Malky Mackay is urging his Ross County side to have Hampden in mind as they go all out for victory at Alloa Athletic in the Premier Sports Cup on Tuesday night.
The Staggies negotiated a tricky home Group C game on Saturday as they edged to a 1-0 win at home to Dunfermline Athletic thanks to a fine headed goal from striker Jordy Hiwula.
It was just what County needed after a two-point penalty shoot-out win against Buckie Thistle the week before left them three points behind the Pars, who had defeated East Fife and Buckie to lead the section.
Alloa, bossed by former Inverness number two Brian Rice, are in second spot on goal difference thanks to their impressive 4-1 win at Buckie and the victors of the Recreation Park clash will leapfrog Dunfermline in the chase for a last-16 spot.
Four of County’s new signings were handed home debuts against James McPake’s well-drilled and capable Fifers on Saturday and patience paid off with an instinctive second-half looping header from ex-Doncaster forward Hiwula.
It keeps destiny in County’s hands for the trip to Alloa and Mackay has already told his group they have to get the win in order to stay on track for a run to the national stadium.
He said: “You are trying to win the group to ensure you reach the last 16 of the League Cup, which is a huge thing in this country.
“I have spoken to the players about that. We want to try and ensure we reach a semi-final at Hampden in front of 50,000 people – that’s something we should always try to achieve.
Jordy Hiwula opened his County account this weekend with a superb looping header to secure maximum points in Dingwall 😍
Replaying this for the rest of the weekend 👀#Staggies 🦌 pic.twitter.com/5NtiJ61uef
— Ross County FC (@RossCounty) July 16, 2022
“We want to win the group. We have Alloa on Tuesday night and East Fife on Saturday, and we will try and win both games.
“I am delighted we got three points on Saturday, because Dunfermline were chasing the win in this league as well.”
Pars still in qualification equation
Dunfermline remain in contention to qualify at least as one of the best runners-up, should they defeat Alloa at East End Park this weekend.
Right-back Ben Purrington, midfielder Yan Dhanda, winger Owura Edwards and goal hero Hiwula were handed Staggies starting jerseys for their first matchday experience of the Global Energy Stadium.
Canadian midfielder Victor Loturi and winger Kazeem Olaigbe came on as substitutes for their home bows in the second half, too.
Akio arrival exciting move for County
And County took their summer recruitment tally to 10 on Sunday when they confirmed exciting Canadian forward William Akio as their latest signing.
He is the brother of Loturi, who joined the Staggies last month.
The 23-year-old hit the global headlines recently when he made a bizarre goal-line clearance to prevent his OWN team, Valour FC of the Canadian Premier League, from scoring.
👋𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄, 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌 𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐎🦌
William has today joined County from Canadian Premier League side Valour FC!
Let's do this🤝 @willyakio
— Ross County FC (@RossCounty) July 17, 2022
However, 10 goals with some smart finishing at the right end of the pitch within 43 appearances make him an intriguing addition to the pool.
Akio, who attracts more than 30,000 subscribers on his own YouTube channel, signed a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
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