Ross County manager Don Cowie praised returning left wing-back George Harmon for slotting into the Staggies side like he had never been away.
The Englishman has been a mainstay of the County team at full-back or left midfield since arriving from Oxford City in 2022, playing more than 85 games.
But an ankle injury suffered in the 2-0 win against Dundee in September led to a two-month absence.
Harmon returned to help County beat an in-form Motherwell 2-1 in Dingwall on Saturday.
The victory lifted County into eighth spot in the Premiership, just three points shy of sixth-placed St Mirren (who beat Aberdeen 2-1 in Paisley).
Boss Cowie said: “George has been tremendous since he came to this club.
“He came from a part-time environment, and he probably played a lot more than we thought he would at first.
“I was keen to start him on Saturday because he has been bright in training, and you see the impact he can have.
“Eli (Campbell) had been away on international duty (with England Elites), so I thought it was a natural change to make – and George didn’t disappoint.”
Cowie handed Harmon a two-year extension in June, underlining his importance to County.
Chilvers ‘really drove team on’
Cowie also brought ex-Colchester attacking midfielder Noah Chilvers back into his starting XI against Motherwell, and he put in a terrific display.
The Staggies manager said: “Noah was terrific, and he was very hard done-by not to start against Dundee United.
“It was just the dynamics that I wanted in the team (that day), but, on Saturday, he really drove the team on.
“We see that he can be a real threat, and it’s just about replicating that on a consistent basis.”
Striker Hale shelves frustration with a goal
Cowie was also pleased to see ex-Cliftonville striker Ronan Hale take his season’s overall goal tally to eight just before Josh Nisbet made it two with his first County goal.
After not scoring in his previous six outings, Hale’s smart finish in the box, the manager hopes, might lead to a fresh scoring surge.
Cowie said: “Ronan kept telling me he was due one. He has been frustrated that he hadn’t scored for a few games, but he is always in the right position.
“Hopefully his goal on Saturday sets him off on another good run.”
After losing 3-0 at Dundee United recently, with the concession of three second half goals, Cowie was pleased to see his team handle the heat when Motherwell pulled it back to 2-1 on 83 minutes, with a lengthy stoppage-time spell to cope with, too.
He said: “It gets nervy when it shouldn’t, but then you’ve got to deal with that situation.
“We defended well and managed to prevent them from getting any real momentum at that point in the game.
“You don’t like to see 10 minutes of added time at that point, but credit to the boys for seeing it through.”
Groundsman played his part
Despite the snow, ice, hail and sleet landing last week and into Saturday, there was no danger of the game in Dingwall being called off.
Cowie praised the County groundsman, saying: “We all know that there’s one man in Davie Fraser that puts an incredible amount of work in, and for the pitch to be in the condition it was with the weather we had last week, we’re very grateful for his effort.
“For the fans turning out in a really challenging time weather wise, they supported us brilliantly as they could see that the team was playing with belief.”
County are on the road to Glasgow’s east end this Saturday to tackle champions and unbeaten leaders Celtic, one week before hosting Rangers, who are third.
Cowie said: “We go into two very difficult games now, especially on Saturday, which is probably the hardest fixture you get in this country.”
The Hoops won 2-1 in Dingwall in October thanks to an 88th-minute Nicolas Kuhn goal, so County can take heart from how they performed, albeit with home advantage.
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