7.45, BBC ALBA
MORTON v ROSS CO
BRIAN GRAHAM has apologised for sparking a Highland derby dust-up after landing a two-game ban.
The big Ross County striker will miss tonight’s trip to face Morton and the following weekend’s away match at Queen of the South.
In the closing minutes of County’s stormy 2-1 home victory over Inverness, Graham thundered into the back of defender Coll Donaldson.
It looked like referee Andrew Dallas had already drawn a red card for Graham before punches were thrown in the furious aftermath.
Both Graham and Caley Thistle defender Shaun Rooney, who sprinted in to confront him, received red cards, but the former will not be handed a heavier punishment than standard.
County co-boss Stuart Kettlewell felt justice had been done given his own take on the unsavoury scenes
He said: “I’m led to believe it is a two-game suspension for Brian. I’ve seen still pictures that make it look a lot worse than it did in real time.
“I didn’t think the initial contact was a red card. The red card was out very quickly. I thought referees were instructed to calm the situation down but, listen, it’s not a criticism. The ref obviously saw it differently from me.
“I’ve watched it maybe 10 times now and still don’t think it is a red. It was a barge, certainly, but not an elbow.
“These things do happen in derbies. I’m not condoning it. There was a reaction from the Caley Thistle players to Brian’s challenge and we would never want our players to stand there and get hurt.
“I think there were four players around Brian as soon as it happened. MORTON have Kerr Waddell and Michael Tidser back from suspension but Denny Johnstone and Gary Oliver are crocked.
Ross County striker Brian Graham is banned while Liam Fontaine, Sean Kelly, Callum Morris and Iain Vigurs all out injured.
“Brian has apologised for his part in it, which we accept, but passions run high in a derby. We would have a problem if they didn’t.
“John Robertson and Scott Kellacher came into our office at the end of it and there’s no animosity.
“We want to beat Inverness and they want to beat us. That’s the way it should be. If not, we’re cheating the punters.”
Winger Josh Mullin, arguably County’s player of the season so far, was a late derby call-off and that fuelled rumours he is set to leave.
But Kettlewell dismissed the conspiracy theories as nonsense, stressing: “Josh has been one of our top performers and had a problem with his hamstring so he couldn’t play.
“We know about the gossip because he is a boy who is doing very well but there’s nothing more to it.”
Meanwhile, Reghan Tumilty hopes to have the last laugh over Davis Keillor-Dunn after taking a ribbing from his former team-mate when Morton were thumped by County the last time the sides met.
The Championship leaders hammered the Greenock side 5-0 in Dingwall earlier in the season and boss Jonatan Johansson made his players sit through a video nasty of that clash ahead of tonight’s Cappielow clash.
Tumilty joined Morton from the Staggies in the summer and is still close to winger Keillor-Dunn but paid the price for that friendship following their loss.
Now the 21-year-old is out for revenge and said: “The 5-0 defeat in Dingwall earlier in the season was hard to take and it was even harder for me to take given I used to play for Ross County.
“I’m still in a WhatsApp group chat with Keillor-Dunn and he was giving me a bit after the game. Hopefully it’s the other way round this time!
“We keep in touch and have been texting this week. He plays on the left so if we both start we’d be up against each other.
“I’ve only got good things to say about County but I’d like to give Davis some after this game.
“It’s hard watching a rerun of bad defeats but it’s all a learning process. We can’t let the 5-0 happen again.”