Van Veen scores late as Motherwell beat County

Motherwell's Calum Butcher pleads to referee Alan Muir that it should not be a penalty in the second half.

Kevin van Veen scored in a ninth-consecutive Scottish top-flight game as his 99th minute penalty gave Motherwell a dramatic late win at home against relegation-threatened Ross County.

Then County captain Keith Watson was judged to have used his hand in the box and a VAR check handed Van Veen his chance to break the record. He was never missing.

Manager Malky Mackay was left to rue that decision and one earlier in the second half when a penalty award to his side was rescinded by referee Euan Anderson after he consulted the pitch-side VAR monitor.

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That decision came five minutes into the second half. County were initially awarded a penalty when Alex Samuel was bundled over but, after a lengthy check, Anderson was called over and opted to alter his initial call.

Substitute Edwards then received the second of two yellow cards in the space of five minutes, leaving Mackay incensed.

And that fury was compounded when referee Anderson again consulted the monitor after Watson handled the ball, with a late spot-kick ultimately awarded to the hosts.

It seemed a foregone conclusion that Van Veen would slot it home, which he did with great composure to leave Mark Viduka's tally of scoring in 10 consecutive top-flight games in the 2000/01 season next in his sights.

The first half seemed entertaining at the time but now pale's in comparison to the late theatrics.

County went close through Samuel but the shot on the turn was touched wide by Liam Kelly, with two Paul McGinn efforts from outside the area testing Ross Laidlaw for the home side,

Sean Goss went close in the second half and Van Veen had a effort palmed away before the game sparked into life in the 91st minute.

Player of the match - Blair Spittal

Despite the game's entertaining passages of play, few players were able to show off their individual talents. Spittall was a rare exception with more passes in the final third than any other player.

County need to find spark quickly - analysis

Kettlewell spoke about consistency until the end of the season being key, despite his side's safety, and their performance suggested that message has seeped through to the players.

They were fast, direct and just lacking a clinical touch as all of their forward players showed inspired touches at times to pick holes in County's defence.

A special mention to Mikael Mandron. His forward play often goes unnoticed due to Van Veen's exploits but he was key today, with 100% passing accuracy into the final third.

County know that they need to take as many points as possible. A draw would have lifted them out of the play-off spot due to Kilmarnock losing.

They don't have time to feel sorry for themselves over the VAR calls though, with a midweek fixture fast approaching already.

Yan Dhanda showed in glimpses again today that he may be crucial to their survival hopes, with their strikers not quite as effective as they'll need.

What's next?

Motherwell are at Livingston on Wednesday (19:45 BST), with County hosting St Johnstone at the same time.