Match Preview | Accies v RCFC

Ross County travel to the Fountain of Youth Stadium tomorrow evening to face bottom 6 rivals Hamilton Academical.

The two sides make up the bottom 2 clubs in the Scottish Premiership table at this moment and are both seeking 3 valuable points in bid of renewing their Scottish Premiership status come the end of the season.

The Staggies have met the Accies twice already this season, with both clubs walking away with an away win and home defeat over the two matches.

After a disappointing midweek defeat to Motherwell, County will be eager to get back to winning ways against the other Lanarkshire club in the league.

Opposition Focus

Hamilton currently sit at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership table, 1 point adrift of Ross County, but with 2 games in hand.

Brian Rice’s side have won just 1 match since they last faced County in December, but they did go unbeaten at home last month: including a victory over Motherwell and a 0-0 draw with Dundee United.

The Accies last outing was a trip to Celtic Park in which they were beaten 2-0 by the champions. Goals from Leigh Griffiths and Odsonne Edouard helped Celtic to their first win of 2021 as Hamilton were unable to capitalise on County’s defeat to Motherwell in Dingwall.

Despite holding the bottom spot in the league, the South Lanarkshire club are within just 5 points of Kilmarnock in 9^th place and are only 3 points behind Motherwell in 10^th.

A single point separates County and Hamilton at the bottom of the league, representing a 5-point swing in favour of County since the two clubs last played against each other in Hamilton’s December victory at the Global Energy Stadium.

Ross County Focus

The Staggies are placed at 11^th in the Scottish Premiership table and are without a win in two games due to defeats at the hands of Rangers and Motherwell over the past weeks. However, there have been more than a few glimpses of the quality required to avoid relegation in John Hughes’ side since he took over.

A win for Ross County could see them leapfrog Motherwell in the table and go within 1 point of Kilmarnock in 9^th place.

County captain, Iain Vigurs described the upcoming fixture as a ‘six-pointer’ in his press conference earlier this week as he recognised the importance of a victory over a relegation rival.

In the dugouts, there will be a reunion for managers John Hughes and Brian Rice. Rice was assistant to Ross County manager, John Hughes, during his time in charge of Falkirk, Hibernian and Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

This will be the first time Yogi goes head-to-head with his former sidekick who he will be hoping has not learned too much from their time together elsewhere in Scotland.

Last Match

Hamilton Academical defeated Ross County 2-0 at the Global Energy Stadium in December. A goal in each half, courtesy of Ross Callachan and Scott Martin, won all three points for the visitors despite their opponents enjoying the majority of possession.