“We really shot ourselves in the foot” – Kettlewell as County defeated by Hibs
Kettlewell believes his side shot themselves in the foot as there were no excuses to their League Cup exit at the hands of Hibernian. After a bright start to the season, Hibs were a step too far for the Staggies as Hibs sealed a place at Hampden to face Hearts as Ross County’s cup dream crashed to an end. Kettlewell said: “To be honest, I think we’re all a bit frustrated with ourselves really because difficult one for me to sit here and say that I didn’t feel that there was loads between the sides, Hibs have won the game 3-0. I think when you play in a quarter-final tie against a team that’s a couple divisions above you and your goalkeeper makes one save in the game, and you’ve lost three goals, that probably tells the story itself.” He added: “That we really shot ourselves in the foot, we know they’ve got good players that don’t need much encouragement. We know that they’re a good side that doesn’t need any encouragement and I just felt the nature of the goals typified what the cup tie was essentially. The Ross County boss refused to use any excuses, insisting that they only have themselves to blame and can’t blame the referee, conditions or opponents. The Ross County manager side: “We can’t blame referee’s, we can blame opposition, conditions, pitch, or anything. That’s on us but heard a lot of managers say that it’s evolution and a lot of new signings and all the rest of it. We’ve got 9,10,11 new signings. That is no excuse for me. I think we’ve shown that we’re a better side than what we’ve did in stages today. Kettlewell pin-pointed his frustration to walking away empty handed and the aim was to not concede in the opening 15-20 minutes. He said after being asked on the frustration of getting nothing: “Yeah, it is and as I say, I think if you can get 15, 20 minutes into the game and I think there was nothing in the first eight minutes as ridiculous as that sounds when you concede an early goal but if we can get 15, 20 minutes, we can start to flash your teeth defensively. If we can show that we’re getting a handle of what they’re trying to throw at us, then nervous energy can be an amazing thing especially in cup ties, there might be moments of discontent of the Hibs supporters.” He added: “There might be a bit of doubt in their players but I didn’t ever feel we let it get to that stage, so it is a disappointment. I feel that we’ve got more in our dressing room and I think that we’ve shown that already this season.” Ross County need to quickly put this defeat to the side as they have a massive clash with Queen of the South on Tuesday in a game which could put the Staggies to the top of the league.
Ex-Hibs manager suffers Championship sack
Paul Heckingbottom has been dismissed of his duties in charge of Preston North End after two years in charge. The news comes after yesterday’s 1-0 loss at home to Lincoln City. Preston currently sit 23rd in the Championship with only one win in their opening seven. Heckingbottom took charge at Preston in 2024 after a spell at Sheffield United, whom he earned promotion to the Premier League with, before being dismissed the following season. Preston’s statement reads: “Football is a results business and despite significant investment in the playing squad since Paul joined, the results during 2026 and the start of this current campaign have not been acceptable. Paul leaves us with our thanks and best wishes. His professionalism and work ethic during his time with us have been second to none. As a result of this decision Stuart McCall has also left the Club today. We similarly thank Stuart for his contribution over the last two years and wish him all the best for the future. We will now look to appoint a new manager as soon as possible but until such time as we do Jason Euell will take charge of first team matters on an interim basis.” The Englishman replaced Neil Lennon in the Easter Road dugout in 2019, lifting Hibs into the top six after a disappointing start to the season. Heckingbottom was however dismissed after nine months as Hibs sat 10th after another disappointing start to the season. During his time in Edinburgh, Heckingbottom’s recruitment was heavily criticised after many signings arrived from England’s third tier- Joe Newell was brought to the club that summer and still remains at Hibs, serving as club captain. Heckingbottom was then succeeded by Jack Ross in Leith.
Talking Points: Ross County 0-3 Hibernian
Five talking points from Hibernian’s convincing cup win over Ross County. Step too far for County. Ross County enjoyed a brilliant run to reach the quarter-final stage, finishing top of the group phase, beating Dundee on penalties after a 1-1 draw, before beating Championship side Dunfermline in the Last 16, however, Hibernian proved to be too much for Stuart Kettlewell’s side. County did create more in the second period, however, the damage was done in the first period, as Hibs went into the interval three goals to the good. County can now turn their attention to league action, where they will look to continue their fine start to the season against Queen of the South on Tuesday night in Dingwall. Should the Staggies win, they will move level on points with league leaders Hamilton Accies. Big win for David Gray. With back-to-back league defeats, against Hearts at Easter Road in the Edinburgh Derby, then a 2-1 defeat against newly promoted St Johnstone in Perth, going into yesterday’s cup tie, it felt like a must win for David Gray, and his players delivered. The Hibees can now look forward to back-to-back home league matches against Kilmarnock, who go into that game on Tuesday night off the back of a defeat on penalties against a struggling Aberdeen side after over 120 minutes, before facing Aberdeen, who will go into it with confidence after also booking their spot at Hampden. Strikers on the scoresheet. Klidje and Suto both netted in Hibs’ 3-0 win over Ross County and having striker’s full of confidence is crucial, especially when you are struggling. Suto could have had a couple more, the striker did well to get to a cross from the left-hand side, but headed over and also found himself with space on the edge of the County box and had a shot, but his low effort was smartly saved by Foster. Lowe also came off the bench and could have had a goal himself, but his header from Mayor’s cross went wide. However, to have three of your four strikers fit and amongst the goals, and having Elding back available is a major boost for Hibernian. Full-backs on fire. Passlack and Mayor, who were Hibernian’s starting full-backs on Saturday, both had excellent games. Both were solid enough defensively, however, going forward, both looked threatening. The German played the cross in for Klidje, who gave Hibs an early lead, before whipping in a corner which resulted in a penalty, which was dispatched by Mayor, who found the roof of the net from 12 yards. That’s now 2 assists and a goal in 5 matches for Passlack and 2 goals and an assist in 6 games for Mayor. Hibs are Hampden bound. Hibs will be back at the National Stadium for the first time since 2023 as a result of their convincing cup win over County. The Hibees will face either Hearts, Aberdeen or one of Rangers and Celtic in the next stage. The draw will take place following the conclusion of the first Old Firm Derby of the 2026/27 campaign.
Premier Sports Cup semi-final draw revealed
Rangers defeated Celtic 3-0 at Ibrox earlier today to join Hibernian, Heart of Midlothian and Aberdeen in the final four. Hibs will face Hearts whilst Rangers and Aberdeen compete for a spot in the final. Both matches will be played on the weekend of October 31st/ November 1st.