Four things to take away from Ross County's crucial win at Dundee United in the battle to avoid relegation from the Scottish Premiership
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Ross County picked up another vital three points in their bid to remain a Scottish Premiership side next season – this time against fellow relegation rivals Dundee United.
The Staggies got off to the perfect start when Jordan White opened the scoring just 38 seconds into the match, but United came back strongly and equalised from the penalty spot through Jamie McGrath after Josh Sims was deemed to have handballed – with some assistance from VAR.
County, though, recovered well from the setback to get their noses back in front.
Substitute Nohan Kenneh surged forward after making an interception, and though he did not connect brilliantly with his attempted shot the ball still rolled into the path of White who claimed his second of the afternoon.
That was already a landmark moment for White, who had never previously scored more than one goal in a single match for the Staggies, but he would go one better and claim his first hat-trick in four and-a-half years when another substitute, Simon Murray, teed him up for a tap in.
With the victory, County moved off the foot of the table – leapfrogging Dundee United themselves – and up into 11th, so here are four things to take away from the triumph with post-match reaction from manager Malky Mackay and wing back George Harmon.
The perfect start
After a nervy start against Livingston last week, it was easy to assume it would be similar at Tannadice.
With Dundee United having over 11,000 supporters in attendance, and both teams knowing a victory would be a huge step towards safety in the Premiership, the stakes if anything were even higher this time around.
Instead, County had the absolute dream start to the match in Dundee.
Jordan White's header put them ahead after just 38 seconds after a well-worked set-piece, and for a while it would look like the Staggies might just move out of the bottom two with ease.
Of course, it is never that simple, but that was the sort of intensity County need to maintain through 90 minutes in every match until the end of the season to stay in the top flight.
Malky Mackay's thoughts: "We just knew that we had to start fast.
"Knowing that there were going to be 10,000 fans, and knowing the intensity the match was going to have and what those numbers would have on Dundee United, if you get caught up in that they can pin you back for the first 10 or 15 minutes and that atmosphere only builds.
"Walking out, there was tangerine everywhere and the stands were full – it was actually harking back a bit, which was great to see. We had to stay calm early on and make them defend, and obviously in the first minute we got the goal."
Freedom of movement
One of the big reasons Dundee United were able to get back into the match was the driving runs of Loick Ayina.
Leaving an opposition defender to see as much of the ball as they want is a tactic the Staggies have employed before, but this time it helped turn the tide against them.
Granted, going in the 20-year-old loanee from Huddersfield Town may not have been the obvious dangerman, but he was allowed to move out of the backline and into the final third far too many times, with far too few challenges.
At best, it put County on the back foot, while at worse he got close enough to let fly at goal.
Often, too, he was given so much space because Dundee United found a way to group most of the players on County's right-hand side, leaving Ayina with acres of space to run into on the opposite flank.
There were one or two moments where he was able to repeat his forays forward after the restart, but the Staggies kept much tighter control of the second half – so thankfully they did not prove costly in the end.
George Harmon's thoughts: "I think we probably upped the intensity a little bit. We were a bit lacklustre in the first half, and the heat probably took a bit out of us – not that that's an excuse.
"We had more of a front-foot mentality, and we got those two goals at the right times which really helped us.
"I think we just frustrated them more than anything, and it was a good win in the end."
A long-awaited hat-trick
When Jordan White scored his second, I thought I should probably look back on when his last hat-trick was – and I did not expect to have to go back as far as December 2018 to find it.
White has had his fair share of criticism, and at this stage it looks unlikely he will be a regular 15-goal-a-season striker in the Premiership, but make no mistake about the role he plays for the Staggies going forward.
He never shies away from hard work, he is a regular nuisance to opposition defenders, and he has shown exactly how valuable he can be in the second half of the season since he was given a strike partner.
Upon signing for County, White played a key role in helping the club avoid relegation from the Premiership – to the point that I and others called him the Staggies' player of the season despite him only joining towards the end of January.
The forward can be a key man for them again this season. Really, with his contribution to the win over Dundee United, he already has been, and just one or two more well-timed strikes could be enough to keep County up.
Malky Mackay's thoughts: "I have to say, Jordan White has at times taken a bit of stick for his lack of goals, but he's been a fundamental part of the team over the last two years since I've been here.
"He works hard, he's a great lad, and in general if you talk to other clubs they will say he causes problems in this division. I was delighted that he actually got a little bit of a reward today, because he puts in a real shift for us.
"I actually thought he had scored two, but he's walking about with a signed ball so it must have been three. I'm delighted for him."
Second half surges
It has been notable in recent weeks that although County have been under the cosh for spells against Livingston and Dundee United, they grew into the game and ended up as fairly comfortable victors.
Livi had probably been the better side for the first 20 minutes or so in Dingwall, before wilting after going behind.
When County went 2-1 up at Tannadice, too, it could have been said that it was against the run of play.
However, the Staggies will not care one bit – and if they are finishing matches strongly at this late stage of the campaign, that should only bode well for their chances of picking up the results they need to secure at least another season of Premiership football.
After winning back-to-back league matches for just the second time this season, too, they could be hitting form at just the right time in the battle against relegation.
Malky Mackay's thoughts: "I've enjoyed the fact that we're looking fit and strong, but it's a confidence thing as well.
"Maybe because of where we are, and the changes I've had to make throughout the group – and probably the lack of experience in the group with some of the ones who have had to come out – they don't believe they're as good as anyone else in the division even though they're told that, and shown examples of that.
"It maybe takes them a few examples as the game is going on for them to say 'hold on a minute, we're as good as the team we're against here', so we need to keep that going."
