Ross County

Sportscene pundits Neil McCann and Lee Miller reflect on Ross County's goal threat in their 2-1 win against Kilmarnock.

Watch highlights as Ross County win 2-1 against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership.

County fans, we asked for your views on Saturday's 2-1 win over Kilmarnock.

Here's what some of you said:

Ron: We just about deserved the win in a tense game, though we were significantly aided by the utter folly of Kilmarnock's Liam Donnelly. Very similar to Eli King's mindless sending off the previous week in Perth. Noah Chilvers had one of his best games in a County shirt and will become a real goal threat once he gets his eye in. Connor Randall, as ever, was everywhere

Jim: There's very little to choose between any of the teams below the top three. We continue to pull out results at home and struggle away. If we can find some way of picking up extra points on the road we could comfortably be away from a struggle at the bottom. Our squad depth is good enough to match bigger budget and bigger expectation teams.

Paul: An important result to get a positive reaction after the St Johnstone loss last week and being at home. We kept Killie quiet but all it takes is a moment which gave them their goal. Excellent reaction from the players to pull it back, and get the win. We need to build from this and get the results away from home now!

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• Ross County have won after conceding the opening goal in the Premiership for the first time since 4th May 2024 against Hibernian (five games without a win).

• Kilmarnock have lost after scoring the opening goal in the Premiership for the first time since 5th May 2024 against Rangers (three games without defeat).

• Noah Chilvers attempted 6 shots in this game, the joint-highest total for a Ross County player in the Premiership this season.

• Kilmarnock have scored in their last 6 games in the Premiership, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of 15 games from 23rd December 2023 to 13th April 2024.

Ross County came from behind to punish 10-man Kilmarnock and end the visitors' run of five games unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership.

What did you make of that one, County fans? A deserved three points in the end?

And does it give you hope for the season ahead?

Let us know your thoughts here., external

Ross County manager Don Cowie told BBC Scotland: "We're absolutely delighted to get the three points, we showed really good character after going behind.

"We did the basics really well in the first half, in terms of competing and making it difficult for Kilmarnock. We came off it for about 10 minutes and that's when they capitalised and went 1-0 up.

"Second half it was about coming out and trying to do the same, with a bit more intent in the final third. The sending off has a big impact in the game but you have to take advantage of that and we did that.

"It helped that we scored straight after the sending off. That gave us a bit more belief to go on and get the winner. You still have to go and do it. We maybe sat in slightly to see it out but that's a natural instinct.

"We're a really honest group and we were really disappointed in the performance and result last week. As always in football, you have the option to respond and we did that.

"The league is all about who can be the most consistent, especially away from the top couple of teams. Dundee United have shown that, Motherwell also. It's about consistency and following up today with another positive result on Wednesday."

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Last season, County's home record was the seventh best in the league and the foundation for their survival in the top flight.

Cowie spoke of the importance of maintaining that record before the game and once again they proved how stubborn they are in Dingwall.

The only games they've lost at home this season were to unbeaten Celtic and Aberdeen and they pushed both of them close.

Although not technically the strongest squad in the league, there is still a feeling that the players will run through walls for their manager and today they really had to grind it out.

The mild concern was that Kilmarnock made it far easier than it should have been, and County still only won by a goal. When Ronan Hale isn't firing, they need to find other routes to goal.

Noah Chilvers was the only real creative spark, but of his six shots only two were on target.

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Jordan White. Given the prominence of Chris Wood and Erling Haaland in the EPL down south, maybe it should be no surprise that White was on the scoresheet today.

The traditional target man is back, and while Kyle Vassell struggled in the rain in Dingwall, White looked comfortable on his return to the starting line-up.

He gave a tough Kilmarnock defence a torrid afternoon and was a good focal point for County's attacks.

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Ross County: Laidlaw, Leak, Lopata, Wright, Brown, Randall, Denholm, Reid, Chilvers, White, Hale.

Substitutes: Hamilton, Lamie, Allardice, Loturi, Grieves, Nisbet, Efete, Samuel, Brophy.

Kilmarnock: McCrorie, Mayo, Deas, Findlay, Ndaba, Armstrong, Lyons, Donnelly, Kennedy, Vassell, Watkins.

Substitutes: O'Hara, Burroughs, Wright, McKenzie, Watson, Mackay-Steven, Murray, Anderson, Wales.

