Ruddy Good Show

Motherwell manager Jim Gannon was impressed enough with his 'keeper, John Ruddy, to suggest he was the best in Scotland after a string of excellent saves helped his side secure a 1-1 draw with Aberdeen. Ruddy saved at point-blank range from Lee Miller's header seconds before Lukas Jutkiewicz fired inside Jamie Langfield's near post to give the home side a 13th-minute lead. Ruddy, on loan from Everton, made similar last-ditch saves from Michael Paton and Jerel Ifil either side of half-time. He looked to be invincible until Gary McDonald converted a Charlie Mulgrew cross by heading home at the back post. Gannon said: "There were some fantastic saves. He was called upon because of some poor defending in front of him but John is probably the best goalkeeper in Scotland just now. John has got the presence and quality. We're delighted to have him and delighted to give him the opportunity to show what he is capable of. I think he is destined for great things."

On-loan (and fellow Evertonian) Jutkiewicz, whose goal took his total to five in the SPL, agreed with Gannon's assessment. He said: "I've watched a lot of Scottish football since I've been up here and I can't see there is anyone who would stand above him. He is really flying at the moment. I've seen him make saves like that plenty of times at Everton and here at Motherwell. It's nice for him to get a little bit of notice. His stature and presence are probably a bit daunting for strikers and it instils confidence in the players in front of him."

Aberdeen finished the stronger side with Ruddy having to be at his best to dive low and push away Michael Paton's angled drive as it skidded along the wet surface. Aberdeen captain Mark Kerr said: "We're showing that we're all in it together. We dug in it and the end and Michael created a chance for himself and their keeper has made another great save. It shows when we're down we keep digging in. I thought we could have started a bit better but it was pleasing we came out and set the tone in the second half." Gannon said: "We felt Aberdeen would be clever enough to figure out a weakness in the system and use their full-backs to get out. So we went to a flatter midfield. We're fortunate we've got some fantastic players and they understand what we're trying to do with different shapes. I think we created enough chances when we were down to 10 men to win the game."