Ross County to draw on experience as they prepare for another play-off

Don Cowie believes Ross County can draw on their recent play-off experiences when they look to escape the Premiership trap door against Livingston.

The Staggies finished 11th in the top flight for the third year running and will face the Lions in the first leg of the play-off final in West Lothian on Thursday before the return game in Dingwall next Monday.

In the 2023 play-off final County lost 2-0 at Partick Thistle in the first leg in Firhill and were a goal down in the second leg at home before a remarkable comeback ended up with a dramatic penalty shoot-out win, while last year saw a 6-1 aggregate win over Raith Rovers.

Cowie, whose side failed to win their last nine games of the season with seven defeats and two draws, said: “Well, the reality is we’ve been in this position before.

“We know in order to achieve what we want to achieve, you have to go and earn it.

“We’ve done it in different manners in the last two years.

“I think against Partick it came down to a 20-minute period that allowed us to get the job done.

“Last year on paper it looked like it was very comfortable with the scoreline, but it was still two very challenging games.

“So it just shows that no matter what, you have to go and earn the right to win this.

“I think when it’s two legs, ultimately, the better team over the two legs will come out on top.

“It’s not an isolated one game where maybe a decision can go against you, so there’s no excuses and it’s just about getting the job done.

“And over two legs, there’s plenty of minutes, you’re never out of it.

“I think that (Partick) game showed it. Even against Raith last year, we get a couple of goals late on to make it 4-0 in the second leg, but before that, it’s still 4-1 and we know from our own experiences how quickly a game can change.

“So it’s never dead, it’s always alive and I think that gives us a good experience as a football club to know how important the moments are in these matches because momentum can swing very quickly.”