Motherwell
had to be patient but a Tawanda Maswanhise goal was enough to knock Ross
County out of the Scottish Cup.
Stuart
Kettlewell returned to Fir Park with a Ross County side set up to frustrate and defend in depth. Motherwell dominated the ball but had to wait
an hour for the breakthrough.
Jens Berthel
Askou has a habit of rotating his squad but few expected the six alterations that
lined up against the Championship side.
Of note were the starts given to Matty Connolly in goal and to Luca
Ross. Jordan McGhee was able to add to
his game time when he appeared for the final twenty five minutes.
Before the
kick off there was a heartfelt tribute to former chairman John Chapman.
The first
half was a frustrating affair for the home fans. Their favourites played most of the half in
the County end but they were unable to create much in the way of scoring
chances.
Indeed, the
first opportunity came in the third minute for the visitors but Jordan White
missed the target with his header following a corner. Maswanhise stole .the ball on the left and
charged into the box to beat Trevor Carson with his shot. Alex Iacovitti popped
up on the line to save the day at the cost of a blow to the head.
Motherwell
made a couple of changes ten minutes into the second period. Stamatelopoulos and Ross made way for Eli
Just and Lukas Fadinger. The pressure on
the Cooper end goal increased and the winner soon arrived.
Johnny Koutroumbis
tried his luck with a low drive from 20 yards and Maswanhise got a touch to
send it into the net.
Ross County
produced a few efforts on Connolly’s goal but the ‘keeper produced fine stops.
It was far
from a thrilling cup tie but all that matters is that the Mightyt ‘Well are in
the hat for the fifth round draw.
Motherwell 1
Ross County 0
Attendance 5,547
(107)
Team: Ward, Koutroumbis,
Gordon, O’Donnell (McGhee 66), Maswanhise, Sparrow (longelo 66), Priestman, Said
(McAllister 89), Ross (Fadinger 55), Stamatelopoulos (Just 55), Slattery,
Maswanhise
Saturday 17
January 2026
