Ross County

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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At half-time, a 3-0 defeat did not seem on the cards. County looked fairly comfortable, well organised and defensively stout.

They just didn't find the required reaction after United upped their level.

It seems a slight conundrum right now, finding the balance between being solid and being a threat, particularly when wins are so important in this league and can quickly change your position so quickly.

Away form is concerning, though. It's been a long, long time since they've registered a league win on the road and that is proving very costly.

Overall, County seem to have improved since last campaign and will look to find more threat ahead of their home fixture against Motherwell next time out.

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Ross County Don Cowie told BBC Scotland: "It was a really even first half. I was really happy with the performance away from home. We did a lot of things really well and looked a threat. The challenge was to build on that.

"We knew that they would try and come out quick, shooting into their fans. I thought we dealt with the first 10 minutes of that well. To concede the first goal just after that was really disappointing.

"I always expect more, demand more. You concede goals, it's part of football - it's about how you react, deal with adversity and we didn't do that well enough today.

"I've seen really good signs over the last few weeks in terms of how we defend. Really disappointed to come away losing three goals today. It's another reminder that you've just got to keep going even when the game's going against you, because to concede a goal again in stoppage time - at that point you've just got to make sure it finishes 2-0."

[On poor away record] "It's an issue because we've not stopped that run yet, and it'll always be an issue until we we deal with it. Every away game is an opportunity to win and try and get that monkey off our back until we do that."

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Dundee United: Walton, Adegboyega, Gallagher, Holt, Strain, Stephenson, Sevelj, Babunski, Ferry, Van der Sande, Dalby.

Substitutes: Richards, Odada, Middleton, Fotheringham, Docherty, Thomson, Constable, Stirton, Obuchioma.

Ross County: Laidlaw, Wright, Lopata, Leak, Brown, Randall, Nisbet, Campbell, Denholm, Dale, White.

Substitutes: Hamilton, Allardice, Chilvers, Grieves, Telfer, Efete, Samuel, Brophy, Reid.

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Midfielder Kristijan Trapanovski drops out for Dundee United after tweaking his hamstring against Hibernian.

Louis Moult (knee), Ross Docherty (muscular) and Ross Graham (hamstring) are battling to return while Craig Sibbald (groin) is definitely out.

Ross County remain without Will Nightingale (knee), George Harmon (ankle) and Max Sheaf (thigh).

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Don Cowie insists his Ross County side have shored up at the back as he singled out Everton loanee Eli Campbell for praise after the defender was called up for England's Under-20s.

County sit seventh in the goals conceded table (18), with their last two games finishing as goalless draws.

"We spoke about being better defensively - and if you look at the goals against, they’ve really only come in a couple of games rather than over a period of 12 matches - which shows the improvement that we've had," Cowie said.

"The [last] two games highlighted that, two really solid defensive displays – albeit without getting the goals to get three points."

The main concern for County is their troubling away record as they have gone 22 games since last winning on the road.

"Until we break that [record], I’m always going to get asked the question and rightly so. It doesn’t mean we go into any away game not trying to win it – I think on Saturday you could see that," Cowie added.

"If we keep giving ourselves the best opportunity one of these days we will fall on the right side of it away from home - and that can give the group real belief."

Meanwhile, Campbell - who moved back to his natural centre-back position for the draw against St Mirren instead of filling in at left wing-back - came in for praise.

"He’s done brilliantly," Cowie added. "You forget how young and inexperienced he is in terms of first-team football, but he's been a breath of fresh air in terms of how he conducts himself and trains.

"I don’t think it matters which position I play him in - he will do the best he can and once again on Saturday he illustrated that."

• Dundee United have won seven of their last 10 top-flight home games against Ross County (L3), although lost their most recent in May 2023 (3-1).

• Ross County are unbeaten in three league meetings with Dundee United (W2 D1), their longest ever such run over the Tangerines in the top flight. The Staggies’ two wins in those last three fixtures are more than they managed in their previous 12 Scottish Premiership encounters beforehand (W1 D2 L9).

• Dundee United have only kept one clean sheet in their last seven home league games, conceding 2+ goals in five of them (13 total).

• Ross County have drawn eight of their last 14 league games (W2 D4), with both of their last two ending goalless. The last side to play out three straight 0-0s in the Scottish Premiership were Hibernian between February to March 2022.

