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Congratulations to Hoggy for yesterday. Must have taken a bit of bottle to step back onto the pitch for his first SPL game in a year and a half, and being paired against the burliest striker in the SPL as well. Great game and a great way to complete your comeback.

You could justify charging £20+ for a ticket for every game if they were all as good as this one. It really did have everything - goals, missed penalties, red cards, a late winner. If there's been a more exciting SPL game than this during the 2012/13 season, I'll be surprised. I needed to go home and have a rest after that! Our early goal opened things up completely. Amusingly, it only came about because we @rsed up a free kick on the edge of the box, but when the ball was dinked back in, Meekings had wandered in at the far side, and his square ball was turned in by McKay from about a yard out. Motherwell had a shout for a pen when Ojamaa went round the keeper and slid on his knees theatrically (there's a theme here), while Foran hit the outside of the near post from an acute angle. Andy Shinnie steered a left footed shot into the bottom corner to double our advantage though, and then took advantage of the worst attempt to play offside I've ever seen (thanks, Keith Lasley!) to race clear on the break down the right, and his centre gave McKay another tap in. It's a marker of how dangerous Motherwell are that I don't think anyone felt comfortable even at 3-0...though we could, and should, have been further ahead when Doran went clear, but he dithered in front of the keeper and the chance was lost. Then McFadden fired a lovely long range effort into the bottom corner to reduce the deficit, and at half-time the visitors were well on top. Higdon nearly bundled in a goal at the back post just seconds after the break, but soon got his goal, converting a penalty after Ojamaa went down incredibly easily (there's a theme here) under pressure from Hogg in the box. Within a minute the Estonian had got himself booked for diving after going down on the edge of the box, and Willie Collum evened things up by giving us a spot kick after Nick Ross was given a nudge in the back...only for McKay's uncharacteristically poor penalty to be saved by Randolph. Our heads dropped a bit, and it was no surprise that McFadden levelled after beating our offside trap, smacking a shot in off the post. McKay had another chance for his hat-trick but was denied in a one-on-one, while Nicky Law blazed over a golden chance at the other end. At that point, you'd have bet your mortgage on Motherwell winning - until Ojamaa picked up a daft second yellow for a late challenge on Andy Shinnie. The momentum turned again, as we went for the winner and the visitors stuck everyone but Higdon behind the ball. I didn't think we were going to nick it, but a speculative effort from Meekings was only parried by Randolph straight to McKay, who buried it to spark a bit of pandemonium. And, this time, we hung on. Pleased to see Graeme Shinnie get MOTM today, as he kept Humphrey very quiet. Good performances all round, really, and I'd be loathe even to criticize the defence despite the loss of three goals. And, if I'm being honest, it was a joy to see James McFadden in the mood as well, even against us! As for Willie Gollum...sorry, Collum and his standside assistant - good god. Horrendous, the pair of them. Two games left, and the Europa League place is still in our hands...

3-3 at Dingwall in the cup and DA's wee fizzer at the end

1-0 Celtic yes Never thought I would ever say that!

After today's performance, I'd be offering Hogg a one year deal.

Ross County tickets will be on general sale from tomorrow from 12:00. There will be a singing section, just ask for the singing section when you phone as I'm not sure which section it will be yet. Singing section tickets will have to be bought this week as we will not be able to hold tickets for long as we have a relatively short window to sell this game. Season tickets also go on sale tomorrow, although due to the Monday holiday your letters will probably not drop through your doors until Tuesday morning.

I've seen tons of ICT officiated by Willie Collum yet I don't think I've ever seen him have a good game! And I thought the ref's performance in Perth last week was bad, yesterday's display was even worse!

County's failure to beat a severely under strength Celtic side today probably puts them out of the race. Whatever happens in the east end of Glasgow on Saturday, we need to take care of our own business and ensure we don't slip up against United after yesterday's supreme effort.

I'm afraid you have to earn respect, and you won't earn it by refereeing like that :yellowcard:

that was quite a stunning game of footie. Just had a night out with a couple of gers fans who were telling me how poor the SPL was this year. Destroyed, so they were. Crowd could have been better, but crap, nah. There was little or nothing to be dosappointed about today but if you want to (potentially) be part of history, it might be a good idea to get your erse to Caley Park next week. Tell them davie sent you.