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On-loan Everton defender Eli Campbell and midfielder Charlie Telfer are suspended for Ross County, but centre-half Ricki Lamie returns to contention after an Achilles injury.

Will Nightingale, George Harmon and Max Sheaf remain out.

Kilmarnock defender Joe Wright is back from suspension, but midfielder Liam Polworth remains out along with long-term absentee Kyle Magennis.

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Jordan White has vowed Ross County will bounce back from the heavy defeat to St Johnstone when they host Kilmarnock on Saturday.

County are currently 10th in the Premiership, with just one win in nine games so far.

"Every game in this league is tough, we first and foremost want a reaction from last week," said strker White.

"We've got to work hard, that's what Ross County is all about and we can't defend like we have the two weeks previously and go into the St Johnstone game and think we can ease off.

"We need to be like that every week. It's just drumming that in again, we've got a good group of boys and we will bounce back."

Don Cowie's side put in a brilliant performance in Dingwall at the start of the month to scare Celtic before two late goals saw them fall to a 2-1 defeat, while they beat Rangers for the first time in April at home.

"We're comfortable at home and that shows in our performances, sometimes away from home we've been unlucky not to grab something out of the game," added White.

"We believe we can beat anybody in the league but we've got to be on it, working hard and fighting for each other to take things from the game."

The Staggies have a chance to prove that on Saturday when they host Kilmarnock, who have won both their games in October - beating Dundee with a late comeback before shocking Rangers.

"Over the last six months we've proved how good we can be at home," White said. "Yes, [Kilmarnock] have had a good result but it's never easy to come up to Ross County after such a big result.

"They'll be coming high in confidence, they've probably not had the start that they wanted and they'll be looking to kick on and we want to make amends for last week."

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• Ross County are unbeaten in seven Scottish Premiership home games against Kilmarnock (W4 D3) since a 2-1 reverse in March 2017 under Jim McIntyre.

• After their 1-0 win in April last season, Kilmarnock could pick up back-to-back Scottish Premiership victories over Ross County for the first time since March 2017.

• Ross County have won just one of their last 12 league games (D6 L5), losing both of their last two. Only once since the start of last season have the Staggies lost more league matches in a row, suffering four successive defeats in February.

• Kilmarnock have won back-to-back league games, and could win three in a row within a single Scottish Premiership season for the first time since October 2020 under Alex Dyer.

• Marley Watkins has scored in three of his last four league appearances (three goals), with those goals worth four points to Kilmarnock. Only Pape Gueye’s goals for Aberdeen have been worth more to a side in the Scottish Premiership this season (five).

Ross County manager Don Cowie hopes local rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle can recover from administration. (Press and Journal - subscription), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish gossip

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Don Cowie says his side must look to "put smiles on the faces" of Ross County fans after slumping to a disappointing 3-0 defeat at St Johnstone.

This Saturday, the Highland side welcome Kilmarnock to Dingwall, where Cowie feels his team's form has been "really strong".

The County boss says his squad recognise what went wrong in Perth at the weekend and his players are eager to put it right.

"The last five performances prior to Saturday were really good," he added.

"Our form at home has been really strong and we need to get back to that. That's always the motivation, that's why we work as hard as we do.

"We want to put smiles on the fans' faces, we want them to be proud of their team. On Saturday we didn't do that, but we are all aware of it, we all recognise it, and in football you always get an opportunity to turn that around."

In Kilmarnock, Cowie says he must prepare to face are a "very good team" after they picked up a 1-0 win against Rangers on Sunday.

The County boss feels that since Killie exited European football, they are making an impact domestically.

"They're a very good team," Cowie said. "We all understand they had a difficult moment at the start of the season trying to play in Europe.

"You can see now they don't have the European football they've had two very good victories in the last couple of league games."

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Don Cowie has been talking to the media before Ross County's game against Kilmarnock this weekend.

Here are the key points from his press conference:

• Cowie was "disappointed with the result and the performance" in the 3-0 defeat at St Johnstone last Saturday.

• He wants the Staggies to get back to the "good team performances" they delivered over the previous five games and hopes to maintain their strong home form.

• County owe the supporters a response at the weekend and Cowie says "in football you always get an opportunity to turn it around".

