After taking seven points from three games we were brought back down to earth last week by Dundee United. Realistically it was a game we probably didn't expect to win, but to be beaten so emphatically was a huge blow. The next two games will have a big say in how our season shapes up. A minimum of four points is needed from the fixtures with Ross County and Partick Thistle if we are to show last week, rather than the recent good form, is the blip and we aren't going to spend the rest of the campaign kicking around at the bottom of the table.
County have scored four goals on the last two occasions they came to Paisley - sadly for them on one of them we scored five for the first time in the league in goodness knows how long! That incredible game in September last year had pretty much everything, from a penalty to two goals in a minute and a last gasp winner. A repeat of that sort of entertainment tomorrow afternoon would be just fine, preferably with us coming out on top once more. With our defensive problems there could well be another goalfest, but hopefully if there is our decent home record against County - which has seen them win just twice in Paisley - remains intact.
The Staggies' success last season was rather frustrating for Saints fans. Not that we have anything against the side from Dingwall, just that many people wondered how they could crack the top six at the first attempt despite our squad looking better on paper and the fact they were below us at the winter break. The League Cup probably meant we took our eye off the ball - and I'd have winning that over top six any day - although we'd probably still not have made the top half without that. Whether the manager, players, luck or some combination of the three was at fault for what happens is for another time, but it was incredibly annoying seeing County do in one year what we've been failing to come close to for several.
It wouldn't be a huge surprise to see some changes at the back tomorrow seeing as we have conceded seven goals in two games. Marc McAusland is fit again and could well replace one of Lee Mair or Darren McGregor, while Danny Grainger could replace Sean Kelly after the youngster gave away a penalty at Tannadice. Marian Kello had a debut to forget after shipping four goals, although the new keeper probably couldn't do much about any goals due to poor defending and the quality of strikes. With Christopher Dillo still out Kello will probably get the nod over David Cornell once more.
We may be forced into a change in midfield as John McGinn suffered a knock in training earlier in the week. Gary Teale was missing at Tannadice so is presumably still injured, meaning Gary Harkins is the most likely replacement. However, there are some other options - we could hand Jake Caprice his first start since he arrived on loan from Blackpool or we could go back to two up front and bring Stephane Bahoken in from the cold. Those changes would require us to change shape a bit - which may not be the worst thing after our defensive problems in our last two games. Mind you, we did also pick up some good results with the same system so maybe it's not time to ditch it just yet.
Ross County did well last season but suffered the problem that many of the smaller clubs have when they have had a decent year in that bigger outfits come along and pinch your best players. However, County only lost a two or three really key men, most of the rest being fringe players that Derek Adams was only too happy to see the back of. They turned things around last season after a slow start - as Danny Lennon has only been too keen to remind us - so there's no reason why they can't do the same this time around. Whether or not they do it to the same extent and make it into the top six for the second year running remains to be seen. They may be a bit fresher than us considering they were playing on Friday night - and their game against Inverness Caley Thistle was abandoned due to a floodlight failure!
I'm still baffled at County's ability to put together decent runs of form without having a striker who scores on a regular basis. Ivan Sproule did pretty well last season after being salvaged from Hibs, the Northern Irishman producing a terrific run of form shortly after his arrival in Dingwall. He hasn't really got going this season and the same can be said for what other strikers the Staggies have, Gary Glen and Steven Ross mainly being used from the bench. Melvin de Leeuw - one of a number of Dutch players at Victoria Park - has looked pretty handy at times, but his countryman Kevin Luckassen is still looking for his first goal in Scottish football.
With no particularly prolific forwards on the books it's probably just as well County have a number of midfielders who know where the back of the net is. Annoyingly some of them used to play for us, although Richard Brittain only managed a couple of goals during his couple of years in Paisley. Now that he's doing pretty well our fans insist we were wrong to let him go, but he didn't have a great time with us - perhaps because he was playing out of position. County seem to suit him and he scored as many goals against us in August as he managed during his time with us! He now has fellow ex Saint Graham Carey for company, the winger's summer departure still questioned by many fans after his wonder goal against Hearts and involvement in the League Cup success. Rocco Quinn is another goalscoring midfielder and Darren Maatsen looks like he could be too, having cracked in a stunner against Celtic earlier in the season. Stuart Kettlewell continues to perform well despite having not featured in the SPL until County were promoted last year.
Everyone but us seemed to be scoring for fun against Ross County earlier in the season, with even Stranraer putting three past them. Plenty of last year's defenders - such as Scott Boyd, Branislav Micic and rightback Mihael Kovacevic - are still about, so it's not as if they've been affected by lots of changes. Mind you, Adams did switch to a back five in the early weeks which didn't exactly help things and since then Grant Munro has decided to leave. He did also recruit during the summer and you have to wonder why we weren't in for leftback Ben Gordon, while if Steven Saunders ever gets himself back fit he should be a great acquisition. Brian McLean is a bit hit or miss but I'd have taken him to boost our backline. Experienced keeper Mark Brown has edged out Michael Fraser so far this season, although both are pretty solid and reliable.
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