Ross County are yet to find their first win of the Scottish Premiership season. The Staggies have played eight games in the league so far and have lost five of these games. They currently sit in second last position in the league table with only three points. Their most recent defeat came against Dundee United before the international break. Most of the losses for Ross County have not been by a huge margin apart from the Celtic and Hibernian games. Ross County have always been able to create chances but their major concern that has cost them the most is the defensive mistakes that they make at the back. They have conceded a high number of goals due to the mistakes they have made.
Let’s take a look at what the stats have to say about their winless start to the season:
The above visual shows us the attacking stats for Ross County’s most recent game against Dundee United. The xG timeline indicates that Ross County had a high xG throughout the game, but failed to convert the chances that they created in the game. The xT timeline as well indicates that Ross County were able to threaten the opposition defence, but failed to capitalise on these chances.
Ross County are second to last in the list for the number of shots attempted on goal in the season so far. The Staggies have attempted 67 shots on goal with an average of 7.78 shots per game. The relatively low xG statistics in relation to the chances created by their attacking players would suggest that increasing the quality of their chances holds the key to the Staggies in order to secure a first victory as opposed to improving their conversion rate of the opportunities they have created.
Ross County have struggled to move the ball into the final third of the pitch and have the lowest number of passes into the final third. Ross County have been on the receiving end of attacking actions for the majority of a game and have failed to dominate possession of the ball. Most of the teams playing against the Staggies have pressed them higher up the pitch so they do not have a chance to play these passes into the final third which also forces their defence into making a mistake.
Ross County have had a lesser number of attacking actions than most of the team in the league, and we can depict this from the above visual. The Staggies have attempted the least number of passes into the opposition penalty area. The lower the number of passes into the penalty area, the lower the chances for their attackers to score a goal.
Ross County have conceded 16 goals so far in the season, which is the joint highest tally with Dundee who are last on the table. Defensive errors have cost Ross County most games they have played. Ross County have the lowest PPDA in the league which indicates that they have not pressed the opposition and are comfortable with having lower possession in the game. The chances that Ross County have created have mostly been on the break with the help of counterattacks. The same is indicated by a low challenge intensity, which means the number of challenges they attempt in one minute of the game.
The above visual shows us the defensive duels that Ross County attempted against Dundee United. We can see that some of the Ross County players lost a high number of defensive duels they attempted which builds more pressure on them throughout the game and can end up in their defenders making a mistake.
The Staggies have encountered a difficult run of opening fixtures in which they have played last season’s top five, along with Hearts and Well, who currently occupy top-half slots. They will be facing St. Mirren, Livingston and Dundee next, who are all in the bottom half of the table. Ross County have been coming close to getting all three points in their last two games, but have failed to do so because of fine margins. They will be looking to get atleast one win from their next three fixtures.
