The award was dubious, with doubt over whether Jake Carroll's foul on Kayne Ramsay was inside the box, but it was enough to move County into eighth.

"Motherwell were throwing everything at us at the end," Mackay said.

"We're not getting carried away. There's a lot of teams in that area and any team in this league can go on a little run. The first task is keeping Ross County in the division."

As for Motherwell, they are now nine games without a league win - a run that stretches back to 26 December. As a result, they drop out of the top six for the first time since October.

• Reaction & as it happened

Hungbo's penalty was the only real moment of action in the first-half, but it certainly was a talking point.

There was no question that Carroll fouled Ramsay but as the players collapsed in a heap near the white line even 'Hawk-eye' would have struggled to decipher where the foul happened.

As it was, referee John Beaton pointed to the spot and Hungbo - not Regan Charles-Cook, who missed a penalty in the win over Dundee a few weeks ago - sent Liam Kelly the wrong way.

Motherwell huffed and puffed but created few clear cut chances. Connor Shields had a good opportunity in the second-half, diverting a Kevin van Veen shot past a post.

The Dutchman tried, too, with a long-range curler and flashed header that were off target. Jordan Roberts' close-range header was the best chance, but Ross Laidlaw stood tall to palm over the bar and hold on to all three points.

In truth, there wasn't a great to deal in this game but the repercussions make for more interesting reading. The latest loss in a string of bad results for Graham Alexander, whose side are yet to win in the league this calendar year.

Although they've occupied fourth more than any other position this year, the Fir Park men held on to that European spot because of the inconsistency of those around them.

With sides like County and Livingston finding form, they run a real risk of a similar finish to last season's eighth place.

Man of the match - Alex Iacovitti

The centre-back was part of a County defence that just about held out

What did we learn?

Fir Park has a beautiful pitch these days and the conditions seemed perfect for a night of possession-based football. However, neither side wanted to play that way.

The surface was instead conducive for slide tackle after slide tackle - a thing of footballing beauty, in its own way.

It's another big three points for County, who have pretty conclusively pulled themselves away from any relegation talk and now - somehow - have eyes on a European place.

All that despite star-man Charles-Cook having a fairly poor game, a game in which County as a whole failed to produce much attacking threat. That's the mark of a good side, apparently.

What they said

Motherwell manager Graham Alexander: "We concede a goal out of nothing, against the run of play. We did break them down at times but we didn't find the final touch, the final bit of quality to score.

"[The foul for the penalty] started and finished outside the box. But we have to get on with the game and look at what we can control. There's something lacking at both ends of the pitch."

Ross County manager Malky Mackay: "I've got no idea if it was a penalty or not but sometimes thing go for you and against you. A couple of things went against us but overall I thought [referee] John Beaton did well.

"That first 10 games, we had our issues but we were playing not bad and the team were getting to know each other and getting to know me. Since then, we've kicked on."

What's next?

Both sides are in action on Saturday, with Motherwell hosting Dundee and Ross County entertaining St Mirren (both 15:00 GMT).