JIM GOODWIN is expecting his side to receive a stern examination tomorrow afternoon in Dingwall but he believes the Dons can extend their good run of form with a win over Ross County.
Aberdeen have won their last three outings, scoring ten goals and conceding one, but the north east outfit required extra-time on Tuesday night before they eventually saw off Annan Athletic to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup with a 4-1 victory.
The Premiership side made their quality count by the end of 120 draining minutes at Galabank but Goodwin is confident his side can recuperate to record a third straight league win tomorrow afternoon – although he knows Malky Mackay’s men, who were defeated 4-1 by Celtic on Wednesday, will work them hard.
“We conceded from a set-play, which was very disappointing, but the reaction in extra-time was excellent and the impact the subs made coming on was exactly what was needed and we scored some very good goals in the end,” Goodwin said of the win over Annan.
“So it’s a real positive. I’m not focusing on the negatives about how cagey the game ended up being. At the end of the day we’re in the quarter-final of the League Cup, which is exactly where we wanted to be before the game and we scored some decent goals to make it three wins on the spin and there’s plenty more to come from the group.
“I thought [Ross County] were excellent for large parts of the game against Celtic on Wednesday. I met the analyst this morning and we went through their games so far this season.
“They are a good side. Malky Mackay has got them organised, they are a very aggressive team and compete really well when they don’t have the ball. There are some good players there when they do have possession, too.
“Malky has recruited well. They’ve got really good pace and trickery in the wide areas and a couple of physical strikers so we’re going to have to be up for the battle first and foremost. That’s always the case whether you are playing against Motherwell, Livingston or Ross County.
“It’s always been a difficult venue to go to but we’re in a good place just now. There’s confidence in the group and we have to go there believing we are capable of winning the game.”
Goodwin has just about a full pool of players to draw upon when naming his team for tomorrow’s match, with two notable exceptions: Connor Barron, who suffered a ligament injury in pre-season and hasn’t featured since; and Cal Roberts, the summer arrival from Notts County who has been recovering from a hamstring complaint. Neither are expected back any time soon.
“Everyone came through Tuesday’s game unscathed and Hayden Coulson was back training today so apart from Connor Barron and Cal Roberts we should be pretty much full strength,” Goodwin said.
“We’re hoping Connor will be back training in a fortnight but realistically it will probably be early October before he will be able to be considered for selection in the starting XI because of the length of time he has been out.
“He’ll be back doing a mini pre-season almost to get his fitness levels back and we have to be careful we don’t put too much pressure on him and cause a recurrence of the injury.
“Cal will be a little bit longer. It will probably be after the winter break I’d imagine before we see him back.”
