Three takeaways from Ross County's dramatic Premiership draw against Aberdeen in Dingwall featuring reaction from Staggies defender Jack Baldwin and manager Malky Mackay
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For a long time, it looked like Ross County and Aberdeen would play out a stalemate at the Global Energy Stadium.
The two teams would eventually share the spoils in Dingwall, but it was not without plenty of late drama.
It may not have been the win that either side craved, but who knows, it could end up being a vital point for both teams by the end of the season – and here are three things to take away from the match from a Staggies point of view.
Diamonds in the rough
Looking at the line-ups, it may have been easy to assume that County would shape up fairly defensively.
They appeared to start with four midfielders most natural through the centre of the park, much like they did against Celtic in the league a few weeks ago – but this was no containment job.
Instead Malky Mackay sent his side out in a midfield diamond, with David Cancola at the base, Jordan Tillson and Ross Callachan slightly wider and Yan Dhanda in the main playmaker role just behind the strikers.
We are only 11 games into the competitive campaign, but already County have lined up with a number of different formations. Some will work, some won't, but just being able to keep teams guessing could prove to be a valuable tool in their arsenal.
Malky Mackay's thoughts: "In the first 20 minutes I thought we looked really good. We were getting in behind, but I actually thought the wind played a real part in it.
"Aberdeen went long early into the edge of our box, and at times it was difficult to get out, so I tweaked the formation slightly to get to half time, and I knew that in the second half the wind would be in our favour and at some point we'd be bringing pace on.
"Both teams changed formations, and that's what we should be doing. Jim's a good manager who was trying to win the game for his team, and I was trying to do the same for us."
Getting instructions across
Mackay has regularly made half time substitutions to change tactics this season, but in yesterday's case the Staggies boss plumped for a different shape around 10 minutes before the interval.
He took the opportunity when there was an injury break to gather all of his players together and detail exactly what he wanted from them.
It does not sound like anything major, but it has become a recurring event. County did the same against Celtic midweek, with even goalkeeper Jake Eastwood sprinting over to the sidelines to be aware of the instructions on offer.
Elite sport comes down to fine margins, and Mackay seems keen to make the most of every chance he can get to help his players – as he should – even outwith his pre-match preparations and half time team talks. Keep an eye out for this next time it happens, and see if you can spot any changes afterwards.
Jack Baldwin's thoughts: "As a manager on the side, you don't really get too many chances during a game to get your messages out.
"He might be seeing stuff happening during a game that we can't, so when someone is down injured or there's a break in play it's a good chance for the coaching staff to get us in and tweak a few things, or reiterate a few things – or give us a kick up the backside if needed as well.
"It's like a mini-half time when we're on the pitch. It was the same when water breaks were in play, it's a chance for the manager to get messages across to us. We've got to take any chance we can get to take an advantage in the game."
Super-sub to the rescue
It is not often a player becomes a fan favourite having played less than an hour for the club.
That is exactly what happened for William Akio, though, who captured the imagination of Staggies fans after coming on as a substitute at the half hour mark of County's 7–0 win over East Fife in the Premier Sports Cup group stage.
He got two assists that day before being forced off the pitch with a knee injury that had kept him out, – until this week. An unused sub against Celtic, he was given his chance against Aberdeen after being thrown on at half time.
Naturally, it was a step up for him, so things didn't go all his own way, but he did pop up with the crucial equaliser in practically the last kick of the game, and I get the sense that there are very few players the Jail End would rather have seen find the net in that moment.
Malky Mackay's thoughts: "We've got a lot of new players this season, but we've kept the spirit of last year where we got wins or draws in the last few minutes of games. We have still got that never-say-die attitude about us.
"Both teams put a number of subs on, and we put pace on near the end to really try and counter and stretch Aberdeen while they threw strength on up front.
"We both had a real good go at it, and we didn't lose heart when their late goal went against us. We went right until the last minutes, and we got our just rewards, because I don't think any team deserved to lose that."
