Ross County manager Stuart Kettlewell was pleased with the Staggies’ second half reaction in their 4-1 victory over Elgin City which put them top of Betfred Cup Group D.
The Staggies took an early lead through on-form attacker Oli Shaw, however, they were met with a spirited response from their League Two opponents, who forced a number of saves from Ross Laidlaw.
County doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time through Alex Iacovitti’s first goal for the club, before second half goals from Harry Paton and Charlie Lakin killed off the tie.
Kettlewell was disappointed with the encouragement the Staggies gave Elgin in the first half, but felt the Dingwall men responded strongly after the interval.
Kettlewell said: “I wasn’t happy with the first half. I thought Elgin were good and competitive.
“The first half might have been a symptom of not having won recently. Sometimes there’s a wee bit of doubt creeps in when your goalkeeper has saves to make.
“Elgin had plenty of endeavour and deserve a great deal of credit.
“I know Gavin Price gets absolutely everything out of his players.
“But I thought we were much better second half – we grew in confidence. We had a real purpose to our play, our energy was better and the areas of the pitch we played in were better.
“We knew we had six points to play for in this group and that’s half the job done.”
The result moves County top of their section, with a victory at home to Stirling Albion on Saturday guaranteeing them top spot and securing a place in Sunday’s second round draw.
The defeat does not spell the end of Elgin’s prospects of qualifying, albeit they will need a victory away to Championship side Arbroath on Saturday.
Even if the Staggies get the result they require to finish top, a win at Gayfield could be enough for Gavin Price’s men to advance as one of the four best-placed runners-up.
The Staggies looked in determined mood from the outset, and they made the perfect start by taking the lead after just six minutes.
The ball was worked back to Shaw after Stephen Kelly’s initial corner was cleared, with the attacker rifling home his third goal in as many games with a low strike which was deflected past Thomas McHale.
Elgin responded well to the early setback though, with striker Kane Hester seeing three attempts met by fine saves by Staggies goalkeeper Laidlaw.
The goalkeeper’s interventions proved crucial as County doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time. Josh Reid’s delivery was met by Iacovitti who saw his initial header saved by McHale, however the defender was alert to knock home the rebound.
The Staggies extended their lead in style on 51 minutes, with Mckay flicking the ball on to send Paton through on goal, with the Canadian steering his first goal of the season beyond the reach of McHale from the left angle of the box.
County made it four on 77 minutes when substitute Lakin also netted his first for the club, angling a superb free-kick into McHale’s top left-hand corner.
Elgin pulled one back three minutes later, with Cameron’s low strike from the edge of the box finding its way into the bottom corner.
Elgin manager Price was frustrated by the scoreline given his side’s first half efforts, and he said: “We were playing well, but 2-0 down and therein lies the problem maybe.
“We talked about the dirty side of the game, the importance of being resolute and defend well, whether it was from the front, or midfielders tracking runs.
“We have by and large been pretty good at set-plays this season.
“The first one was a mistake which led to a really poor goal, but we reacted superbly.
“In games like that we’ve go to take our chances. If we had been a bit of lady luck and been more resolute at set plays we would have had a chance.
“They potentially had a rollicking at half-time, because I thought we were the better side despite the scoreline.
“They came out in the second half and showed the three divisions in class.”