• Ross County’s Connor Randall has made more combined tackles (35) and interceptions (18) than any other player in the Scottish Premiership this season (53), while only four players have won possession more times than the Staggies captain (58) in the division this term.

Ronan Hale is confident his scoring form for Ross County can catapult him into Northern Ireland's plans in 2025 despite the 26-year-old striker missing out on the latest squad because of delays to paperwork for his switch from Republic of Ireland, for whom he played up to under-21 level. (Press & Journal), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Ross Morren
Fan writer

Ross County have been criticised in recent seasons for their defensive record and number of goals conceded. However, successive clean sheets in the goalless draws against Hibernian and St Mirren has highlighted the current confidence and strength in The Staggies' backline.

It's the first time County have earned back-to-back clean sheets in the Premiership in nearly a year. Don Cowie managed 15 Premiership matches last season and didn't see his side pick up a clean sheet, whereas the clean sheet earned in Paisley was the fourth clean sheet in 12 Premiership matches this season - only Celtic and Rangers have more.

The recruitment of Akil Wright and Kacper Lopata is a big reason for the new-found defensive stability. Wright has really impressed with his strength, pace and power on the right side of the County backline, while Lopata - who only arrived in Dingwall towards the end of the summer transfer window - has become the glue which holds the backline together with his aerial ability and no-nonsense defending.

The back three of Wright, Lopata and Ryan Leak have shown they can cope against all kinds of opponents, from physical strikers to quick wingers who want to stretch the game and run in behind. Even when there needs to be an adjustment to the backline such as in Paisley when Leak missed the game due to illness and was replaced by Eli Campbell, the back three defended their box brilliantly for the 90 minutes.

On the rare occasion the defence has been breached, Ross Laidlaw has stepped up to make some big saves this season. His penalty save from Greg Kiltie's in the first half was impressive, but his save to stop Jonah Ayunga's header in the second half was outstanding.

Based on his performances over the past couple of seasons, what else does he have to do earn a Scotland call-up?

Ross Morren can be found on the County Corner podcast., external

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Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill says the process of securing international clearance for Ronan Hale to switch allegiance from the Republic of Ireland remains "a work in progress".

The Ross County striker remains unavailable for selection for the forthcoming Nations League matches against Belarus and Luxembourg on 15 and 18 November.

The 26-year-old former Cliftonville frontman played for the Republic at age-group level, before deciding to begin the process of becoming available to Northern Ireland.

"It’s a work in progress. It is an administration process which is in the hands of Fifa. There were one or two things around passports being produced and that has all been done," explained Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill.

"I kind of knew when I had the conversation with Ronan, I warned him this is not something that will be done overnight. I’ve seen this take as long as six, eight, 10 months on occasions so the important thing is that we follow all the right steps, which we have."

O'Neill had hoped to have the forward at his disposal for some of his side's Nations League Group C3 fixtures but must now hope that the former Irish League striker will be available for the start of the World Cup qualifying campaign in March.

“What determines how a player does at international level, and whether he is selected, is their club form. So Ronan just has to continue what he has been doing and that’s focus on his club game.

“He was on the bench on Saturday for Ross County, He did well in the second half, so we are watching him as a player we intend to look at and come under consideration to be picked for the squad."

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

A penalty save and a clean sheet against St Mirren, job done for Ross Laidlaw.

It's a straightforward pick between the sticks.

Watch highlights as St Mirren draw 0-0 against Ross County in the Scottish Premiership.

We asked for your thoughts on Ross County's 0-0 draw against St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.

Here's what you said:

Paul: Another solid defensive performance. Lack of punch up front is slightly concerning but chances are being created a little more and we could be a challenge for any team in the league.

County fans, were you at the game in Paisley or following along from home? What did you make of your team's performance? What do you make of the point?

Let us know your thoughts here, external.

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Ross County manager Don Cowie: "You always want more.

"The objective before the game was to try and get three points but it's a really difficult place to come, I thought we defended extremely well and I'm really proud of the team coming away with a clean sheet.

"You've got to work for everything you get and it's a real challenge. We're really keen to win away from home but there's no divine right that we should.

"I thought we grew in belief as the game went on and had the ball maybe dropped for us it could've been us walking away with three points. Overall I'm really pleased with the point."

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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Another point on the road will be pleasing for Cowie, whose side haven't won away in the league in over a year.

