The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Buddies fight back to send Staggies into danger zone
County slipped back into the Premiership’s relegation play-off place after losing out to St Mirren in Dingwall.
The Staggies had taken a first-half lead through Jordan White’s 18th minute strike, only to concede five minutes after the restart when former County attacker Lee Erwin found the net.
Ilkay Durmus scored Saints’ second in the 71st minute, and Jamie Mcgrath converted a penalty in injury time to send the Buddies above Dundee United into seventh in the table.
St Mirren started the match looking very solid, making it difficult for their hosts to move up the park for any sustained period, but they did not threaten home keeper Ross Laidlaw.
A quick free-kick routine caught the Buddies out at the back, and despite halfclearing they could not regroup quickly enough to stop Jordan Tillson sending the ball back in.
His header found White, who managed to guide it past Jak Alnwick and into the top corner.
Although Kristian Dennis’s header had Laidlaw scrambling across to his right, from there County went on the front foot with Tillson forcing a
spectacular save out of Alnwick just on the stroke of half-time.
St Mirren returned for the second half with a renewed intensity though and it did not take long for them to equalise.
Just five minutes into the half, Richard Tait broke free down the left and sent the ball into the middle where former County man Erwin had found space between the defenders to head into the net.
Laidlaw had to make a reaction stop with his feet on the hour to stop Conor Mccarthy putting the visitors ahead.
They would eventually earn the lead in the 71st
minute, springing forward on the counter attack with clinical precision.
Collin Quaner managed to get the better of Keith Watson in a race for the ball and patiently waited for a team-mate to join him in the final third before picking out Durmus with a cutback, with the German finding the net with a firsttime finish.
A similar move would see Cameron Macpherson hit the side netting, and then Kyle Mcallister hit the woodwork.
The Buddies would add a third, though, with Mcgrath scoring from the penalty spot after Leo Hjelde was judged to have handled.