Match Report | RCFC v Aberdeen

Ross County moved off the bottom of the Scottish Premiership this afternoon after they defeated Aberdeen 4-1 at the Global Energy Stadium.

Oli Shaw opened the scoring for the home side after 44 seconds before Charlie Lakin doubled their lead.

An Alex Iacovitti own goal got Aberdeen back in the game with a goal on the stroke of half time but late goals from Oli Shaw and Jermaine Hylton compounded an immense Ross County performance!

Ross County got off to a flying start when Oli Shaw fired the home side ahead after just 44 seconds. Almost directly from kick-off, Iain Vigurs broke from midfield and found Charlie Lakin who then had his pass intercepted by Tommy Hoban. Hoban went to ground to complete the interception before being subsequently pick-pocketed by Jermaine Hylton inside the penalty area. Hylton then turned before sliding the ball to Oli Shaw on the edge of the right-hand side of the box, who drilled his right-footed effort into the bottom-left corner of the goal.

Inside the 7^th minute, Aberdeen nearly responded with a goal of their own. Curtis Main, who had scored in his previous 4 matches against Ross County, watched his flicked effort from a Jonny Hayes cut-back squirm just wide of Ross Laidlaw’s goal.

After 20 minutes, County had gone two goals ahead! Jermaine Hylton received the ball from Harry Paton on the right wing and returned the ball to the Canadian on his inside after dragging out two Dons defenders. Paton then picked out Charlie Lakin at the back post, who found himself in acres of space before rolling his right-footed shot into the net at Joe Lewis’s near post.

In the 34^th minute, Ross Laidlaw pulled off a wonder-save to maintain the Staggies’ clean sheet. Jonny Hayes hung up a floated cross to the back post from the left of the box to Curtis Main, who knocked the ball down to Matty Kennedy. Kennedy’s volleyed effort from inside the six-yard box looked destined to nestle in the goal but it was denied by an incredible reflex save from Ross Laidlaw.

4 minutes later, Laidlaw was called into action again to produce another 2 excellent saves to keep the score-line at 2-0. Scott Wright and Curtis Main combined with a one-two inside the area before Wright’s left-footed shot was expertly saved by the feet of Ross Laidlaw in goal. From the resulting corner, Laidlaw made another excellent save after Tommy Hoban nearly converted from a goal line scramble.

With the final kick of the half, Aberdeen got a goal back to account for their relentless pressure. Jonny Hayes’s corner met the head of Hoban before the ball was accidentally bundled into the net by County defender Alex Iacovitti.

Ross County were the better side for the opening 30 minutes, but Aberdeen enjoyed a period of sustained dominance for the final 15 minutes of the half. The Staggies would have been disappointed to lose a goal so late in the half, but by contrast, they would also have been delighted to go into the interval in the lead.

Aberdeen started the second half as they finished the first with further waves of attack. The visitors continued to probe the County rear-guard, forcing John Hughes’s side into numerous brave blocks and clearances.

The County defenders continued to put their bodies on the line and nearly found a third goal when Oli Shaw came close to producing a spectacular goal from a counterattack in the 75^th minute. Harry Paton lifted a left-footed pass over the back line of Aberdeen, and it ran into the path of Oli Shaw. The goal-scorer unleashed an ambitious right footed volley from around 35 yards out that landed just over the crossbar.

Just 6 minutes before the full-time whistle, Oli Shaw grabbed his second goal of the match to win the game for Ross County! It came when Ross Draper nodded down the ball for Shaw from an Iain Vigurs corner. Shaw then used his left foot to sweep the ball into the bottom left corner with his back to goal to clinch his 8^th goal of the season!

Substitute Billy McKay nearly found a 4^th goal when he combined with Jermaine Hylton before striking a right-footed shot from around 25 yards out. Unfortunately, McKay’s shot whistled just wide of the goal.

In the 93^rd minute, Jermaine Hylton concluded an exceptional County performance when he made it 4-1 to the Staggies. Shay Logan lost the ball on the halfway line before the ball broke to Iain Vigurs. The captain then clipped the ball into the path of Hylton who raced towards goal and won a 50/50 with Joe Lewis who had come rushing out of his box. The winger then knocked the ball into an empty net to put the icing on the cake of an impressive individual and team performance.

The crucial victory raises Ross County to 10^th in the Scottish Premiership table, their highest league position since the 5^th December last year!