Ross County welcome Livingston to Dingwall on Monday night in the second leg of their Premiership promotion/relegation playoff tie.
It looked as if Livingston were going to head up to the highlands with an advantage, as Ex-Rangers defender Danny Wilson put them up 1-0 in first-half stoppage time.
It stayed that way until deep into stoppage time, as Wilson went from hero to villain as he gave away a penalty – thanks to a VAR intervention – with Ronan Hale leathering home the spot kick, which cruelly denied us two winners.
Whilst County will be glad of leaving Almondvale with a draw, that did extend their winless run to 10 matches (W0-D3-L7), with their last three finishing in 1-1 draws.
Don Cowie will be hoping his side will make it three successive wins in the playoff second legs at Dingwall, having previously defeated Partick Thistle (3-1) and Raith Rovers (4-0) in the last two seasons.
How the bookies view it: County marginal favourites
The bookmakers find this a tough one to call, with BoyleSports making Ross County slight favourites at 11/8 to win inside 90 minutes.
The same firm has Livingston at 8/5 to win in normal time, whilst it’s 11/5 for the match to go to extra time and potentially penalties.
Head to head: Livi with the upper hand
Despite that late sucker punch on Thursday night, Livingston have lost just one of their past six meetings with The Staggies (W2-D3-L1), including a 2-3 extra-time success in the Scottish Cup at the turn of the year.
Players to watch: Ronan to reign again?
Ronan Hale is County’s leading scorer with 13 in the Premiership this season, and comes into this clash having scored in four of his last five appearances.
Robbie Muirhead is Livi’s top scorer in the Championship this season with 13 goals, but has failed to score in each of his last four matches.
Predicted line-ups:
Ross County will be without goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw, Ryan Leak, Aidan Denholm, James Brown and Noah Chilvers all missing.
Similarly to the other night, David Martindale doesn’t appear to have any new injury doubts and may opt for a similar starting 11 once again.
Ross County: Amissah, Wright, Nightingale, Campbell, Efete, Randall, Kenneh, Ashworth, Nisbet, Samuel, Hale
Livingston: Prior, Brandon, McGowan, Wilson, Fraser, Pitman, Tait, Kelly, Smith, Muirhead, Montano
Anything else catch the eye?
I backed against both teams scoring in the first leg last Thursday – which would’ve landed if not for that stoppage time penalty from Ronan Hale – but I’m going to change my approach in the Highlands on Monday.
Both Teams to Score has paid out in five of the last six meetings between the sides – including a 2-3 extra-time success for Livi in the Scottish Cup at Dingwall at the turn of the year.
Livi captain Jamie Brandon escaped a booking despite making four fouls in the first leg on Thursday night, but I’m backing him to collect his 12th card of the season when player card markets are released.
GambleAware