Ross County came from behind to secure a stunning 2-1 Ladbrokes Premiership win at in-form Motherwell.
The hosts looked set to move into second position after Allan Campbell’s opener at Fir Park.
However, goals inside the last 15 minutes from substitute Brian Graham and Ross Stewart gave the Staggies an unexpected three points – and a bad day for the hosts was compounded by the dismissal of Jake Carroll in between the breakthroughs.
The visitors countered when Billy McKay’s flicked header from Ewan Henderson’s free-kick sailed narrowly wide.
Celtic loanee Henderson caused havoc with his excellent deliveries from dead balls and after another pinpoint corner, McKay’s acrobatic effort was gathered by goalkeeper Mark Gillespie in the 12th minute.
It was an end to end start to the game and Motherwell went close through James Scott six minutes later – but his powerful effort from a tight angle went wide.
Motherwell thought they had taken the lead in the 22nd minute but Declan Gallagher’s header from a long throw was disallowed by referee Alan Muir for a foul on Keith Watson.
The hosts’ feeling of injustice wasn’t limited to Carroll’s red card or the disallowed goal, they had a strong claim for a penalty on 57 minutes when Watson appeared to handle in the box – but Muir waived play on.
Motherwell’s afternoon quickly deteriorated as Carroll was shown a red card five minutes later following two needless bookings in quick succession. Both fouls were on Stewart and whilst the first was deserved for a rash tackle, the second looked slightly harsh as Well manager Stephen Robinson remonstrated with the officials.
The visitors made the extra man count in the 87th minute when Stewart decided the contest, heading home his eighth goal of the season from close range after a stunning cross from Richard Foster.
