In what was one of the toughest possible games to kick off the 2022/23 season, Ross County were defeated at the hands of Robbie Nielsen’s new-look Heart of Midlothian.
Malky Mackay would have been desperate to put a stamp on proceedings by claiming an opening day victory at Tynecastle to show the league the ambition he has for his Staggies side this season.
It wasn’t to be however, as most punters would have predicted, the Jam Tarts rose to the challenge well and overcame a much-changed Ross County side.
It wasn’t all sunshine and roses for the Gorgie side.
A first half of dominance from the Highlanders had the Capital side on the backfoot, with most of the possession and passing play lying in favour of the Staggies.
Owura Edwards was the best player on the park, as he used his pace and wizardly magic to drive County forward. He came close to scoring what would have been one of the goals of the season when his curling shot from the left cannoned off the crossbar.
There were several other big chances for the Staggies who could have easily been ahead by half time, as Josh Sims and Dominic Samuel both had big chances to send the Staggies into half time leading.
Despite the concession of two goals -including one which was an individual moment of magic from Barrie Mckay – and an opening day loss, there really isn’t too much for Ross County fans to be disheartened or worried about at this point.
The league debutants settled well and stepped up to the level, and after a large spell of dominance against the third best side in the country, there are numerous reasons for the County faithful to still be feeling positive.
The return of William Akio will be crucial to helping Malky inject directness and raw pace into his already adequately performing attack. With a solid back line and more than comfortable amount of squad depth – County fans should be full of hope for claiming another top six finish, or maybe even more.
Conversation