Vigurs curls in to give County that winning feeling

IAIN VIGURS stepped up to the plate to end Ross County’s five-match winless run with a peach of a free-kick.

The Staggies skipper curled in the 42nd-minute match-winner from 25 yards after evergreen veteran Michael Gardyne had earned the award through his sheer persistence.

And while Saints felt hard done by after their rivals had spent almost the entire first half camped in their own half, credit County for showing the character to bounce back from a five-goal home drubbing by Celtic.

In truth, Vigurs’ one flash of brilliance was just about the only memorable moment of a match that lacked sparkle.

But that was all it took to keep County in fifth spot in the Premiership, four points head of their Perth rivals in eighth.

That and a 90th-minute save of quality from Ross Laidlaw to deny substitute Murray Davidson a lastgasp leveller from close range.

It says a lot about Saints’ lack of finishing skills that Davidson’s strike was the home side’s only shot on target.

They did not lack attacking ideas but were unable to add a polished finish to their enterprising build-up play, albeit Scott Tanser smacked one off the bar in the second half.

Added to that is the fact that Saints have now conceded the first goal in seven of their eight top-flight matches — a habit that could ultimately prove extremely costly come the end of the season.

Saints boss Callum Davidson reflected: ‘It’s frustrating. I thought in the first half we were excellent and that the players performed to a really high level. I can’t fault any of them.

‘Sometimes when you get beat, it’s easier to take if there are four or five poor performances.

‘But to go in 1-0 down after losing a goal like that is obviously hard to take and when you give a team something to hang on to it’s hard to break them down.

‘In the second half we hit the bar and their keeper made a great save. You win some, you lose some.

‘For me it’s more about how we reacted and how we played, getting into the areas and putting numerous crosses in.’

Davidson singled out striker Stevie May for special mention, claiming: ‘That was probably the Stevie of old. He worked extremely hard and his movement was really good. He gives me something else to work with going forward.’

Counterpart Stuart Kettlewell said: ‘It was highlighted that after winning the initial two games of the season we hadn’t won since.

‘But it was role reversal to last week when I thought we were better in open play. This time we defended our penalty box manfully.

‘The players were as angry and frustrated as anyone after what happened last week but the guys stood strong.

‘It’s a big win for us. When you haven’t won in a few games, the pressure starts to mount and people want to jump on you and come after you.’

Kettlewell was also keen to lavish praise on star-man Vigurs, not just for his goal but for his overall contribution.

He added: ‘Iain was great. Even when there were lulls in the game you could see him trying to drive the players on and also trying to get a grip of the ball.

‘He was massively influential in getting us the three points.’