Ross County 1-1 Hibernian: Hosts hit back to take a point in fiery clash

Ross County came from behind to earn a point against Hibernian in a fiery 1-1 draw.

There were no shortage of flashpoints between players, and even sometimes officials, and the eventual outcome will have done nothing to dispel those frustrations.

Elie Youan had capitalised on a defensive error to put Hibernian ahead in the first half, before Yan Dhanda’s wind-assisted corner found its way past a crowd of players and inside the far post to equalise.

Ross County had the better chances early on and could easily have taken the lead within five minutes.

Dhanda swung a dangerous free-kick into the middle and although Jack Baldwin was perhaps caught by surprise that the ball came to him at the back post, he still managed to force the ball goalwards – only to see a green shirt prevent it from crossing the line.

Minutes later, another set-piece almost got the breakthrough for the Staggies.

This time it was Baldwin’s long throw that was nodded on by Keith Watson to Alex Iacovitti, but his header went just the wrong side of the post.

Hibs were forced into a change midway through the first half as Kevin Nisbet went off injured, being replaced by Harry McKirdy.

The visitors took the lead in the 32nd minute through a defensive error from County.

A high ball into the home side’s half saw Baldwin attempt to head back to Ross Laidlaw, but the defender sold his goalkeeper short allowing Youan to nip in and take control.

One-on-one with the goalkeeper, he made no mistake in slotting home to put Hibernian 1–0 up.

The game was at something of an impasse early in the second half, with both teams struggling to create clear-cut chances.

Ross County manager Malky Mackay did give Simon Murray a debut, replacing Baldwin at the interval, and he showed plenty of energy without managing to drag his side up the pitch and into dangerous areas.

An equaliser would come from an unlikely source in the 73rd minute as Dhanda’s corner flew all the way into the far corner.

There was a VAR check to decide whether goalkeeper David Marshall had been fouled when trying to get to the ball, but no infraction was found.

Try as they might, though, neither side could find a winner and the spoils were shared at full-time.