WHEN the final whistle sounded on this relentless 90 minutes of football, several Ross County players collapsed to the Fir Park turf. Others hugged the nearest white jersey they could find. Some even looked to the heavens. 

It was a fitting image to bring the curtain down on the Premiership season as the Staggies fought from behind to secure their top flight future on a dramatic final day. 

They had done it the hard way but when their fate was finally sealed the celebrations were loud, and, one presumes, will be long into the night. 

In a season of strange, Covid-restricted goodbyes, there was something particularly sad about Allan Campbell’s today. Out of the squad and with no fans in the stadium, there was no lap of honour or words of thanks over the Fir Park loudspeakers for the hometown boy. 

A banner hung on the Davie Cooper stand scaffolding was as good as it got but the ‘Well supporters will be the first to tell you Campbell, with the Steelmen for 13 years, deserved a better send off.

Glasgow Times: Allan Campbell Allan Campbell

Likewise there was no real cheerio for Aberdeen-bound Declan Gallagher (an unused substitute) or even Jake Hastie and Liam Kelly, who’ll both return to their parent clubs, all leaving sizable gaps for Graham Alexander to fill. 

Sam Foley’s midfield berth is another hole that could soon need to be plugged and after just seven minutes the intelligent Irishman had handed his side the lead. 

During a frantic spell, the ‘Well soaked up several County jabs before pulling at the guests’ threads and sensing an opening for Mark O’Hara to charge into. He picked up Devante Cole’s clever flick and cut the ball back for Foley to supply an improvised finish with his knee. 

It was a hammer blow to the Staggies’ survival hopes but time was, crucially, on their side and so ensued a relentless spell of County pressure. With the flick of Iain Vigurs’ left boot one minute, or the easy glide of Stephen Kelly into a pocket of space the next, John Hughes’ men ramped up their forays towards Liam Kelly’s goal. 

Often it came to nothing, the Steelmen digging in to keep their guests at arm’s length, but the Staggies were getting closer and Jordan White really should have equalised before the break. 

A devilish cross from Blair Spittal on the left proved too hot for Tyler Maglorie and Ricki Lamie to handle and when a weak header fell to the striker’s feet inside the six-yard box, he could only crash an effort against Kelly’s crossbar and fall to the floor in disbelief. 

The Staggies - many of whom are out of contract in the summer - knew their futures were on the line and they were playing like it. Vigurs, who had earlier been booked, told Spittal in no uncertain terms what he thought of his inability to stay onside, and later Michael Gardyne’s team-mates looked on in agony when he refused to play a pass to the unmarked White, instead going alone and running out of road.

Glasgow Times: Iain Vigurs Iain Vigurs

So, it seemed, were County, but then came Vigurs with a moment of quality worthy of much more than the Premiership play-offs. Having spent much of the first-half dictating play, he decided to get his hands dirty, escaping the clutches of the ‘Well midfield, playing a one-two with Stephen Kelly, and curling an audacious shot into the top corner of Liam Kelly’s net. The celebrations on the Staggies bench told their own story. 

As did those in the stand and Roy MacGregor, the County chairman, had hardly taken his seat when once again he was up in jubilation. This time it was Gardyne, as fate would have it, a former Kilmarnock player, darting off in delight after he showed the composure of his years to slot under the Motherwell goalkeeper when played through by White to all but secure the Staggies’ survival. 

When it was finally set in stone 20 minutes later, the County party wasted little time in getting underway.