Ross County will feel the battling qualities shown in their 3-2 defeat against St Mirren will bode well going into the post-split survival fight that lies ahead.
The Staggies will feel hard done to in leaving Paisley empty-handed, after more than playing their part in a five-goal thriller.
The Dingwall outfit made the perfect start, taking the lead through an opportunist finish from Ronan Hale midway through the first half.
County’s lead only lasted 14 minutes however, with a stunning strike by Caolan Boyd-Munce restoring parity going into the interval.
The Buddies took the lead through Jonah Ayunga early in the second half, only for Jordan White to nod home a leveller just after the hour mark.
County pushed for a winner but the late drama was to come at the other end, with substitute Roland Idowu thumping home a stunning strike four minutes from time which secured a top-six place for Stephen Robinson’s men.
Hale grasps opportunity – as Staggies redisover goal threat
The Staggies came into the game having failed to score in their last three outings against Hearts, Dundee United and Aberdeen.
It was a sequence of matches for which Northern Irishman Hale had been left on the bench, however he was given his opportunity to impress from the start in Paisley alongside White.
It took the Staggies’ leading scorer just 22 minutes to find the net with a predatory finish. Both White and Josh Nisbet had attempted to turn the ball home after Connor Randall headed across goal following a Zac Ashworth delivery, before it eventually fell for Hale to sweep into the net.
He continued to pose nuisance factor throughout the afternoon, and moments later he saw a strike tipped past the post by Zach Hemming after he swerved past the advances of Alex Gogic.
Cowie was thrilled with the impact of the forward, who took his tally to 13 goals for the campaign.
He said: “Ronan is a real threat, and he’s clinical. He got his opportunity and scored, and he looked lively.
“Not just scoring the goal, but just his general all round play was really encouraging.”
Ashworth helped Staggies to show set-piece threat
The Staggies were forced to chase the game, with the Buddies turning the match on its head.
Boyd-Munce restored parity on 36 minutes with an excellent driven strike, while the home side took the lead five minutes into the second half when a mix-up between Amissah and Akil Wright allowed Ayunga in to tap home.
Following the previous week’s defeat to Aberdeen, Cowie bemoaned the fact his side were unable to create any meaningful threat from the nine corners his side won on the day.
The Staggies took their manager’s observations onboard as they levelled on 63 minutes, with an exquisite delivery by Ashworth thumped home by the head of White at the far post.
Having played a key role in both goals, Ashworth – like Hale – certainly made the most of his opportunity to impress in the starting line-up.
That did not go unnoticed by Cowie, who added: “Zac came in and I thought he was excellent. It’s a reflection of the way he has trained recently – he has put his hand up to say ‘pick me’ and he has backed it up.”
County must prepare for dogfight
Although the performance was clearly a step in the right direction, the defeat continues a difficult spell of form which has seen the Staggies lose five of their last six matches.
County will now eagerly await the post-split fixtures – which should produce three home matches.
Along with bottom side St Johnstone, and Dundee and Kilmarnock in their immediate vicinity, County will also face matches against Hearts and Motherwell after their opponents claimed the final top-half place.
With only a point separating them from Dundee, who occupy 11th spot at present, County have to be ready for a scrap to avoid a third successive play-off.
Cowie will now look to rally his troops for the challenge that awaits.
He added: “Right now it’s sore, because the group put so much into it. They were gutted to leave with nothing.
“When we reflect on the game come Monday, we will see there are a lot of things we did well which should give us a lot of encouragement.
“Scoring two goals away from home should be enough to get a point, but we have not managed to do that.
We have to get ourselves ready. We will see what the fixture list brings and how it looks.
“We know the job at hand. It’s five big games, and it’s so tight in that area.
“We have faced it before, we have experience of it, and we just need to get ready for it again.”
Player ratings
ST MIRREN (3-5-2): Hemming 6; Fraser 7, Gogic 6, Taylor 6; Alebiosu 6 (McMenamin 81), Phillips 6, Boyd-Munce 7, O’Hara 6 (Idowu 81), John 6 (Tanser 90); Olusanya 6 (Mandron 55), Ayunga 6 (Iacovitti 90)
Subs not used: Urminsky, Smyth, Kiltie, Oseni.
ROSS COUNTY (3-4-1-2): Amissah 6; Wright 6, Lopata 6, Campbell 6; Brown 6 (Smith 80), Randall 7, Kenneh 6 (Allardice 89), Ashworth 7; Nisbet 6 (Samuel 60); White 7, Hale 7 (Phillips 80).
Subs not used: Laidlaw; Tomkinson, Grieves, Harmon, Efete.
Referee: Calum Scott
Man of the match: Zac Ashworth
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