Well, that didn’t go to plan.
In hindsight, posting a compilation of us beating a team two divisions above us while alluding to their fanbase being heroin addicts was maybe a bold move given we’d just drawn with East Fife and conceded two goals to a 15-year-old.
However, what is the point of being a football fan if you can’t dream, eh?
It’s been a long while since we’ve been able to resemble any form of a cup run. Hamilton, Ayr United, Partick Thistle, Livingston, Spartans — just a few of the horror shows of the 2020s.
We got to this round of the League Cup in 2023, but an early red card for Jack Baldwin and a free-kick from he-who-I-will-not-name soon put those hopes to bed.
So, after years of absolute nothingness across both cup competitions, the feel-good factor from a shoot-out win over Dundee and a fairly comfortable performance away at Dunfermline very much gave us cause for belief. It was, though, always going to be a tough task against a club of Hibs’ stature.
That wasn’t helped by genuinely every Hibs fan I spoke to in the build-up to the game having no confidence in their side and saying they could very much see us getting a result. I came up on the train from Edinburgh that morning with a couple of Hibs pals and there was definitely a sense of nervousness around the packed ScotRail Inter7City carriages.
That nervousness didn’t seem to stretch to their players, though, who showed their class in front of goal and, in all honesty, killed the game off early.
I do think we gave an okay account of ourselves. I don’t have much desire to go researching match statistics from a 3–0 defeat, but I don’t remember there being a huge amount between the teams in the middle of the pitch. Our downfall sadly came in both boxes, where some switched-off defending and a lack of clinical finishing led to the increased margin.
The lack of squad depth showed in the second half once our first-team players tired, but it’s hard to argue that it was probably right to give the likes of Brian Graham a rest ahead of a return to league action three days later. We simply can’t afford our biggest players picking up injuries this early in the season.
With tickets so cheap, I was a wee bit disappointed by the County turnout, especially with such a big travelling support in the away end. Of course, I wouldn’t have minded my own seat being empty by the end of the game, but I genuinely think the fans who have — somewhat understandably — disappeared after the dross of the last couple of seasons would appreciate a regular return to Viccy Park to watch some of the league football we’ve been playing this season.
That starts again tonight as we welcome Queen of the South to Dingwall, looking to get our league form back on track.
I think, in isolation, the losses to Aberdeen B and Hibernian don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. We clearly fielded a weakened side in the first, while the latter came against a standard of opposition we won’t have to face again unless we go on a similar run in the Scottish Cup.
I think the doubts only start to build if these results begin to creep into our league form, so it is essential to get back to winning ways.
For the record, I think we will.
At least Ramsay’s birthday took my mind off the uncomplimentary but deserved replies on Twitter.
I’m sure the result will all be worth it for Hibs when they pick up yet another derby loss at Hampden.
Staggies View 