The depth of Ross County’s squad is likely to be tested before the year is out but on the evidence of Saturday’s dramatic victory against Aberdeen, Jim McIntyre’s pool is well up to the task.
The Staggies struck late to defeat the Dons 2-1, despite being reduced to 10-men following defender Kenny van der Weg’s red card eight minutes from time.
The Dutchman will now have to serve a suspension, while the hamstring injury picked up by midfielder Michael Gardyne is further cause for concern.
Chris Burke is still working his way back from a viral infection, and while Paul Quinn and Martin Woods have recently returned from injury, three games in nine days is asking a lot of two players so soon after completing the recovery process.
Squad rotation will likely be key, with Friday night’s game against Partick Thistle followed by Wednesday’s trip to Celtic and the Hogmanay derby against Caley Thistle a week on Saturday.
A tricky schedule, but if Saturday’s game is anything to go by, McIntyre has plenty players currently outwith his starting line-up who are chomping at the bit to get into the side.
His three substitutes all made a telling impact, with the pace of attacker Alex Schalk helping to stretch the game at a point when the Staggies found themselves increasingly hemmed in by a Dons side that dominated second-half possession. For the goal that secured the points for the Staggies, Jonathan Franks supplied the cross which was eventually bundled into the net by fellow substitute Ryan Dow. As far as staking a claim for a start goes, all three did themselves no harm whatsoever.
The victory moved County into the top-six, which was the New Year target set out by McIntyre at the start of the six-game December stretch. The Dingwall men are on track at the halfway stage of that run, but given how unstoppable Celtic look domestically, ahead of next week’s trip to Parkhead, another victory in this weekend’s game against the Jags appears to be all the more crucial.
Thistle are bottom of the league and without a win since October, so confidence is bound to be low. Their last three games have been among the toughest they could face though, with a creditable 1-1 draw against Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday sandwiched between two defeats to Celtic. Alan Archibald’s men will not relish the trip to Victoria Park, but they will see it as a better opportunity to pick up points than some of their recent fixtures.
Having done so well to defeat the Dons, County will be desperate not to undo the good work, as they bid to build momentum by recording back-to-back victories for just the second time this season.
