Match Preview - Motherwell (H)

Ross County are back to William Hill Premiership action this weekend following the international break.

Former Ross County player and manager Stuart Kettlewell will bring his Motherwell side north up the A9 for Saturday’s 3:00 PM kick off in Dingwall.

Ross County

There was a mixed bag of form for Don Cowie’s side before the break – and unfortunately it ended with a bruising 3-0 defeat away to newly promoted Dundee United.

But heading into a home match where the Global Energy Stadium has been a fortress of late will be motivation for the Staggies to right some wrongs.

Prior to that loss, we had kept two clean sheets in row following a big 2-1 home win over Kilmarnock.

A win for County would be key ahead of a tough run of upcoming fixtures, and would bring the Staggies tally for the season to fifteen points.

Player to Watch

Ross Laidlaw has been a constant figure in every Ross County side over the past few years – and he still keeps improving and showing County fans his worth.

The Scottish stopper has four clean sheets already this season, and in fact saved a penalty in his last shutout when he denied Greg Kiltie from the spot.

Many Ross County fans believe the big keeper was deserving of a place in Steve Clarke’s national team side – and it does feel like by now he has worked hard enough to be rewarded with a spot.

Laidlaw’s save percentage this season is sitting at an impressive 61.1% - whilst the former Dundee United and Hibs stopper also has zero errors leading to a goal this season, confirming his reliable nature.

Laidlaw will be hoping to maintain his early season form to try and keep us in as many matches as possible, and to hopefully at some stage help us climb up the table.

Motherwell

Stuart Kettlewell has got his side playing some very clever and reliable football, seeing them have an incredibly encouraging start to the season.

The Lanarkshire side sit in fifth place currently with six wins and just one draw making up their points tally of 19.

Motherwell have also played two matches less than us on eleven.

Motherwell also reached the semi-final of the League Cup this season where they were narrowly defeated by Rangers by two goals to one.

We opened our campaign this season against Motherwell with a 0-0 draw.

Motherwell have been using a similar back five shape to ourselves, and last time out they beat Simo Valakari’s St Johnstone 2-1.

Player to Watch

Scottish football has been bombarded with talk about Lennon Miller this season.

The 18-year-old has been outstanding for Motherwell this year and starred alongside County defender Dylan Smith for Scotland under 19s during the international break.

Kettlewell has named the young midfielder Motherwell captain on several occasions this season – which tells you not only how highly rated he is, but also how professional his attitude is.

Constantly linked with big money moves to the big Glasgow two, Miller has three assists this season, as well as two goals.

He is an all-action midfielder, and it’s not before long that we should see him in the full Scotland set up under Steve Clarke.

From the Dugout with Don Cowie

Last time out against Dundee United was a tough away day to endure.

A decent first half showing turned into a disastrous second half where Jim Goodwin’s side slammed three past Ross Laidlaw.

By his own admission, Don Cowie doesn’t need any reminders about his thoughts on the defeat.

However, it wasn’t dwelled on, and it was a case of reflect, work, then rest for the Ross County players.

County gaffer Don Cowie said: “We did a debrief of the game like we always do – things we did well and things we can improve on.

“Prior to the Dundee United game, we were really solid as a team out of possession, but just because were that doesn’t mean we cant transition to be really effective attacking wise to.

“Were striving for the balance of maintaining our clean sheets and being solid, whilst also having that creative spark – if we find that we become a really good team.

“My feeling on the Dundee United game hasn’t changed from what it was straight after full-time.

“It was a really good first half, really competitive, without creating real clear cut chances.

“We need to be better at responding better to the negative of conceding the first goal – to come away with a three-goal defeat after being level at half time was quite sore.”

However, something that has been instilled in this Ross County side is a tendency to be able to bounce back when the going gets tough.

The manager will be hoping his players can use their strong home form to do exactly that come 3:00 PM on Saturday afternoon.

Don Cowie was full of praise for his former manager, who he also worked under as a first team coach, Staurt Kettlewell and his side.

Cowie added: “Motherwell have had an excellent season so far – they got to the League Cup semi-final, theyre sitting in the top half of the table, and they look really impressive.

“Yes, were at home where our performance levels have been really strong and we have full belief we can beat Motherwell, but at the same time it will be a really difficult game.

“They have a really strong squad with lots of options, especially in the forward area.

“They recruited heavily in the summer and they’ve got real threat and pace in the team, they are also physical and good from set plays – it is going to be a real challenge but one we’re looking forward to.”

Previous Encounters

In last season's earlier match, it was a thrilling 3-3 draw at Fir Park in which Motherwell capitalised on late errors by the Staggies. Our goalscoring prowess was in full flow under Malky Mackay that day, with Victor Loturi, Simon Murray and Eamonn Brophy all grabbing goals.

However over recent seasons we struggled against Kettlewell’s side – a sore 5-0 defeat under Derek Adams was the end of his third spell.

A midweek fixture in Malky’s first season saw a 1-0 win and three points for Ross County to bring home up the road courtesy of a Joseph Hungbo penalty.

A victory which sticks in the memory against ‘Well from back in 2015 is a 3-0 victory in Dingwall. Craig Curran, Liam Boyce, and a young Tony Dingwall netted for us on that occasion.

The opening match of this campaign saw a 0-0 draw between the sides.

Familiar Faces

Some huge names in Dingwall have played for both the Staggies and the Steelmen, including player and First Division winning manager Derek Adams.

A former Ross County captain has also played for ‘Well – Iain Vigurs moved south after successfully making the step up to the topflight with ourselves.

There are two players who have crossed over and are currently at their respective clubs, and they also very recently played together in Dingwall. John Hughes signed current forward Jordan White from Motherwell, whilst Blair Spittal left the Highlands for Lanarkshire.

Current Staggie Ricki Lamie had a successful spell in Motherwell.

Team News

Max Sheaf and Will Nightingale are out.

George Harmon returns.

Tickets: https://mpv.tickets.com/?agenc...

Referee: Chris Graham.