, County's fragile belief was under scrutiny. Grant was fouled by Jamie Reckord before the Scouser's sweet dead-ball strike crashed past the diving Mark Brown at the near post.

County showed their mettle, though, and restored the lead five minutes later. De Vita's free-kick from deep right curved invitingly to the back of the box, where caretaker skipper Quinn strode in to thunder a header past Long.

And just four minutes later, Well were two behind as Gardyne supplied the telling delivery from the right and De Vita, with great power, smashed an unstoppable volley past Long.

They rarely do it the easy way in Dingwall, though, and Motherwell's reply after 79 minutes sent fresh palpitations bolting through the Global Energy Stadium.

Grant's precise corner swung high and Fraser Kerr was barely a couple of yards out as his header smashed in off the underside of the bar.

It was fraught and frantic to the finish but, with an agonising four minutes added time, County held on for a transformative result.

Grant is so highly-rated by Everton that the Mersey club's youth chief Joe Royle flew to the Highlands to catch his Motherwell debut.

The Goodison legend would hardly have left Dingwall disappointed given his 19-year-old protege's impact, but Grant did. The midfielder said: "It was bittersweet for me, really. I'm obviously happy with the goal, but the three points are the most important thing and we couldn't get those so it's very disappointing.

"It was very frustrating. It's the first game I've been involved in competitively at senior level so obviously there is good to take from it but it's never nice to lose any game."