Four takeaways from Ross County's 3–0 win over Kilmarnock to move off the bottom of the Scottish Premiership with reaction from Malky Mackay and Jordan White
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Ross County recorded their biggest win in 15 months to move off the bottom of the Scottish Premiership table against Kilmarnock.
Their 3–0 was the biggest margin of any Staggies victory since the season-defining 5–0 win over Dundee in October 2021, and they will be hoping for a similar effect again now.
Goals from debutant Eamonn Brophy, Jordan White and Yan Dhanda sealed the points for County, so here are four things to take away from the triumph featuring reaction from manager Malky Mackay and striker Jordan White.
Instant impact
Eamonn Brophy was thrown straight into the starting line-up, and if he continues the way he has begun he will quickly become a fan favourite in Dingwall.
As well as the work rate that would be expected of anyone coming into a relegation battle, the on-loan St Mirren man showed the quality he possesses too.
His goal – a nice confidence boost on debut – was a simple finish, but even outwith that his ball control looked to be the best of any centre forward in the Staggies squad.
There was one moment early on against Kilmarnock where he sent a tantalising cross into a dangerous area too, and you could feel the supporters urging him on.
It is early days, and it remains to be seen whether that impact can be repeated going forward, but it was a great first impression to County fans from Brophy.
Manager Malky Mackay's thoughts: "It was great to see two of the new signings involved in the first goal, Nohan sets it up and Eamonn immediately looks like a forward who is at ease in our league. To go and score and have the day he had alongside Jordan White, I was delighted for him.
“Young Josh Stones comes on and you can see he has played National League football because he is straight into three big, experienced centre-backs and doesn’t care.
“I’m also glad for Nohan, who is young and come in from Hibs. He’s had a bit of disappointment being told he wouldn't play there, but has settled into our group well and he showed what he is – that destroyer mentality he’s got. He wins so many second balls."
Double trouble
Malky Mackay elected to play a 3–5–2, pairing Brophy with Jordan White up front, and they looked far better with two targets up top.
It changed White's role from chasing after defenders and balls forward to dropping slightly shorter to play flick ons, knowing there was someone else ahead of him to pick up the loose ball.
Having more bodies naturally further forward also meant County did a better job of keeping the ball in the opposition half, releasing the pressure on their defenders.
How much of the improvement came from Brophy's performance, and how much was down to the change of shape will only become clear after a bigger sample size, but I would not be surprised to see more of the same going forward from County.
Jordan White's thoughts: "I think it's an ideal partnership, me and Eamonn can work really well together.
"Sometimes you get frustrated when you're flicking it on and people aren't getting on the end of it, or not reading it. With Eamonn up there, he's a natural striker who reads these situations.
"When I came here I hit the ground running at Hamilton – that's what you want, so I was delighted for him, and I think we did really well and complemented each other really well."
Controlling the game
It was the first time since that 5–0 win over Dundee in October 2021 that the Staggies were three goals up in a league game, and they looked good value for it.
They scored at good times – White's in particular coming very early in the second half after Killie had finished the first period well – which is a good habit to get into.
Yes, Kilmarnock had a couple of good chances to score, but it never really felt like County were in too much trouble, which was a significant improvement on recent weeks.
Mackay's men have shown they can compete with a lot of other teams in this league, but this was one of the first times that I can remember them looking a step above one of their relegation rivals. That is the standard they need to stay at to keep moving up the standings.
Jordan White's thoughts: "It's been much needed since we came back from the break.
"Especially last week, we were disappointed. It was really down after that game, everybody felt a wee bit embarrassed to be honest, but we've taken the criticism that we deserved and we've come out fighting.
"Things can change quickly in football. We've done that now, we're right back in the mix, and I think we showed that we are more than capable of getting out of the position we're in."
What next for the wide men?
An interesting note when the teams were announced was the omission of both Owura Edwards and Kazeem Olaigbe.
Both men having been fixtures in the starting 11 this season, but Mackay later revealed Edwards picked up a knock in training and the change of shape meant less depth in wide areas was needed.
One factor to consider is that both players are on loan, and if either man's game time is going to be limited in the second half of the season that might be a situation looked at in the final days of the transfer window.
William Akio has already left the club on loan, and Josh Sims has only started twice since August, so it will be an interesting one to keep an eye on going forward to see whether Mackay moves away from his favoured set-up more often.
Malky Mackay's thoughts: “Alex Samuel has been a real cheerleader to the group (while out injured), quite quickly from coming back into training and what he has shown in training. The enthusiasm and the way he has trained means he goes in front of people and that tells its own story.
“(Kazeem) wasn’t picked. I want people that are absolutely going to lay their body on the line, and at the moment I have not seen enough there.
“In both boxes, we showed a desperate desire at one end to keep the ball out and at the other a willingness to be calculated and out it in the net – people that want to do that with me and come with me on the journey will be here around about the team, and the ones that don’t, won’t be.”
