Malky Mackay praised his Ross County side after they stood up to Dunfermline Athletic pressure to post a vital 1-0 win in the Premier Sports Cup.
Striker Jordy Hiwula headed home the second half clincher to earn the Staggies three precious cup points.
The result means County are joint-second in Group C just behind Alloa Athletic on goal difference ahead of the sides’ meeting on Tuesday. The Pars remain first by one point, but have played one match more.
Jordy Hiwula opened his County account this weekend with a superb looping header to secure maximum points in Dingwall 😍
Replaying this for the rest of the weekend 👀#Staggies 🦌 pic.twitter.com/5NtiJ61uef
— Ross County FC (@RossCounty) July 16, 2022
County still have six points available to them, with Tuesday’s match followed by the visit of League 2 opponents East Fife next weekend.
The Pars, who are now a League 1 side, travelled to Dingwall on the back of Group C 2-0 and 5-0 wins over East Fife and Buckie Thistle.
County begun with a bonus-point penalty shoot-out win against Highland League runners-up Buckie, so this follow-up result was important.
Manager Mackay explained the Pars gave them the type of tough contest he expected.
He said: “We knew it was going to be a tough one, having watched Dunfermline a couple of times.
“In the first half, we shifted it really well without penetrating too much. We were a little bit too safe. We did keep a lot of the ball and we moved them around the pitch.
“In the second half, we were more positive and managed to get in behind them. We scored the goal and had another couple of chances.
“If you don’t get the second one, that last 10-15 minutes onslaught can happen and we had to defend well as we have had to do in the Premiership a couple of times when a team goes really direct. You have to defend those first and second balls, which is what we did.”
Players learning on home stage
And Mackay feels the game helped his new arrivals bed into a game which had something at stake.
He added: “We got the clean sheet and the win and it’s important in this cup we got that.
“It also allowed the nine (new) players the chance to get to know each other better, the team better and the stadium, pitch and the way I want us to work.
“Overall, I’m delighted because Dunfermline have come off the back of two really good results and came here to win.”
Pars boss McPake hails performance
Dunfermline manager James McPake had plenty to be positive about, despite the narrow outcome.
He said: “Credit to the players – I thought they were excellent through the full 90-plus minutes.
“They did the football club proud, but you get nothing in the end for that alone.
“But that was a really good performance against an established Premiership club, with a really good manager.
“We’ll use it as motivation going forward, but we don’t want too many of these kind of games where you feel you should have taken something, but you haven’t.
“We need to be more ruthless, like they were, but I can’t really fault the players.”
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