Ross Morren, The County Corner podcast

County fans returned from the international break with plenty of optimism following a good start to the season. There was also a high level of intrigue to see if Malky Mackay’s side can build on the momentum gained from picking up six points in the opening four matches.

The first test County faced from Livingston on Saturday was an unexpected one. Both sides were forced to alter their pre-match routine as kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes due to the visitors' team bus breaking down.

When the match finally got under way, County looked more likely to break the deadlock. Jordan White was unlucky on a couple of occasions before showing how crucial he is to this County side as he played a big part in Simon Murray's opening goal early in the second half.

It was was Murray’s ninth goal of the season in all competitions. He’s a player full of confidence right now and you can see that in all aspects of his play. Having opened his league account last time out against Kilmarnock, it was great to see him make it two goals in his last two league matches.

It felt like there was only going to be one winner from then on. Livingston showed little attacking threat until Bruce Anderson capitalised on slack County defending to fire past Ross Laidlaw to make it 1-1.

County’s backline was excellent throughout the match, but unfortunately the one mistake they made was punished emphatically. Anderson’s two goals in Dingwall back in January came against the run of play and his equaliser on Saturday was once again a sucker punch.

At full-time, it felt like we were robbed of an additional two points. However, those kind of results tend to balance out over the course of a season.

The draw hasn’t dampened County fans’ spirits. Last season, that was a match the Staggies could have lost due to an inability to take the chances that came their way, or they could have been susceptible to another defensive mistake.

But now there’s possibly a sense of frustration from Malky Mackay's players at not taking all three points, which is a good thing. It shows how much this County side’s standards have been raised in a short time.