Malky Mackay was proud of the way his Ross County aces stood up to Hearts as their 1-1 Premiership draw keeps them in the hunt for a top-six finish.
The seventh-placed Dingwall side head to Aberdeen, who are one point and two spots below them, next weekend with an upper half conclusion a realistic target.
The frantic and entertaining contest at Victoria Park had opportunities aplenty at both ends of the park and the result also means County are just one point behind sixth-placed Hibs, who face Hearts next weekend.
A Barrie McKay penalty was saved by Ross Laidlaw before Alex Iacovitti gave County the lead.
McKay drew Hearts level as the first half came to a close and, despite plenty of action throughout, there was to be no winner.
The teams really went for it – Mackay
County boss Mackay was delighted by his team’s front-foot approach against their third-placed visitors, stressing the turnaround after a 10-match winless start to the campaign.
He said: “It would have been a terrific game for a layman who was at the game today.
“The teams really went for it and you could see that with the chances that were created.
“It was a nice day on a beautiful pitch against the team clearly third-best in the country, who have got a really good squad of players.
“I was delighted by the way we stood firm and took the game to them, right to the last minute, trying to win the game. I’m really proud of them, from where we’ve come from at the start of the season.”
Enough chances to seal points
Mackay felt his men did enough to walk away with full points.
He added: “We had the chance in the second half from a couple of yards. How Craig Gordon saves it…it was a golden chance to win it.
“We had great chances to win the game today, like the volley from Cookie (Regan Charles-Cook) which would have made it 2-0. But I am delighted by how we played against a really strong team.”
Neilson hopes fans were entertained
Hearts manager Robbie Neilson, meanwhile, also praised both sides for going for goals.
He said: “It will probably take 10 minutes on Sportscene just to show all the chances. We want to try and entertain and we have players who can do that.
“We started the game really well, missed the penalty, missed another chance, Ross County came into the game.
“They put us under a lot of pressure for a period and got the goal. We managed to get it back level and then in the second half it was pretty even going back and forward.
“We had around 2,000 fans up here and I think they have gone away having been entertained.”
