Ross County

Akil Wright's 97th-minute goal earned a dramatic draw for Ross County in a six-goal Scottish Premiership thriller with managerless St Johnstone.

Ronan Hale opened the scoring for the hosts when he latched on to Josh Nisbet's pass and sent a low effort beyond Ross Sinclair in the St Johnstone goal.

However, the visitors' response was emphatic. Drey Wright equalised just before half-time with a powerful strike into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

And Nicky Clark netted twice from free-kicks - including a stunning second - to put the Perth side in control in their first outing since Craig Levein's sacking.

But Alex Samuel made it a nervy finish in Dingwall when he headed in from close range and Wright completed the comeback with a spectacular header from Jack Greives' free-kick.

County rise to eighth in the table while St Johnstone stay 10th.

Give us your thoughts on County's performance here, external.

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Ross County manager Don Cowie:

"It was a strange game, I thought we were really in control of the match when we went 1-0 up and probably should have been further ahead.

"When Nicky Clark's on the pitch there's always a chance he can punish you and he did that in the second half with two excellent free-kicks but we kept going, showed great character and went right to the end and got a point which I think we deserved.

"At home there is that never say die attitude, we want this to be a really hard place for teams to come to get points.

"We're a really fit team so we go right to the end and that was evident again today.

"My overriding thought is that I'm really proud of the group again, they've shown great character to get a point out of a really challenging situation."

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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County have scored three goals in the last 15 minutes of matches, a feat that no other top-flight side can match. That's also half of the goals they've netted this season.

The point maintains the impressive home record under Cowie, who has suffered just two defeats in Dingwall since taking charge.

While the overall performance will unlikely fill Cowie with joy, the fight and determination to come back from 3-1 down to steal a point certainly should.

Don Cowie makes one change to his starting XI from last weekend's 2-0 victory over Dundee.

Ryan Leak is in to replace George Harmon who picked up an injury against Dundee and drops out of the whole squad.

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Ross County: Laidlaw, Brown, Leak, Wright, Randall, Hale, Chilvers, Campbell, Lopata, Nisbet, White.

Substitutes: Hamilton, Loturi, Grieves, Denholm, Telder, Efete, Samuel, Brophy, Smith.

St Johnstone: Sinclair, Raymond, Cameron, Sanders, Neilson, Holt, Clark, Wright, Smith, Sprangler, Kirk.

Substitutes: Rae, Keltjens, Carey, MacPherson, McPake, Bright, Dair, Essel, Kucheriavyi.

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Ross County have doubts over George Harmon and Josh Reid but Max Sheaf and Will Nightingale have returned to training. Ricki Lamie (Achilles) remains out.

St Johnstone pair Benjamin Kimpioka and Adama Sidibeh are suspended while Jack Sanders is back from a ban.

Graham Carey returns from a short-term injury, while Uche Ikpeazu (knee) and Sam McClelland (Achilles) are still absent.

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James Brown says Ross County must be ready to match managerless St Johnstone's "scrap and fight" on Saturday as his side look to build momentum after a mood-changing first win of the league season.

The Staggies are looking to make it back-to-back victories in Dingwall following last weekend's 2-0 triumph over Dundee.

"It was a big win, it was coming," said Irish defender Brown.

"We were more clinical and the better team on the day. It's all about keeping clean sheets and building on that.

"A win enhances everything, everyone comes in with better form, we can't wait for the weekend rather than being in a slump. It just builds confidence, if we get a good run and we see ourselves higher up in the table even this early on, it gives us motivation to keep going."

St Johnstone, who have lost four of their opening five games, travel north with Andy Kirk and Alex Cleland in interim charge following the sacking of Craig Levein this week.

"It's huge and we need to make our home games count," added Brown.

"St Johnstone always fight, it's always a tough game. We expect them to come here and give it their all, they always scrap and fight so we need to try and match them in that."

Dundee, Hibernian, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Ross County, St Johnstone and St Mirren will each take in £1.6m in solidarity payments due to Celtic's Champions League qualification, with Aberdeen and Dundee United receiving £1m and £650,000 going to Hearts and Livingston. (Mail), external

Read Friday's Scottish gossip

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• Ross County have lost two of their last three Scottish Premiership games against St Johnstone (D1), as many as their previous 15 beforehand (W5 D8 L2).

