Brophy primed to maximise chance to fire Ross County to safety

Dundee United were thumped 4-0 by Ross County at the weekend, in United’s first league defeat in Dingwall since a 2-1 loss back in August 2015. That season saw United relegated as the Staggies opened up a four-point gap over their opponents at the bottom of the table thanks to a stunning performance from Eamonn Brophy. 

Several sides in the Scottish Premiership felt it necessary in the January window to sign forwards to sharpen up in front of goal, and that could ultimately prove the difference in achieving their objectives.  

The weekend proved that, so far, Eamonn Brophy appears to be the most shrewd January signing in the Scottish Premiership this season. After being ineligible to play against parent club St Mirren last weekend, Brophy was back with a bang for the Highlanders on Saturday. 

Two goals and two assists helped County hit United for four and, thanks to Motherwell’s late equaliser at Killie, move above Kilmarnock into 10th in the league table.  

The weekend performance saw him move onto five goal contributions in four starts (three goals, two assists), the other of four registered against United a debut goal against former club Kilmarnock in a 3-0 victory at the end of January. 

While it was a disastrous debut for United goalkeeper Jack Newman, Brophy’s first goal was a phenomenal finish from a tight angle. So early on, it galvanised the Staggies side into believing that they could take full advantage of a Dundee United side low in confidence. 

With less than a quarter of an hour played, and having already fired the hosts in front in six minutes, Brophy was next to turn provider. Despite hitting the woodwork after scoring, he acknowledged Yan Dhanda in a better position to double County’s advantage with a low drive. 

In the second half, after the hour mark, Brophy was forced out wide and centred for partner Jordan White to head home the third. This was the only accurate cross of five attempts, so despite a 20% success rate, all it takes is one chance sometimes. 

Perhaps fortunate that the chances he created were finished off accordingly, he vastly exceeded an xG of 0.36 and an xA of 0.43. To cap off a wonderful individual performance, an emphatic half volley that flew past Newman in a flash meant he registered a perfect WhoScored rating of 10. 

The 26-year-old is the fourth Scottish Premiership player to achieve such a rating this season. Both Liel Abada and Kyogo Furuhashi did so in Celtic’s 9-0 annihilation against Dundee United at Tannadice in August.  

Hibernian’s Josh Campbell was the other after he played a starring role in the Hibees’ 6-0 victory over Aberdeen at Easter Road. The previous three had all hit hat-tricks, and the St Mirren loanee was unlucky not to do so on Saturday. 

Three of his five shots on Saturday hit the target, with one of the exceptions hitting the woodwork and the other blocked. 12 of his 15 passes were accurate as he looked to bring the likes of Yan Dhanda and strike partner Jordan White into play. 

Which begs the question, why was he not getting more of a look-in at the Buddies? 

October saw him pick up a knock, which didn’t help his case. But Brophy has started once for St Mirren this season, that their first league fixture of 2023 where he was hauled off after 15 minutes to compensate for an early Ethan Erhahon red card as Alex Gogic came on. 

Despite neither being particularly prolific, Jonah Ayunga and Curtis Main have worked well as a partnership for most of the season. Saints have their sights set on the top six, a league position that has alluded them for several years. 

But Brophy has equalled Ayunga’s goal tally for the league season after just four Ross County appearances, having played 262 minutes in comparison to Ayunga’s 1290. Curtis Main has scored six league goals this season, but has played considerably more (2118 minutes). 

With Ayunga ruled out for a few months injured, now would’ve been the time for Brophy to prove his worth for Saints.  

After arriving on loan from Dundee United, Tony Watt might come in and steal his thunder, but if Brophy continues to perform the way for County that he has so far, it shouldn’t be too detrimental.