Dundee United boss Peter Houston hails Johnny Russell after late header earns 1-0 win over Motherwell

Peter Houston: Great quality from Johnny Russell

Dundee United boss Peter Houston hailed a moment of quality from Johnny Russell after his late header earned a 1-0 win over Motherwell at Fir Park.

The rain-hit game looked destined to end goalless when Russell struck with six minutes remaining, guiding a looping header from a tight angle beyond Darren Randolph.

Houston said: "On a difficult night I thought both teams tried to serve up a lot of football. One wee bit of quality has won us the game.

"It's not the first time Johnny Russell has scored a goal like that, he scored one at McDiarmid Park last season that was the exact same.

"I don't think it was a header across goal, he was trying to score. It deceived the goalkeeper and went over the top of his head but for me that shows great quality.

"It was a good ball in from Keith Watson, perfect delivery and a perfect header. Johnny Russell is capable of that, he is very good in the air."

The result extended United's unbeaten run to four games, and Houston was also keen to pay tribute to his solid defence.

He added: "That's our sixth clean sheet of the season, credit to the defenders. Brian McLean had to come in for Barry Douglas, who failed a fitness test, and he defended well."