• He adds: "The fans are always the motivation, that's why we work as hard as we do, we want to put smiles on their faces, we want them to be proud of their team."

• On Kilmarnock, he says "they’re a very good team" but "history shows we can be really competitive in this league."

Ross Morren
Fan writer

Ross County fans were hopeful their side might finally end their away-day hoodoo as the Staggies travelled down the A9 to McDiarmid Park to face St Johnstone.

Unfortunately, the 90 minutes in Perth was a perfect example of Murphy's law – anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

Things started to unravel very quickly. Benjamin Kimpioka caught the County defence napping at the back post as he reacted quickest to tap home the opener.

Things went from bad to worse after 30 minutes as Eli Campbell was sent off for two bookable offences. I thought his first caution was pretty harsh, however there's no disputing his second yellow as it was a rash tackle to make, especially already being on a booking.

The game was effectively over on the stroke of half-time as Kimpioka doubled his tally and St Johnstone's lead in identical circumstances to his opener.

In the second half, County huffed and puffed to try and get back into the match but failed to create any clear-cut chances or test Ross Sinclair in the St Johnstone goal.

In the closing stages, Charlie Telfer - only on the pitch three minutes - was shown a straight red card by John Beaton for a tackle on Sven Sprangler, meaning County were down to nine men for the first time since Boxing Day 2020.

To rub salt into the wounds, Makenzie Kirk tapped in St Johnstone's third goal with virtually the last kick.

As bad days at the office go, this has to be right up there. With back-to-back home matches against Kilmarnock and Hibernian on the horizon, Don Cowie and his players will be desperate to make amends for a bitterly disappointing day in Perth.

Ross Morren can be found at The County Corner, external

BBC Sportscene pundits Neil McCann and Barry Robson reflect on Ross County's red cards in their 3-0 defeat against St Johnstone.

Graeme: Very disappointing, but Don Cowie and the players know that. Football is played in the mind as much as on the pitch, and this game highlights the contrast between battling Celtic at home and facing St Johnstone. The 'they shall not pass' mentality was lost in going toe-to-toe with a stronger side. County will regroup and come back stronger.

Angus: I had optimism going into the game. I have watched County for a long time. I think the performance from the whole squad on the park is the worst I have seen. You could not say that was a team of professional players out there. So disappointed.

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• Jack Sanders attempted 96 passes in this game, the highest total for a St Johnstone player in the Premiership this season.

• Benjamin Kimpioka has scored four goals in the Premiership this season (two in this game), more than any other St Johnstone player.

• St Johnstone attempted 18 shots in this game, their highest total in a single match in the Premiership this season.

• St Johnstone attempted 631 passes in this game, their highest total in a single match in the Premiership this season.

• Ross County have failed to score in four of their nine games, no team has failed to do so more often in the Premiership this season.

Don Cowie said his side, "let the fans down today" following the 3-0 defeat to St Johnstone.

Were you part of the travelling support or did you take in the game elsewhere?

Either way, we want to hear from you.

Give us your thoughts on the game here., external

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Ross County manager Don Cowie: "We concede pretty early in the game and then we go down to ten men. It's about trying to stay in the game up until half-time, getting in at 1-0, then regroup, so, really disappointed to concede right on the stroke of half-time. Then, the task is even greater in the second half when we go down to nine.

"You don't want to be 2-0 down with ten men, but what I did say to them was 'let's go and work hard and put our bodies on the line,' and again, I'm just really disappointed to get to the last minute of the game and concede a third goal because if we came away with a 2-0, I would have accepted it to a degree, in terms of playing for a long time with ten men and then nine.

"We have to respond from it. We are disappointed. We took a big travelling support. today and we let them down in terms of the result and we need to make sure next Saturday against Kilmarnock that were back to what we can do best."

On Eli Campbell's two yellow card: "I've not seen them back, but he has made two fouls and been booked for both of them. It seems slightly harsh. But, if they deem it as a yellow, then we have to go with that."

On Charlie Telfer's red card: "I think it's a split-second decision. The ball drops in the middle of the park, Charlie's just come on the field, is eager to have an impact and he sees the ball and mistimes it. I've not seen it again to see the extent of how dangerous it looked, but, he is not a dangerous player and he has not went out to hurt someone, so he is disappointed in terms of getting a red card."