Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

ANALYSIS: Ross County full-backs Ben Purrington and Callum Johnson show opposite instincts in win over Kilmarnock

Callum Johnson in action for Ross County.
Callum Johnson in action for Ross County.

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.

Malky Mackay following Ross County’s 1-0 win over Kilmarnock.

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.

Ben Purrington closes down Celtic’s Daizen Maeda.

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).

Ross County player Ben Purrington’s heatmap from the Premiership match against Kilmarnock on August 20, 2022. Source – Stats Perform.

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.

Ross County player Callum Johnson’s heatmap from the Premiership match against Kilmarnock on August 20, 2022. Source – Stats Perform.

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.

Ross County’s general statistics from the Premiership match against Kilmarnock on August 20, 2022. Source – Stats Perform.

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.

Conversation