Following three wins on the trot, there was hope that the Staggies high confidence could be put to good use to give high flying Celtic a good contest.
But the display was quite the opposite. In our second visit to Celtic Park this season, that game was the worst County have played against the Old Firm sides all season.
In previous fixtures this campaign we’ve given it a real good go and created lots of chances, not being afraid of going toe to toe with the Glasgow pair.
However, the recent showing at Celtic was painful to watch. Malky’s men sat off Celtic, looking like they wanted to avoid getting hit with the pace of Maeda and Jota on the flanks. This approach didn’t stop the relentless onslaught from Celtic.
Before County knew it Celtic were strolling three goals to the good after some clever attacks. However, none of the goals were mind blowing, and two were aided by woefully weak County defending.
The tie was was confirmed to be done and dusted when Kayne Ramsay was shown red for a challenge on Tom Rogic. Ramsay clearly won the ball with his left leg, and caught Rogic on the follow through. It was a harsh red card, and one that further weakened the Highlanders chances of showing what they could do. It was backs to the wall from here on in.
There was only one further blow in the second half with Giorgos Giakoumakis completing his hat-trick.
Results else where didn’t negatively impact County too much, meaning the push for top six, remarkably even top four, is still very much an achievable goal.
Currently sitting in seventh place, Malky’s Staggies are teed up for two cup final like matches before the split.
It’s going to be a tough ask, but generally speaking four points could be enough to see the Staggies into the top half of the table.
With Hearts and Aberdeen up next, could Malky Mackay guide his players to one of the most historic and remarkable turnarounds in our top flight tenure?