Andrew shinnie was my mom. the whole team were totally up for it today. great performance all round. don't know how to get the crowds up but aanyone who says spl is boring obviously sits at home on their laptop in a vegetative state

That second half was the most nerve straining 45 minutes of football I have endured since the game against Falkirk that ultimately led to our relegation three years ago but, thankfully, with a more pleasing outcome. The game as a whole was a microcosm of our season, firstly, we seemed to have our European destiny well under our own control, then in the balance, then we appear to have thrown it away before finally pulling it out of the fire although, in my view the sending off was a game changer. Until that point there was only going to be one winner and it wasn't us but after the harsh sending off at Perth last week perhaps we deserved a bit of luck. Don't think the result at Tannadice was entirely negative from our point of view as it now leaves the Arabs arithmetic out of the equation with nothing to play for. The same effort and application as the boys showed today next week will leave us in a great position and, depending on results elsewhere, possibly qualified.

I need to go to A&E for a heart restart...........................fuccckkkin awesome game, I can't take any more of this

is it me or was that one of the worst ref and lino ( main stand side) we have has, we won but!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ask me in a fortnight!

Thanks lg no mayday holiday for shop staff

Like I said yday celtic StJs is a noon KO and stjs NEED to win. If they fail to do so we can wrap it up against DU. Big week ahead, I hope the players just keep their heads down!

Draw at full time. That neans that if we beat Dundee U next week and St J fail to win at Celtic, we will have clinched 3rd spot before the last game. Massive game for us on Saturday.

I agree with Fraz on this. One accepts that decisions are made in an instant and at times it is well nigh impossible to be spot on, but the issue here is when there are obvious things which are missed and which can have huge implications for the clubs. My case in point was the Watford Leeds game yesterday. Had Watford won they would have got automatic promotion to the Premier Division but they lost and now it is the agony of the play offs. Early in the first half Leeds played a long ball through but the Leeds forward chasing it was wrong side of the defender who was shielding the ball for the keeper to collect. Seeing he was not going to get the ball, the Leeds lad gave the defender a nudge just as the keeper was coming which made the defender lose his balance and crash into his own keeper. Both were injured and the keeper quite badly requiring a substitution. The effect was the same as if the Leeds lad had deliberately charged into the keeper with his elbow or shoulder when clearly it would have been a straight red. The referee was in a good position to see the push and should have sent him off - he didn't and I don't think the lad was even booked - but it was a cynically action which deserved red. As a result, Leeds kept 11 men on the park when they should have had 10 and the reserve keeper was implicated in both of Leeds goals. This is a case in point where the referee's failure to do his job properly may have cost a club several millions of pounds. We see far too many occasions when big decisions are badly wrong and when obvious fouls such as holding and shirt pulling are simply ignored. Yes, it can be a very difficult job, but it is reasonable to expect that referees at the top level in the game get the more obvious decisions correct.

I see your point. I think, though, that Motherwell had so many good chances simply because they are, by SPL standards, a very good side, easily deserving of their position. Until I see the highlights I won't know for sure, but individual errors may well have played a part in the Motherwell goals - I'm terrible at processing these things first time round. What impressed me so much about Hogg, though, was the way he used the ball so intelligently out of defence - there was no long ball stuff yesterday, it was calm and composed building from the back. The praise for Shinnie is to some extent relative as he coped with Humphrey so much better than he has done in any of our other games against Motherwell this season. As for Meekings, not only was he switching back into a position that he hasn't played for most of the season, but he was up against the best Scotland player of his generation, who has been coming back into some of his old form recently. McFadden did score two, of course, but otherwise he didn't influence that much of the game, and this was partly down to how Meekings played him. So yeah, I think that while probably none of these players was flawless, they do all deserve praise for their performances yesterday.

What Fraz said!

