St Johnstone 2-1 Ross County: Don Cowie reaction and three talking points as seventh straight loss sets up crunch Dundee encounter

Press and Journal

10-05-2025

Ross County's perilous position intensified as they fell to a seventh straight loss against bottom side St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
The Staggies are now just three points above the Perth side, whose 2-1 triumph breathes new life into their own survival efforts.
All of a sudden, the Staggies are very much looking over their shoulder as they approach the final two matches of the season.
Fortuitously, County still have the opportunity to go above 10th-placed Dundee if they can pull out a victory in their next match at Dens Park on Wednesday.
Given the dire run, which has seen Don Cowie's men fail to pick up a single point since their home win over Kilmarnock on March 1, the Staggies will go into the crunch encounter seriously bereft of confidence.
We look at three talking points from a disappointing day at McDiarmid Park.
As important goals rank this season, Welsh forward Samuel's second of the season in the final stages of the first half should have ranked highly among them.
The Staggies found themselves in a losing position just after the half-hour mark in Perth, after Daniels Balodis' header from an Elliot Watt corner crept in off the underside of the crossbar.
Mercifully for the Staggies, they were able to restore parity at a crucial time just four minutes before the interval through a well-worked goal.
Josh Nisbet capitalised on a loose pass in the Saints midfield before picking out Kieran Phillips out wide, and his cross was clinically turned home at the near post by Alex Samuel.
The timely leveller ought to have given County the impetus to grasp the game in the second half, knowing they had the opportunity to remove the threat of automatic relegation had they claimed the win.
The Dingwall men allowed Saints to gain a grip of the match in the early stages of the second period however, with Saints forwards Adama Sidibeh and Uche Ikpeazu missing gilt-edged chances before Elliot Watt bundled home what proved to be the winner on the hour mark.
That proved to be the main frustration for Cowie, who said: 'That's the real disappointing part.
'We got a really good equaliser. We go in at half-time and there's a real vibrancy in the dressing room, that we can go on and win this game after getting an equaliser.
'I thought we started the second half really well on the front foot, but then we took that step back.
'St Johnstone have got really good players that can hurt you, and we probably had 10-minute spell where we didn't get high enough, and we allowed them to put balls in our box.'
The Staggies looked like they had secured an equaliser with eight minutes remaining when Ronan Hale turned home after Will Nightingale had nodded down a Zac Ashworth corner.
A VAR check ultimately ruled it out for offside however, with Cowie adding: 'From the clip I've seen, it's very tight, but I've not seen the VAR side of it. I've just said to the group, there's no point feeling sorry for ourselves, because I certainly am not going to.'
Cowie made a switch to a back-four for the first time in several weeks, which brought about a recall for Nightingale.
It was the Englishman's first outing since a 6-0 loss to Rangers on August 24, following a long injury lay-off.
Although his second season-long loan spell has been a highly frustrating one, which has brought about just five appearances, Nightingale's experience could yet still make him a major asset for the Staggies ahead of a crucial upcoming week.
County will be further depleted in defensive numbers following the late dismissal of Zac Ashworth for foul and abusive language – making Nightingale's return a timely one.
Dundee's 3-2 defeat to Kilmarnock means the Dark Blues remain only two points ahead of County, ahead of Wednesday's encounter between the two sides.
Despite their seven-match losing streak, it remarkably means the Staggies can put themselves into the driving seat for guaranteed survival with one game to play, by claiming all three points at Dens Park.
Conversely, a defeat to Tony Docherty's side would mean the Staggies would be consigned to a relegation play-off at best – with a live threat of automatic relegation.
Cowie knows now is the time for his side to deliver, adding: 'It's still in our own hands. It shouldn't be, in terms of the run of form that we've been in, but that's the carrot that we've got in terms of the next two games.
'But I can't keep saying it. We have to go and act upon it and win a game of football, and that starts on Wednesday.
'It'll be a difficult game, but I'll be there, I'll be ready and I'll be fighting for this football club.'
(3-4-3): Fisher 6; Sprangler 6, Balodis 7, Douglas 6; Curtis 6, Watt 8, Steven 7; Sidibeh 6, Ikpeazu 7 (Kirk 74), McPake 6 (Griffith 88).
Subs not used: Sinclair, Clark, Carey, Kucheriavyi, Duke-McKenna, Kimpioka.
(4-4-2): Amissah 6; Wright 6, Lopata 6 (Campbell 73), Nightingale 6, Ashworth 5; Phillips 6 (White 66), Randall 6, Nisbet 6, Harmon 6 (Smith 73); Samuel 7, Hale 6.
Subs not used: Ross, Brown, Tomkinson, Efete, Robesten, Kenneh.
John Beaton
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Elliot Watt