• St Johnstone won their last away league game at Ross County 1-0 in February last season, last winning successive such trips in February 2017 (4 in a row).

• After beating Dundee 2-0 last time out, Ross County are looking to win back-to-back league games for only the second time since the start of last season, having last done so in November/December 2023.

• St Johnstone have lost their last two away league games (both 2-0) against Dundee United and Hibernian. They last lost three in a row on the road in January 2023, while they last did so without scoring in January 2022 (run of four).

• No side has had more shots following high turnovers in the Scottish Premiership this season than Ross County (8, level with Celtic).

Ross County are awaiting news of 23-year-old defender George Harmon's ankle injury before Saturday's home Premiership meeting with St Johnstone. (Press and Journal - subscription), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

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Ross County are "striving for consistency" says Don Cowie as he looks to build on their first league win of the season.

Akil Wright's opener and Jordan White's penalty saw off a previously free-scoring Dundee side last Saturday at the Global Energy Stadium, where Cowie stresses County have been "strong" during his tenure.

The manager wants another win - this time against St Johnstone - to gather momentum and take advantage of being one of just two Scottish Premiership games this weekend.

"It was a really good team performance, I thought we were really solid defensively [against Dundee]," said Cowie.

"We always believe we have the capabilities to score goals, so if we have that platform and that foundation of being solid at the back, it gives us a great opportunity to win games.

"It's about consistency, we're striving for that. It takes time for people to gel, the window is now closed so we know who we're working with, everyone is getting familiar with each other and now it's a case of building on what we've done in the first five league games.

"The group takes a lot of belief on the back of the last two league performances."

Managerless St Johnstone will be without forwards Adama Sidibeh and Benji Kimpioka through suspension and Cowie views it as a chance to climb the table.

"History shows we've been really strong at home, and we just want to continue that. We relish playing here, having good home form is a great foundation to have," he added.

"This gives us a real opportunity to get up the league table and get points on the board."

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Don Cowie has been speaking to the media before Ross County's Scottish Premiership game against St Johnstone this weekend.

Here are the key points by the County boss, who was speaking before Craig Levein was sacked by Saints:

• County are "striving for consistency" as they look to build on weekend's "really good performance" against Dundee.

• Cowie says the last two league performances have provided "a lot of belief".

• The Staggies have "put the Rangers result to bed".

• Cowie believes Saturday's opponents St Johnstone "have a really good squad" even though they'll be missing key players through suspension.

• The manager adds his side "relish" playing at home and "history shows we're strong here".

• Cowie views the weekend as "an opportunity to get up the league table and get points on the board" since there are only two league games.

Ross Morren
Fan writer

It was the Akil Wright show on Saturday as the defender upstaged former favourite Simon Murray and inspired Ross County's first Premiership victory of the season.

All eyes were on Murray returning to the Highlands for the first time since his move to Dundee. County fans are well aware the energy and quality Murray brings after his 23 goals in all competitions last season for the Staggies.

Wright was tasked with keeping him quiet. The centre-half arrived from Stockport County in the summer and has brought a lot of pace and power to County's backline while he also looks very comfortable and confident on the ball.

Wright put in a man-of-the-match performance as he played a key role at both ends of the park.

In the opening five minutes, Noah Chilvers’ cross was met by Wright to score his first goal in County colours. At the other end, he was a colossus alongside Kacper Lopata and Ryan Leak to limit a free-scoring Dundee side to very few chances.

After waiting until the final day of the Premiership for a penalty last season, the Staggies have been awarded a spot-kick in each of their three home matches so far.

Some fans might have been a bit nervous when Grant Irvine pointed to the spot after our two previous penalties were saved, but Jordan White confidently sent Jon McCracken the wrong way to make it 2-0.

In 2021-22, County ended their winless run at the start of the season with a 5-0 win against Dundee. That victory sent out a real statement to the rest of the league and saw the Staggies go from strength to strength to have a really successful campaign.

Although Saturday's scoreline wasn't as emphatic, the result could be one that kickstarts County's season.

