MX23RW : Monday, December 23 12:10:25| >> :600:273930:273930:

John Hughes calls on Ross County to be "streetwise"

The Staggies went down 2-0 after seeing 18-year-old left-back Josh Reid and veteran midfielder Ross Draper get shown second yellow cards.

Ross County manager John Hughes believes being a little more streetwise could have made all the difference against St Mirren on Saturday.

The Staggies went down 2–0 after seeing 18-year-old left-back Josh Reid and veteran midfielder Ross Draper get shown second yellow cards.

Even then, it took until the 76th minute for Marcus Fraser to make the breakthrough for St Mirren, with a second goal from Kristian Dennis coming as County tried to salvage an unlikely point.

Hughes thinks if his players had kept a bit more composure, they could have had a real go at claiming a late equaliser instead.

"Until the first sending off, I felt we were the better team," Hughes said.

"We had the better chances, we were right out of the traps and they played with everything I asked of them.

"The whole game changes and we were under the cosh, but even with 10 men I thought the spirit and desire to keep that clean sheet was commendable.

"We were up against it, so we went kamikaze at the end. If we had just kept it at 1-0 for a spell, I think we might have given them a wee bit of fright.

"We just needed to be a little bit more streetwise."

Buddies boss Jim Goodwin agreed that Reid's red card in the first half was the turning point in the game.

St Mirren still had to take advantage of having extra players and turn that into a scoreboard lead though, so Goodwin was happy to see his squad turn in a professional victory in less-than-ideal conditions.

"There wasn't a great deal between the teams, I have to admit, but having young Reid sent off changes the whole game," he said.

"It was a difficult afternoon. The preparations for the game weren't ideal, we had pre-match lunch cancelled on us at the last minute.

"The boys had to take a packed lunch for the bus, which isn't the most professional, but we asked them not to use that as an excuse or talk about the pitch being heavy in the rain.

"We asked them to show us what characters they are – and they are a terrific bunch of lads.

"They give you everything on a matchday.

"We could have played better, and will play better in the future, but it was all about the result. We ask them to be professional and they did that."

ID:428161: cacheID:428161:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4087:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Jak Alnwick pictured in February 2016
Read Next:
Jim Goodwin heaps praise on Jak Alnwick after Ross County win
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic1614204444044
2RangersRangers1611232891935
3Aberdeen17104331211034
4Motherwell178272327-426
5Dundee UnitedDundee Utd176742519625
6St Mirren187382429-524
7Dundee175482730-319
8Hibernian184682430-618
9Kilmarnock184681935-1618
10Hearts1844102027-716
11Ross County183691435-2115
12St Johnstone1842122134-1314


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!