One sin for Saints tips the balance as County steal point
County came from behind to take a point they deserved from this encounter – but they might have headed back to the Highlands empty-handed if Saints hadn’t been forced to play with 10 men for almost a third of the game.
Defender Joe Shaughnessy was ordered off following what looked like a hard-but-fair challenge on County wide man Ross Stewart and that paved the way for a stirring comeback.
Visiting manager Stuart Kettlewell, however, felt that the officials got it right.
“We’ll all have a view on it and we’ll have different views,” he said. “I have seen it back and I think my player is very lucky to still be playing at the end. He’s dodged a real serious injury by millimetres.
“Shaughnessy has a straight leg and he’s very close to catching Ross around the knee joint. He’s out of control, so it should be a sending off.”
The home side looked sharper from the first whistle but it took them 14 minutes to break the deadlock. A mazy run from captain Kyle Mcallister appeared to have reached a dead end when he misplaced a pass on the edge of the penalty area.
Unfortunately for the Highlanders, they switched off and failed to clear their lines. Jamie Mcgrath prodded the ball through to Jon Obika and last season’s top scorer made no mistake, drilling a shot low behind Ross Laidlaw from 12 yards for his second goal of the season.
There was a further setback for County midway through the first half when centre-half Coll Donaldson limped off following a challenge by Nathan Sheron, with Keith Watson coming off the bench to take his place.
Billy Mckay then spurned a great chance to level the scores when Michael Gardyne’s inviting cross picked him out on the corner of the six-yard box but he failed to hit the target with a glancing header.
Mcallister was causing all sorts of problems for the Highlanders’ defence and Josh Reid collected the first caution of the afternoon for chopping him down as he burst past him on his way into the penalty area.
County came close again when Stewart’s header from Harry Paton’s outswinging corner looped over Jak Alnwick but bounced off the top of his crossbar.
Laidlaw kept the Staggies in it two minutes from the break when he raced from his line to black Junior Morias’s shot after Obika had cleverly set up the opening.
Stewart was convinced he’d equalised immediately after the restart when his leader from substitute Regan Charles-cook’s cross arced over Alnwick but an overhead kick from Richard Tait on the line cleared the danger.
County had plenty of possession but they struggled to get behind a well-organised home defence and Obika was inches away from connecting with Tait’s low cross at the other end.
Laidlaw was at full stretch to keep out a full-blooded drive from Morias as the Buddies sought the comfort of a two-goal cushion. Alnwick then matched that save to push away a long-range effort from Michael Gardyne.
The visitors were handed a boost when Shaughnessy was dismissed for a challenge on Stewart.
It looked like a straight 50-50 and ref Mike Roncone waved play on but, after a pause while Stewart received treatment and players on both sides squared up to each other, he produced the red car, seemingly on the advice of the fourth official, the ever-popular Willie Collum.
County took full advantage of having the extra man and equalised when Charles-cook nodded down a cross for Gardyne, whose shot was inadvertently deflected behind Alnwick by Nathan Sheran.
Saints were comfortable with their one-goal lead until Shaughnessy was controversially sent off in the 62nd minute. After that they held on by their fingernails