I do have some sympathy for officials as it's no doubt a difficult job and they are only human. However they choose to take up that responsibility and are VERY well paid for it (they got a pay raise this season did they not? Not many in the country can say that) they should be able to do their job to a high standard consistently. I think most people's frustrations also stem from the inability of referees to be allowed to explain certain decisions and also there seems to be no consequences for bad performances or decisions that can change the shape of a game. In addition they seem to be above any kind of critique from clubs who in some (not all) cases have good reason to do so. Case in point- linesman just this minute incorrectly flagged Celtic offside stopping them going up 2-1. What if County pip us to Europe due to that incorrect decision? Their mistakes can have far-reaching repercussions and they should be held accountable for that imo. Gollum's performance yesterday was pitiful (as was the pathetic main stand linesman) and deserved any pelters he gets. Though I absolutely agree players swan diving and rolling about greeting like they've been shot etc are a joke too.

oooft, give the man a break. Just back from a career threatening injury and the sniping begins. He was good enough to captain Hibs and his balls were big enough to get on the park yesterday and fill a hole in our defence. Big plus from me.

I don't know the answer to this, but I think it had some significance in the performance. No slight on OTJ, who has had some excellent performances this season, but it allowed Draper to be moved back to the middle, and he is infinitely more influential there than he is stuck out on the right. He was one of a number of players who were superb yesterday. Oh me of little faith. That's a couple times this season when I've allowed myself to start believing that the team had lost its edge, that the season was just going to peter out, and then they've proved me utterly wrong. The way they took the game to Motherwell throughout the first half was superb, and in a footballing sense it was one of our finest performances in months. Andrew Shinnie was back to his best, and when he plays like that, Billy Mackay gets chances. The two full backs also had fine games - what a player Meekings has become this season - and Chris Hogg was composed and dominant at the back, despite the penalty decision. Having to go up against a player the size of Michael Higdon, in such good form, after being out for 18 months or however long it was, must have been a hell of an ask, and he coped tremendously. Should also pass on my appreciation to the club for the welcoming and attentive way Red Card and I were treated in boardroom hospitality. I could get used to drinking Guinness out of crystal glasses. It also allowed us prime seats right in front of Neale Cooper, Steven Ferguson and Derek Adams, and the privilege of witnessing the colossal levels of (admittedly quite good humoured) seethe coming off Adams when Billy Mackay won his penalty.

Antonio, tear up your pre contract agreement. Your club needs you!! ICT please ask him to rethink. He is immense.

Have you guys ever tried to referee a game of football? We need referees and should treat them with more respect. Just because Terry spends 90 minutes calling them muppets does not give us the right to boo them regularly.

Great game, some excellent play and everyone showed real guts towards the and for the winner. Good to see billy back in the goals and to those who question shinniesta and his commitment - doubt you can say that today. 3rd v 2nd chasing Europe, 2nd last home game this season but a crap crowd. Disappointed not to see more reward for the players effort this year.

In all honesty, you'd have thought he'd never have been out!

Lemon head has alredy said that as league is won will not care if do not win games now great result for us today Motherwell still need 1 point for 2nd

They've got to play 1st and 2nd and hope we drop points against 5th and 6th. If I was a St J fan I would be wishing they were in the position we are in. It's ours to lose and by all accounts the lads are in no mood to throw it away.

we played very well and could have been more than 3 up. about 5 mins before motherwell scored we started to get ragged. could not keep ball etc game changed for me when meekings meet i think hammil in a 50/50. i was in the north stand and i could hear the thud of both players meeting the ball at the same time. looked like a good old fashioned tackle by both and the ball went out for a throw in to us. referee collulm gave a free kick to motherwell which had butcher raging on the side line. only thing i can think of was that meeking had both feet off the ground. would like to see it again on sunday night. from the free kick motherwell retained possesion and scored. at half time thought next goal was crucial. motherwell got it and it was game on. they were now playing like us in first half and could have scored more than the 3 they got. billy's pen was the chance to kill the game at 4-2 but i dont think he missed, randolph is by far the best keeper in the spl and it was a super save. could only see motherwell winning when it went to 3-3 , but ojamma sent off was the luck we needed and we got another chance to win the game which billy took. motherwell did not look like they had only 10 players as they created chances. looking back a great game (but not during the game when you are holding on for the win.) we were superb first 30 mins, and motherwell showed why they are 2nd behind cellic.

OMG He really does score when he wants! Wht a performance!

Get real folks - it is an incentive to carry on drinking through Saturday nite, a knock on the door of a friendly Sneck hostelry for breakfast, a carry lot fer the bus and oranges,voddie and a syringe.

I think you should be able to merge clubs in football manager...

Seems relevant to say this here rather than making a new thread about it. Our ref on Saturday is Willie Collum.

Usually when you post a link and a statement, the link is meant to back up your statement!