O’Hara makes his Mark for Dark Blues with wonder strike

Owen Coyle admitted Mark O’Hara’s opener allowed Dundee to play to their strengths in their Dingwall win.

The Ross County manager, who acknowledged new signing Chris Eagles’s performance was the one big bright spot, felt his team sorely missed two big performers in captain Andrew Davies and midfielder Jim O’Brien.

But Coyle still felt his team should have had enough in the side to build on recent strong home form, admitting they played into Dundee’s hands.

County missed second-half chances at 1-0 down before being hit by a late sucker-punch in only the Tayside team’s second top-flight win in Dingwall.

Coyle said: “I don’t think we reached the standard we have played at in previous games.

“That being said, goals change games and their boy scores a wonder strike. It probably suited Dundee playing on the counterattack with the one or two quick players they have.

“At half-time we changed it and certainly forced the issue in terms of pressure and possession around their goal but without really creating the chances we would have liked.

“That said, Billy Mckay is very unlucky with that near-post header while Jamie Lindsay’s volley late on might have had it 1-1.

“Had we equalised, we might have had the chance to go on to win.

“But we committed so many forward we were caught with the sucker-punch. It isn’t ideal but they worked hard and maybe missed Jim O’Brien and that clever pass.

“The skipper is also a big miss but we had enough about us in terms of personnel to win the game.”

Dundee’s first away victory of the season, fresh from humbling Rangers – with O’Hara a goalscoring hero again – dragged County and Kilmarnock into a pack of three on 15 points, four above bottom side Partick Thistle.

O’Hara’s rasping first-half strike and the late, breakaway second to clinch it from Faissal El Bakhtaoui amounted to a deserved win for Neil McCann’s side and a poor day for Coyle’s recently-improved hosts. The Dark Blues had made just one change from the team that had broken a six-game winless streak with a memorable home victory against Rangers eight days previously.

Dundee strode ahead after 18 minutes, in a real moment of slackness from the Highlanders. A Roarie Deacon header found O’Hara striding forward through the right channel.

He sent a powerful, rising 25-yard shot inside the post at chest height with keeper Aaron McCarey well beaten.

A clearly unhappy Coyle withdrew defender Kenny van der Weg at the break for striker Craig Curran, with the hosts switching to a back three.

There might easily have been a second for Dundee early in the second half when home keeper McCarey spilled a low El Bakhtaoui strike, but neither Sofien Moussa nor Deacon were placed to take advantage.

As County committed forward more and more, El Bakhtaoui was catching them on the break.

And after a Jamie Lindsay miss in front of goal, the Frenchman clinched it.

A long Glen Kamara ball from defence caught the Dingwall side exposed on the break and El Bakhtaoui tore in to lob McCarey with great calmness for the clincher.