County weren't dominated in the 90 minutes either and had their own opportunities to snatch a victory.

They often looked threatening on the break, Jack Grieves did really well in attack. but surely the most pleasing thing for Cowie will be the performance of his goalkeeper.

A penalty save and a couple of other important stops from Laidlaw made it two clean sheets in two games against some tough opposition.

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A penalty save and a clean sheet, not much more you can ask for from a goalkeeper. Ross Laidlaw was crucial in securing a point for Ross County against St Mirren.

Stephen Robinson has made just one change from Wednesday night's victory over St Johnstone.

Charles Dunne drops out with an injury and Richard Taylor starts in his place.

Ross County have made three changes from their 0-0 draw with Hibs in midweek.

Ryan Leak misses out completely through illness while Ronan Hale and Aidan Denholm drop to the bench.

Jack Grieves, Josh Nisbet and Josh Reid are in from the start.

Ross County defender James Brown, 26, hopes to force his way into the Republic of Ireland squad. (Press and Journal - subscription), external

Read Saturday's Scottish gossip

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St Mirren pair Jaden Brown and Kevin van Veen are unavailable following court appearances.

Roland Idowu (ankle), Charles Dunne (hamstring) and Conor McMenamin (knee) will be assessed while Alex Iacovitti (tendon) is out long term.

Ross County have Charlie Telfer available after suspension, but Will Nightingale (knee), George Harmon (ankle) and Max Sheaf (thigh) are likely to miss out.

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James Brown says Ross County head to face St Mirren with confidence as they look to make it seven points in the space of a week.

After a run of four games without a win, the Staggies defeated Kilmarnock last weekend before drawing 0-0 with Hibernian on Wednesday.

Those results helped elevate the Dingwall side to eighth in the Premiership and they could climb into the top six with a victory in Paisley this weekend.

"Getting the point in midweek is big for us," said Irish defender Brown.

"There's a lot of big clubs below us that will probably come steaming towards the end of the season.

"It's just important to keep getting the points on the board and try to stay above them.

"Another big game on Saturday, a winnable game, we go there with confidence. We come off of two games with four points.

"We need to look at these games and try and win them, to try and stay in and around the teams in the top six."

County have gone over a year since last winning away in the league, but Brown is hopeful of ending that wretched run soon.

"It's a good opportunity to do it this week, we've got a bit of confidence in us," he added.

"We just need to get a bit more consistency, the teams below us are big clubs, so it's just about staying steady with it.

"We're going into the games with more confidence and looking for wins, rather than not getting beat."

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• St Mirren are unbeaten in seven home games against Ross County in the Scottish Premiership (W5 D2) since a 3-0 reverse in April 2015. The Buddies have kept a clean sheet in their last five such home games against the Staggies, winning the last three.

• The away side has won none of the last eight league meetings between St Mirren and Ross County (six home wins, two draws), with the last away win in this fixture being the Buddies' 3-2 victory in October 2021.

• St Mirren have lost each of their last three league games played on a Saturday, last losing more consecutively in the Scottish Premiership on that specific day in April 2022 (five in a row).

• Ross County are winless in their last 21 away games in the Scottish Premiership (D8 L13), since a 1-0 win at Kilmarnock in September 2023; that is now the outright longest winless streak away from home in the competition this century.

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Don Cowie has challenged his Ross County players to build on recent momentum by ending their 14-month wait for a Premiership away win.

The Staggies have picked up just two points from a possible 12 on the road this season and are 21 away matches without victory since a 1-0 triumph at Kilmarnock in September last year.

However, they head to face St Mirren on Saturday buoyed by a win over Killie and draw with Hibs, both in Dingwall.

"I don't think there's any perfect place because any venue you go to is a difficult game but every away game is an opportunity to finish that run that we're on," said manager Cowie.

"We're well aware the results haven't been good enough. Some of the performances have been good.

"This year we've gone away to Hearts and Motherwell and got two really good points. It's not just about winning, it's about putting in a good performance at a difficult venue."

The 41-year-old Staggies boss praised "fantastic" St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson and is aware it won't be an easy task to face his "powerful team".

"Stephen has done a great job at St Mirren," added Cowie.

"They had a fantastic season last year. They're a really strong, powerful team, they make you defend, they've got a lot of threats.

"We need to be ready for that, they'll be buoyed by their win [on Wednesday] but we're in a good place and we're looking forward to it."