Ross County goalkeeper Michael Fraser is targeting a win against Caley Thistle in Inverness on New Year’s Day to ignite his side’s disappointing season.
The Staggies suffered a sixth successive defeat yesterday when Nicky Low’s early free kick at Pittodrie gave hosts Aberdeen maximum points.
Derek Adams’s Staggies have not won since a 1-0 victory at home to the Dons in October but goalkeeper Fraser, who saved Scott Vernon’s first-half penalty, reckons a Highland derby win in Inverness on Wednesday can prove to be the perfect turning point to start building some momentum.
He said: “That could kickstart our season. It is going to be a good occasion. It is always good to have another game soon after you have had a few disappointing results. A good performance against Caley Thistle would certainly get that out of the system.
“Last season was possibly the best season in the club’s history but by this time last year we were pretty near the bottom until we went on a great run. That is something we can do again.
“It is a tight league with a lot of good teams in it. We have been on a bad run but that won’t continue forever. We will get a break at some point and then, hopefully, we can catch up with a few teams if they have a slump. No one in the dressing-room is talking about the bottom of the league.
“We know there are a lot of teams down there fighting hard, including Hearts. We all know they remain a dangerous team.”
Fraser admitted his side was fortunate to only be a goal behind at the interval after Derek McInnes’s Dons dominated the first period but was pleased with his side’s improved display in the second half.
He added: “It was a difficult day for us with Aberdeen scoring so early.
“We tried to come here and keep things tight, so to lose a goal after only two minutes made it even harder for us.
“In the first half we were lucky to go in only 1-0 down but I felt we handled them better in the second half.
“We looked more composed on the ball and perhaps we could have nicked something. I don’t think Jamie Langfield had many saves to make. We were better defensively in the second half.
“Aberdeen have some good attacking players and the fact they can bring on quality players such as Barry Robson from the bench shows the strength in depth that they have. It was a decent second-half performance, so we have to look to build on that.”
Match focus, Pages 53-55