Akil Wright put Ross County on course for their first Premiership win this season – and insists they’ve turned the corner since the 6-0 Rangers rout.
The 28-year-old summer signing from Stockport County headed the Dingwall side ahead against in-form Dundee on Saturday before Jordan White’s penalty sealed a 2-0 home victory.
A humbling against rampant Rangers at Hampden on August 24 was followed by a strong showing against Aberdeen when they lost 1-0 to a stoppage time Kevin Nisbet goal.
They were unlucky to not keep a clean sheet against the Dons, but they did so against the visiting Taysiders, who were on a 10-match unbeaten stretch.
‘We deserved to lose 6-0 to Rangers’
Defender Wright was one of many big performers at the weekend and he felt the stinging Glasgow experience sparked a reaction from Don Cowie’s team.
He said: “We knew we were nowhere near good enough that day against Rangers and the scoreline was correct, in my opinion. We deserved to lose in that fashion.
“We used that as a fire to be better in the following games.
“On Saturday, we finally got our first (league) win.
“As a whole, we played well. The back five defended properly.
“Against Aberdeen, we were strong defensively, but we ended up losing, so to do that again and win this time and clean sheet was definitely a positive.”
New-look defence combining well
It was the first home league shut-out for County since last December and it was achieved with Wright being one of three new arrivals finding their feet in Scotland’s top-flight.
He said: “Kacper (Lopata) and Eli (Campbell) are two young lads, but they have settled in pretty quickly. They have been excellent since they came in.
“With me being the eldest of the three of us, I’ve got to make sure I lead them vocally and in the matches. As a collective, we’re all doing that.”
‘We limited Dundee’s chances’
Tony Docherty’s free-scoring Dundee were largely kept at bay, with Simon Murray’s offside goal in the first half the main moment of worry for the Staggies.
Wright explained how they matched their opponents to earn the points to move from 10th to ninth.
He said: “Dundee have got lots of strengths and have got on very well this season, so we knew they’d be a threat.
“But I felt we dulled their threats and dominated from start to finish.
“We limited their chances and got our goals as well, which made it even better.”
Delight at netting first County goal
When asked whether he is a semi-regular scorer, he said with a beaming smile: “The most I have scored in a season is five – and that was a few years ago.
“I’m not a regular scorer, but I might get one or two each season. I’m aiming for six this season!”
Fighting for your place – every week
Cowie made a dozen signings over the summer and has plenty of options throughout his squad.
Wright, who could have been playing in England’s League One had he remained with last season’s League Two champions Stockport, reckons the depth and quality is keeping everyone on their toes.
He added: “There’s definitely healthy competition within this squad and there are a lot of really talented players.
“Every week, you must fight for your position. You have to work hard and then show what you can do on Saturdays if you are selected.”
‘I fancy us against anyone at home’
And with the chance to open up a five-point gap over this weekend’s visitors St Johnstone, Wright is confident they can build upon their win over Dundee.
He said: “I fancy us against anyone at home. This is a tough place for teams to come to.
“Saturday is a benchmark moving forward. We have another home game this weekend, so we’re looking forward to that.”
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