Ross County’s backline was the foundation for the Staggies’ first clean sheet of the season in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Kilmarnock, but the differing styles of the two full-backs who played in the game was clear to see.
County had lost their opening three matches of the Premiership season, which made the visit of Killie all the more important.
Despite going down to 10 men late on due to Ross Callachan’s red card, the Staggies still found their way to victory courtesy of Owura Edwards’ goal in the dying minutes.
Both before and after Callachan’s dismissal, County had to stand firm to the challenge of a Killie side who boasted no shortage of height.
Jack Baldwin and Alex Iacovitti remained commanding figures at the heart of the rearguard for Malky Mackay’s men.
The pair, along with goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw, have been ever-present throughout County’s opening four matches.
It seems the Staggies are benefitting from continuity, given all three players were part of County’s improved defensive showings towards the end of last season.
The back four has not been all without change, however.
Ben Purrington has held down the left-back slot so far, following his summer move from Charlton Athletic.
The 26-year-old, who has played more than 200 matches in English football, clearly brings experience to the Staggies’ side.
Although Connor Randall started the season at right-back, his recent leg fracture has created an opening for another summer arrival in Callum Johnson.
With Randall’s injury expected to keep him out for a period of months, Johnston’s stay in the side looks like being a lengthy one.
The match against Kilmarnock offered an interesting glimpse of how Purrington and Johnson could function as part of County’s defensive – and attacking – unit.
Purrington shows defensive instincts
When Purrington first joined the Staggies in June, he described himself as being a “traditional” and “defensive” left-back, although he also expressed a willingness to contribute to his new side’s attacking threat.
We already saw signs of that during the Premier Sports Cup group campaign, when he netted against East Fife following an open-play run into the box.
The match against Killie certainly appeared to highlight Purrington’s defensive instincts however, as he led the Staggies’ charts for tackles (three), tackles won (two) and jointly with Baldwin for clearances (four).
Purrington’s heatmap, above, shows the majority of the ground he covered with the ball was in his own half.
He touched the ball 63 times during the course of the match, compared with fellow full-back Johnson’s total of 51.
Johnson making presence felt higher up the park than Purrington
Meanwhile, Johnson’s heatmap, below, shows he was regularly engaged in County’s play higher up the park.
Following the match, Mackay said Johnson was a regular diagonal outball for his side, with the former Portsmouth defender having the presence to challenge some of Kilmarnock’s physicality.
That pattern of play is further backed up by the general stats table shown below, which shows Johnson competed for significantly more aerial duels (AD) than any of his team-mates – coming out on top in more than half of them.
Interestingly, Johnson also had more touches in the opposition box (three) than any fellow Staggies players.
While it is early days for County’s much-changed side, County will hope their two newly-signed full-backs can continue to complement each other to as strong an effect as they did last weekend.
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