Ross County 1 St Johnstone 0: Sprightly Sproule puts spring in Adams' step

Sunday 17 February 2013

Ivan Sproule's stunning early strike, followed by long stretches of stoic defending, were enough to keep the points in the Highlands as Ross County extended their unbeaten run to seven by this determined performance.

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Frank Gilfeather

St Johnstone, who perhaps deserved more for their efforts but found it impossible to breach a resolute County back four and in-form goalkeeper Mark Brown, produced passages of clever play, but had little to offer up front as the Staggies completed an astonishing run of five wins and two draws as manager Derek Adams continued to look towards the dizziest heights of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

"We've had a very good season so far," said Adams, whose side are now in eighth place. "We've closed the gap on the teams in the top half of the table and moved 21 points clear of bottom club Dundee and we're now just three point off third-placed Inverness."Sproule, who seems to have been reinvigorated by his move from Hibernian to County during last month's transfer window and whose experience has proved invaluable to his new employers, furnished them with a 12th-minute lead following Mihael Kovacevic's run down the right. With he and his team-mate almost colliding, it was Sproule who spotted the opportunity on the edge of the area and his looping shot flew into the far side of Alan Mannus's net with the St Johnstone goalkeeper left flailing at fresh air.The visitors' attempts at an early retaliation almost paid off through Rowan Vine's stinging strike from 18 yards, a shot touched round the far post in acrobatic style by Brown.The replacement of the injured Murray Davidson by Michael Doughty before 20 minutes of play had elapsed did nothing to blunt the Perth side's play, however, as the new face slotted in effortlessly. And when his midfield colleague, Liam Craig, prompted Brown into another excellent save from an equally impressive shot, it was indicative of St Johnstone's determination to get on level terms as quickly as possible.Certainly, their dominance in the centre was clear and as St Johnstone's Mehdi Abeid, the Algerian on loan from Newcastle United, stamped his authority on the game, the home defence appeared in danger of buckling.Indeed, they would have done ten minutes after the break had Brown's boot not stopped a neat shot from Craig, though moments later Sproule squandered an opportunity after careering into the Saints area only to hit a weak shot into the arms of Mannus.The touch of anxiety that found its way into the visitors' play as they sought an equaliser was inevitable and there were occasions when it resulted in them leaving themselves open to the counter, though with the clock ticking down their play became sloppy in spells."Every stat in the game will show we were miles ahead," said Steve Lomas, the St Johnstone manager. "It's difficult when you concede the first goal. They are hard to break down. They get five in midfield behind the ball, but my players tried to play the right football on a difficult pitch. "The onus was on us to break them down and we couldn't manage that. I was pleased with the performance, but bitterly disappointed at the result."

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Ross County 1 St Johnstone 0: Sprightly Sproule puts spring in Adams' step

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