Jordy Hiwula hopes his equaliser against Motherwell can be a turning point in both his – and Ross County’s – form.
Hiwula netted late on to secure a 1-1 draw against the Steelmen on Saturday, only seconds after taking to the pitch as a substitute.
County had looked to be on course for defeat in the bottom-of-the-table encounter, following Stuart McKinstry’s 68th-minute breakthrough.
The goal was Hiwula’s first league strike since his summer switch from Doncaster Rovers, and the 80th-minute leveller also ended the Staggies’ 508-minute goal drought.
Although County have still failed to record a win since November 8, Hiwula hopes the fightback at Fir Park is a step in the right direction.
He said: “I hope as a team we can build on that. I hope it’s a big goal for us. I feel like we’ve been playing well in matches and we needed that goal to push us on.
“Hopefully that goal can boost us and give us a little kick. We needed to come in and try and get a result against Motherwell.
“Hopefully we can go into the Scottish Cup game away to Hamilton next week full of confidence.
“Going into the cup breaks it up a bit, it will be different playing on the AstroTurf and we’re looking forward to it and hoping to get a win.”
Striker determined to hit goal trail
Hiwula had the ball in the net roughly seven seconds after play resumed, following his arrival on the pitch in place of Yan Dhanda.
The Englishman is eager to build on his goal, adding: “I’ve been keen to improve on my goalscoring. I’ve had a few chances, but not put them away – but hopefully, after that I can kick on and get a few more.
“I feel like I’ve been unlucky with a few chances I’ve had between the start of the season and now.
“I just need to be more clinical, personally. I feel like I got that first chance and put it away. Hopefully, I can carry on like that and hit the back of the net.
“I think that’s the quickest impact I’ve ever made. The manager just said to go on and try and cause a nuisance.
“When I was on the bench, I was watching the game and seeing what I could do.
“If I came on up top or out wide, I felt there were ways I could kind of improve the team.
“I felt there wasn’t enough players running in behind the defence. So the first opportunity I got, I tried to get in behind the back line and luckily I put the ball in the back of the net.
“That’s one of my strengths, running in behind, causing problems. We’ve a lot of players that come to feet and they can find that ball in behind.
“For me, I just need to keep going that way.”
Staggies have teams within reach
County remain three points adrift at the bottom of the league, but now trail three teams by three points.
Hiwula is optimistic about the Staggies’ prospects of climbing the table.
The 28-year-old added: “We feel we can beat most of the teams around us. In some games, we’ve felt comfortable, yet we’ve come away with nothing.
“Then we’ve not played well and come away with a point or a win.
“We need to keep doing the right things and we will win more than we lose.
“We want to get some consistency in both boxes. Keep the ball out of the net and the forwards need to score more and we can climb up the table.”
