Brophy breaks Airdrie hearts as County win a cup thriller
EAMONN BROPHY settled a seven-goal thriller as Ross County thwarted Airdrie’s late two-goal fightback to book their place in the Viaplay Cup quarter-finals.
Kyle Turner handed the Staggies a dream start inside six minutes when he caressed a precise effort high into the far corner.
And just 60 seconds later, the visitors doubled their advantage as Turner turned provider to set up Jordan White, who prodded home from close-range.
Airdrie produced a positive response and reduced the deficit after 36 minutes when Adam Frizzell sent in a low-driven cross which was turned home by Calum Gallagher at the back-post.
But their fightback lasted little over two minutes as Simon Murray restored County’s two-goal cushion.
It looked as if Ross County were set to cruise through — but they were left shell-shocked when the Championship side scored two late goals to seal a stunning turnaround and force extra-time.
However, it was yet another piece of poor defending which settled a pulsating tie as the visitors sealed victory through substitute Brophy’s diving header.
County boss Malky Mackay said: ‘I knew it was always going to be a tough game here. Airdrie have been on a roll — they won promotion and they were excellent in the League Cup group.
‘I knew how we should try and play against them and I thought we started like a house on fire — in the first half we were excellent.
‘At half-time I told them they were going to have to go gung-ho, and end up with a goalkeeper 30 yards out of his box, which they did. That meant we had to be very careful as the game went on.
‘I was disappointed with the fact we made two really silly errors.
‘But once we got to extra-time I was delighted with the way we stood firm. Dylan Smith was 17 just two weeks ago, he put a great ball in and Brophy does what Brophy does.’
Home boss Rhys McCabe made two changes from Airdrie’s 2-1 win over Partick Thistle as Gabby McGill and Murray Aiken replaced Josh O’Connor, while the player-manager also missed out after sustaining a knee injury last weekend.
Meanwhile, Mackay made just one change from their 2-0 win over St Johnstone as Turner replaced the injured Yan Dhanda.
And it was Turner who struck early, seizing on a loose ball when the home side failed to clear their lines and finishing smartly into the top-right corner.
Just 60 seconds later and the helpless Airdrie goalkeeper Josh Rae was picking the ball out his net once more. Turner was involved again as
Jordan White bundled his right-wing cross over the line.
Gallagher handed Airdrie a lifeline after 36 minutes when he smashed home Frizzell’s cross.
But their comeback hopes looked short-lived as County netted a third through Murray who raced onto a through ball from Jordan Brown, brushed aside Aaron Taylor-Sinclair and beat Rae with an angled shot.
After an all-action end-to-end first half, clear-cut chances became few and far between after the restart as it became tight and physical, with referee Steven MacLean issuing yellow cards to Josh Sims, Jordan White, Gabby McGill, and Brown in a hectic 11-minute spell which saw several scything tackles from both sets of players.
And it was another reckless challenge that handed Airdrie a route back into the game as substitute O’Connor was brought down by Jack Baldwin inside the box and Gallagher sent Ross Laidlaw the wrong way from the resulting spot-kick.
The Championship side produced an incredible late leveller as O’Connor finished off a wellconstructed move which involved Charlie Telfer, Frizzell and Nikolay Todorov.
However, there was to be no fairytale ending for the Diamonds. The decisive moment arrived in the 101st minute when the unmarked Brophy stooped to meet Dylan Smith’s cross with a header which flew past Rae.
McCabe said: ‘Ross County came out quickly and deservedly went 2-0 up and I thought we looked a little bit rattled and a bit shaky.
‘But, then we settled into the game and the level of performance was terrific — to do that against a Premiership side was pleasing.
‘We really gave them as good as we got and for large parts and I thought we dominated the game but ultimately silly mistakes killed us. ‘To score three at home and lose —
I’m gutted for the boys.’