Stuart McCall felt that his side were lucky to come back and win 3-2 at bottom-of-the-table Inverness which kept them in second place in the SPL. The Steelmen had to come from behind twice on Saturday, with Shaun Hutchinson and Keith Lasley equalising efforts by David Davis and Andrew Shinnie for Inverness. Caley Thistle lost the services of defender Chris Hogg four minutes from time when he was shown a straight red card for what referee Crawford Allan perceived to be the denial of a goalscoring opportunity to Jamie Murphy. From the resultant free-kick, Tom Hateley curled home the winner, albeit with the aide of a slight deflection. The win kept Motherwell three points clear of third-placed Celtic who drew 0-0 with Hibs. Third meets second on Sunday at Fir Park, although the hosts may have to do without Steven Hammell, who came off worst following a robust challenge early in the first half by Inverness defender Josh Meekings. McCall said: "It was a massive win for us, even if we didn't deserve the three points. I feel for Terry Butcher and Inverness because they gave everything for their manager, but they do say it's a sign of a good team when you don't play well, yet still manage to win. It was a blow to firstly lose Steve Jennings to injury in the morning of the game, then we lost Steven Hammell early doors. Steven has a big gash on his shin, while it looks like he's also done his ankle ligaments and has a cut to his head. The young lad for Inverness has perhaps just shown too much enthusiasm in trying to win the ball, but I've watched it again and it's a bad one. He could have had no complaints if the referee had shown a straight red card." Inverness manager Terry Butcher thought there were plenty of positives to take from his side's display, despite his overriding feeling being one of anger following Hogg's sending off. He said: "I was really pleased with the players. They could not have given me much more. The fans gave the boys a standing ovation at the end and if the players can keep on giving performances like that then the rest of of the season won't be a problem. It was also great to see Jonny Hayes back after injury and overall it was encouraging, especially the way we played in the second half where we had wave after wave of attack."
Source: FOOTYMAD
