Ross County will start the new Premiership season boosted by an unblemished Premier Sports Cup campaign which was completed in emphatic fashion against Stirling Albion.
The Staggies were always in a strong position to finish as Group H winners, but knew they likely needed to win in order to be in contention for a seeded spot in the last-16.
The 3-0 win over the Binos, coupled with Livingston’s defeat to Spartans, made sure of that, thanks to a double from Ronan Hale and a second half strike from James Brown.
It meant County were one of just three teams to finish the group section with a 100% record – the second time they have done so since the competition was revamped in 2016.
Staggies boss Don Cowie took satisfaction from the way his side navigated the challenges in their section, to set them up for their league opener away to Motherwell next Saturday.
Cowie said: “I believe that on paper it was a really tough group.
“We had two Championship teams – some Premiership teams had none – so to come out with 12 points I’m absolutely delighted.
“There are some stages in games where I would look for improvements, but we have achieved our goal at the start of it, so I’m really happy.
“First and foremost it’s about winning the four games.
“We could have done that and still not been seeded, but we’ve managed to get a seed.
“It doesn’t automatically mean you get an easy tie, but you do miss the clubs that are in Europe.
“Then it comes down to us and see what we can do in the next round.”
Staggies boss rang the changes
Cowie shook up his side, with seven changes from the side which defeated Hamilton Accies in midweek.
There was a debut for on-loan Watford midfielder Jack Grieves, while Ross Laidlaw, Ricki Lamie, Victor Loturi, George Harmon, Eamonn Brophy and Andrew Macleod were also back in the side.
That meant there was a home debut for Hale following his goalscoring start against Accies, while Hearts loanee Aidan Denholm started on the bench.
County began on the front foot, with a number of threatening attacking moves in the early stages unable to translate it into meaningful goal threat.
The best early chance fell to Macleod on 16 minutes when he was threaded through by a lovely pass from Grieves, with Binos defender Erik Sula clearing his effort from a tight angle off the line, before Harmon struck the crossbar with the follow-up.
The Staggies had the ball in the net on 28 minutes, but Brophy was flagged offside after converting following a slide-rule pass from Loturi.
County were not to be denied just a minute later however, with Grieves involved in the build up as the ball broke for Hale on the edge of the box, and he planted a low strike into Derek Gaston’s bottom right corner from 18 yards.
The Binos, who suffered relegation to League Two through the play-offs last term, showed some menace on the counter attack and they forced an opportunity moments later, with Aaron Weir seeing his effort deflected behind by Harmon.
On a relatively straightforward day, County’s only setback came on 39 minutes when skipper Ricki Lamie was forced off with an achilles injury, with Josh Reid coming on to replace him.
County doubled their lead in timely fashion two minutes before the interval, with Hale applying an instinctive finish from close-range after latching on to a lovely cushioned pass from Loturi.
Hale was twice denied in his efforts to claim a hat-trick after the break, with a shot blocked by Harley Ewen, before another deflected strike was gathered by Gaston.
The forward was withdrawn after an hour along with Grieve, with the pair having shown up very promisingly on their Dingwall bows. They were replaced by Alex Samuel and fellow new recruit Denholm.
County had further chances to add to their tally, with Samuel nodding wide and Macleod seeing an effort blocked.
Denholm played a key role in the Staggies’ third goal with 10 minutes remaining, when his cutback was clinically finished by Brown just five minutes after the Irishman entered the field.
Debutant Denholm and Macleod were denied by Gaston in the closing minutes, but the three-goal margin proved enough for County to claim their seeding in the round of 16.
Player Ratings
ROSS COUNTY (3-4-1-2): Laidlaw 6; Wright 6 (Brown 75), Lamie 5 (Reid 39), Leak 6; Efete 6, Loturi 8, Grieves 8 (Denholm 59), Harmon 6; Macleod 7; Hale 8 (Samuel 59), Brophy 6 (White 75).
Subs not used: Hamilton, Brown, Randall, Telfer, White, Smith.
STIRLING ALBION (3-5-2): Gaston 7; Sula 6, Dall 6, Crane 6; Ewen 6, Weir 6, Wright 6, Waugh 6 (Knox 86), Hilson 5 (Howe 51); Roy 5 (Carrick 60), McKinley 6.
Subs not used: Law, Featherstone, Scott, Reilly.
Referee: Nick Walsh
Attendance: 1,027
Man of the Match: Ronan Hale
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