Home   Sport   Article

Ross County maintain unbeaten start to Premiership season with battling draw against Kilmarnock


By Andrew Henderson

Easier access to your trusted, local news. Subscribe to a digital package and support local news publishing.



Click here to sign up to our free newsletters!

Ross County 2 (Draper, Stewart)

Kilmarnock 2 (Power, Burke)

A second half turnaround was nearly enough for Kilmarnock to claim their first win of the season, before Ross Stewart's 79th minute penalty saved a point for Ross County.

Ross Draper had put the Staggies in front after 15 minutes with his first goal in two and-a-half years, before a much-improved Killie side came out for the second half to battle back.

Alan Power's strike on the hour mark was backed up by Chris Burke in the 66th minute, but the spoils were shared at the end of an entertaining evening of football.

Picture - Ken Macpherson, Inverness. Ross County(1) v Motherwell(0). 03.08.20. Ross County's Ross Stewart celebrates after scoring from the penalty-spot.
Picture - Ken Macpherson, Inverness. Ross County(1) v Motherwell(0). 03.08.20. Ross County's Ross Stewart celebrates after scoring from the penalty-spot.

County were the in-form side going into the tie, and their confidence on the ball was clear to see from the first whistle.

They could have gone ahead inside a minute, when Michael Gardyne received a short free kick on the left side of the box and whipped a cross towards Ross Draper, whose poke towards goal was not enough to trouble Danny Rogers.

Kilmarnock did not have the same swagger on the ball, and just a couple of minutes later under pressure from a Staggies press they gave the ball away cheaply to Josh Mullin on the halfway line.

Mullin attempted to find Ross Stewart with a ball in behind the defence, and though it was successful the big forward was forced wider than he would have liked.

He still managed to cut the ball back to Regan Charles-Cook, who ended up slightly stretching to make contact for his shot and blazed the ball over the bar.

Ross Laidlaw only had one save to make in the first half, a simple one low to his left from Killie debutant Mitch Pinnock's free kick.

County did go ahead in the 15th minute though, and again it was a set piece that Alex Dyer's side struggled to deal with.

Josh Mullin played it short to Iain Vigurs and quickly received it back, crossing first time where Draper had found enough space to head past Rogers and into the far corner.

Killie never really gained a foothold in the game and struggled to break County down, while the hosts' slick passing meant they always looked dangerous.

County might already have felt they could have had more goals, but they could have doubled their lead again before the interval when once again Gardyne crossed into the middle where this time Mullin was waiting, only to see his header go the wrong side of the post.

Kilmarnock will have known they needed to show much more after the interval if they were to stand any chance of taking points back to Rugby Park, and to their credit they emerged re-energised.

They began to dominate possession, and Burke fired a warning shot directly from a free kick 25 yards out from the middle of goal, which only just missed the target.

It felt like the momentum had shifted, and the goal did eventually come on the hour mark when Burke and Ross Millen linked up on the right to feed the ball through to Alan Power in acres of space.

He had plenty of time to pick his spot, and no dark blue shirt could get close enough in time to stop him slotting past Laidlaw to level the scores.

The Staggies attempted to turn things around by bringing on Billy Mckay and Lee Erwin, but it was Kilmarnock who scored the next goal.

Power this time turned provider, playing a clever ball into a dangerous area for Burke to latch on to it.

The experienced winger ignored the County defenders' appeals for offside, and smashed the ball into the roof of the net to put the visitors in front at the Global Energy Stadium.

That forced the Staggies – behind for the first time this season – to up their own game in search of an equaliser, and Stewart went close with a low long-range effort that cannoned back off the post.

Stewart was not to be denied his goal though, and received the perfect chance when a handball was given against Burke in the Killie penalty box.

County's triple player of the year winner stepped up, and though Rogers went the right way his spot kick was too strong, finding the net to level the scores at 2–2.

In what was becoming an end-to-end game, with Erwin very nearly connecting with a cross and Brandon Haunstrup forcing a save out of Laidlaw from a free kick in the minutes that followed.

Those half chances were the closest either side came to a winner though, meaning that Ross County maintained their unbeaten start to the season – and Kilmarnock are still searching for their first win of the campaign.

Ross County: 1. Ross Laidlaw, 2. Connor Randall, 6. Ross Draper (Tillson 86), 7. Michael Gardyne (Paton 86), 11. Iain Vigurs (C), 14. Josh Mullin (Erwin 66), 16. Alex Iacovitti, 17. Regan Charles-Cook (Mckay 58), 25. Coll Donaldson, 27. Ross Stewart (Shaw 86), 43. Josh Reid.

Subs not used: 21. Ross Doohan, 5. Callum Morris, 15. Keith Watson, 18. Stephen Kelly.

Kilmarnock: 23. Danny Rogers, 5. Kirk Broadfoot, 6. Alan Power, 8. Gary Dicker (C), 11. Nicke Kabamba, 17. Stuart Findlay, 18. Calum Waters, 19. Mitch Pinnock (Haunstrup 72), 22. Ross Millen, 27. Aaron Tshibola, 29. Chris Burke.

Subs not used: 16. Colin Doyle, 2. Aaron McGowan, 4. Clevid Dikamona, 10. Greg Kiltie, 12. Danny Whitehall, 15. Mohamed El Makrini, 20. Innes Cameron, 32. Thomas Brindley.

Read more football news here.


Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More