Ross Morren can be found at The County Corner, external

We asked for your views on Ross County's 2-0 win against Dundee.

Here's what some of you said:

Bruce: Good to see Simon Murray head back to Dundee. Mission accomplished. Once a Staggie, always a Staggie.

Michael: Defence additions look solid, midfield additions starting to gel well, the two forwards looked sharp, the goalie got a clean sheet, they're looking compact and more at ease with each other, and shooting now from every position, what's not to like? Top four, why not? The chairman has dug deep, I feel good for him.

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

I know Connor Randall plays in midfield but he can also do a turn at right-back, so he’s being shoehorned in there for my Team of the Week.

He is a real leader who snapped into tackles when required as Ross County got their first league win of the season against Dundee.

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• Ross County have managed to keep a clean sheet in two of their first five Premiership games - only Celtic have a better record this season.

• Dundee attempted just eight shots in this game, which is their lowest total in a single match this season.

Ross County comfortably dispatched Dundee to pick up their first Scottish Premiership victory of the season.

Akil Wright opened the scoring early on when he towered above visiting full-back Ethan Ingram to turn in Noah Chilvers’ corner.

Ingram was at fault once more when he recklessly hauled down Jordan White in the penalty area, allowing the County forward to convert from the spot right on half-time.

A quiet period followed the restart until an arrowed strike from White hurtled towards the top corner of Dundee’s goal. A fantastic, outstretched stop from McCracken kept Dundee within reach.

An even final half-hour played out at the Global Energy Stadium, with Dundee’s desperation exemplified by two long-range Billy Koumetio efforts that failed to effectively test County ‘keeper Ross Laidlaw.

County rise to ninth in the table, while Dundee drop to seventh-place following their first loss of the season in all competitions.

Ross County fans, let us know your thoughts here, external.

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Ross County manager Don Cowie tells BBC Scotland: "I thought it was a real team performance. We worked extremely hard again out of possession and we limited Dundee to very few opportunities. Those are the fundamentals and the base we want to work from. We managed to get the two goals so I’m delighted.

"It’s important when goals come, it can make a huge difference. We got the first goal early today, it allowed us to build on it.

"As a unit, I thought they were excellent. We were really disappointed in the way we defended away to Rangers. We have really worked on it over the last three, four weeks. It was better today. I’m really happy with how they are doing.

"It will be another difficult game [versus St Johnstone], as is every game in this league, but we will take real confidence and belief from this game going into that."

Cam Wanstall
BBC Sport Scotland

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County sauntered to their first league victory of the season with a robust and competent defensive showing.

That is not to say the Staggies' forward line did not impress, as White put in an exemplary performance. But it was a defender who knocked in the opener and it was a fortunate spot-kick that kept the much-needed three points in Dingwall.

Don Cowie’s men were quite content to allow Dundee the majority of possession and barely managed to accurately complete over half their passes - finishing with a 52.3% passing accuracy percentage, compared to Dundee’s 73.7%.

The County boss was likely willing to take the risk of sitting back, safe in the knowledge that his backline, including Eli Campbell, who made his first start for the club, would maintain their concentration.

Skipper Connor Randall and summer signing Chilvers impressed throughout - with their persistent tackling and precise passing standing out in a congested midfield area that could have been likened to a battlefield at times.

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Goal scorers Akil Wright and Jordan White may feel hard done by, but an impressive showing in midfield gets Noah Chilvers the nod here.

The attacking midfielder grabbed his first assist from his dangerous delivery for Wright's opener and he continued to impress for the remainder of the game.

Chilvers' excellent passing and resilience in tough midfield battles stood out amongst a number of other strong County performances.

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Everton loanee Eli Campbell makes his first start for Ross County following a brief substitute appearance in the Highland club's defeat to Aberdeen a fortnight ago, replacing Ryan Leak in defence.

Noah Chilvers and Jordan White also come in from the start in favour of midfielder Aidan Denholm and striker Eamonn Brophy.

Ricki Lamie was already ruled out, but hopefuls Will Nightingale (doubt) and Max Sheaf (returning to full fitness, thigh) fail in their fitness bid to make the match day squad.

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