Don Cowie insists Ross County underlined their resilience as they leapt up to seventh in the Premiership by coming from behind to defeat Dundee.
The Staggies produced an excellent display to record their first win in Dingwall since November, but it came only after former Staggie Simon Murray had given the visitors an early lead.
County responded superbly, netting 13 minutes later through Kieran Phillips to level the scoring going into half-time.
It was in the early second half stages that the game was won, as goals in the opening three minutes from Akil Wright and Noah Chilvers saw the Staggies race away from their opponents.
Only two points had separated County from second-bottom Dundee prior to kick-off, but the victory – their first at home since November – felt like a significant moment in the Staggies’ efforts to avoid a third successive relegation play-off.
The Staggies leapfrogged both Motherwell and Kilmarnock who suffered defeats, and given they are now only two points adrift of sixth-placed St Mirren they now have good cause to look up the way rather than behind them.
Staggies’ response was most pleasing for Cowie
Cowie insists his side’s reaction from early adversity pleased him the most.
He said: “Probably what I’m most delighted about is how we responded after going a goal down so early in such an important game.
“Simon Murray scored a great goal to give Dundee the advantage but we never got spooked by that. I thought we deservedly got back in the game at 1-1, given how we played.
“I’m really happy in terms of the way we came out at the start of the second half, to get those two goals.
“I believe we had 20 shots on goal, 10 on target, which is probably a reflection of how good a performance it was.
“That composure is something we’ve spoken about and collectively we knew we had to improve on it.
“At half-time, I spoke about it being a really good first half performance. I thought we had the majority of territory in Dundee’s half but only had one goal to show for it.
“It was about carrying even more of a threat and trying to set them on the back foot.
“We were going to face that wind in the second half and there would maybe be space to play into as they would defend slightly higher.
“The third goal was a reflection of that. I’m delighted with the response after half-time.”
County came into game confident after continuing excellent away run
Cowie named an unchanged line-up from the side which defeated Motherwell 3-0 the previous week, in what was their fourth victory from their last five away matches.
That run began with a triumph by the same scoreline against Tony Docherty’s men at Dens Park on Boxing Day, which ended a 15-month wait for an away victory.
The Staggies were aiming to end a run of six home matches without a victory, albeit a run of games which included visits from both sides of the Old Firm.
The revival in away form had brought about a feel-good factor but County were hit by an early setback from a familiar face just five minutes into the match.
The ball was played to Murray in space on the edge of the box, and he composed himself before curling a stunning strike into Jordan Amissah’s top-left corner.
County responded strongly and carried the majority of the goal threat, with Jon McCracken saving comfortably from George Harmon and Ronan Hale, and getting down to tip a long-range Connor Randall drive wide.
The Staggies deservedly levelled on 18 minutes. Following a short set-piece, Harmon floated the ball to the far post where Kacper Lopata nodded it across goal, with Phillips on hand to bundle home his first goal for the club from point-blank range.
The goal took the sting out of the match, with precious few openings at either end in the remainder of the first half.
Rapid second half start from Staggies
County started the second half firmly on the front foot and should have gone ahead within seconds of the restart. Chilvers saw a low drive from the edge of the box parried away by McCracken which left Hale with an open goal, but he inexplicably struck the ball off the post.
Little did it matter as the ball was scrambled clear for a corner, from which Chilvers delivered for Wright to send a sublime acrobatic effort past McCracken to put the Staggies ahead.
By the 48th minute the Staggies found themselves 3-1 up. A delightful through ball by Hale released Phillips clean through, with the attacker unselfishly squaring for Chilvers who had made a late run into the box, before he side-footed past McCracken.
Although Murray missed a gilt-edged chance to pull a goal back, County also had opportunities to extend their lead – but they grew increasingly comfortable in their lead as the game went on.
County have the chance to continue their momentum on Wednesday when they travel to bottom side St Johnstone but Cowie is keeping his feet on the ground.
He added: “My only thought is another big game on Wednesday night against St Johnstone. We’re in good form, having picked up a lot of points in the last nine games.
“There’s been a real consistency in the performances and it is about trying to maintain that. Like I said going into the Motherwell game, can we pick up as many points as possible to get to that split?
“Then we’ll see where that takes us.
“It is another really important three points for us.”
Player Ratings – Ross County 3-1 Dundee
ROSS COUNTY (3-4-1-2): Amissah 6; Tomkinson 7, Lopata 7, Campbell 7; Wright 8, Randall 7, Kenneh 7, Harmon 8 (Grieves 82); Chilvers 7 (Nisbet 82); Hale 7 (Robesten 67), Phillips 8 (White 75).
Subs not used: Laidlaw, Brown, Allardice, Smith, Macleod.
DUNDEE (3-5-2): McCracken 6; Astley 6, C Robertson 5 (Sylla 46), Portales 3 (Donnelly 24); Mulligan 6, F Robertson 6, McGhee 6, Cameron 5 (Tiffoney 81), Larkeche 5; Palmer-Houlden 5 (Adewumi 60), Murray 6.
Subs not used: Carson, Ingram, Shaughnessy, Samuels, Garza.
Referee: Matthew MacDermid
Attendance: 4,075
Man of the match: Akil Wright
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