Frustrated County are forced to fight back for a point
ROSS COUNTY will hope that they are not forced to look back on a crazy five-minute spell early in the second half as the moments that sealed their Premiership fate.
Leading by a Jamie Lindsay goal after dominating the first 45 minutes to the extent that it should have been game over by half-time, the Staggies took their eye off the ball long enough for Hamilton to score twice in quick succession.
Substitute Dougie Imrie levelled for the visitors from the penalty spot just three minutes after replacing Antonio Rojano in a half-time switch — and then Marios Ogkmpoe fired them in front in the 52nd minute.
Skipper Andrew Davies’ 76th-minute headed equaliser was no more than the home side deserved, but it must have felt like two points lost rather than one gained in the circumstances.
But co-caretaker manager Steve Ferguson was keen to accentuate the positives in his post-match analysis.
‘To say we are frustrated is an understatement,’ he admitted. ‘But it’s another point gained on the team above us.
‘When you put as much as we did into the game, you expect to come away with three points. However, little decisions and choices around the box went against us and now we need to brush ourselves down and go again.
‘The biggest gauge for me and Stuart (Kettlewell) is the reaction of the boys afterwards. We’ve got good professionals in that dressing room and they are hurting.
‘They know they did enough — barring a five-minute spell where the game turned on its head.
‘We believe we can get out of the situation we are in and we get the same vibe from the players.
‘We have a group of players who gave everything they had to try to win the game and everyone stood up to be counted.’
Dutchman Alex Schalk typified County’s fighting spirit, picking himself up every time he was bundled off the ball and coming back for more.
But he wasn’t alone in that regard. Criticised at times in recent months for an apparent lack of determination, no such accusation could be thrown at the County players on this occasion.
They are still rooted to the bottom, three points adrift of Partick Thistle, but on the evidence of this performance they may yet save themselves.
But County simply can’t afford to squander chances. Five wins all season and only one in their last 17 Premiership fixtures makes grim reading for Staggies fans.
They must have been hugely encouraged, though, when Lindsay fed off a Davies through ball and beat Gary Woods from 10 yards to open the scoring.
But Hamilton threatened to undo all County’s good work with a superb start to the second half.
Imrie sent Aaron McCarey the wrong way from the spot after Chris Routis was adjudged to have fouled Lewis Ferguson.
But it was poor goalkeeping rather than clinical finishing that resulted in Hamilton’s second.
Ogkmpoe’s speculative shot out of nothing from a tight angle should not have presented any great difficulty for McCarey, but he misjudged his dive and the ball bounced under his body.
The Ross County players might easily have folded at that stage, but they refused to quit and were rewarded for their efforts when Davies took advantage of sloppy defending to beat Woods from close range.
County could have, probably should have, gone on to claim all three points, but substitutes Craig Curran, twice, and Michael Gardyne missed the target in the final ten minutes.
‘If you had offered me a point at half-time, I’d have bitten your hand off because until then we were really poor,’ admitted Accies boss Martin Canning.
‘In the second half, we were better. We came out and went straight onto the front foot.
‘We were disappointed not to hang on to the lead but, on the balance of play, you can’t deny Ross County a point.’