Ross County winger Josh Mullin bemoaned the succession of opportunities the Staggies spurned in Saturday’s 3-0 Premiership loss to Celtic.
Mullin and fellow midfielder Blair Spittal both passed up gilt-edged chances in the first half at Parkhead, before they were punished by Callum McGregor’s spot-kick opener eight minutes before the break. Odsonne Edouard came off the bench to net a quickfire second half double and seal the points for Neil Lennon’s men.
With County having gone down 6-0 on their last visit to Glasgow’s east end in October, Mullin felt the performance showed a marked improvement – but insists his side paid the price for not being clinical.
He said: “If anyone saw the game and the chances we had in the first-half, a team like Ross County doesn’t often go to Parkhead and get that many. There’s a slight frustration in the fact we felt we should have scored.
“I thought I got a lot of the ball in the first half, although Celtic did tighten up in the second half.
“Against a team such as Celtic, if you do not take those chances, you are going to get punished and that is exactly what happened.
“I’m not saying by any means we should have won the game. But to be leaving a place like Parkhead with a slight frustration that we had chances and could have made it more difficult for them just shows how far we have come from the last time we were there.”
Mullin felt he should have done better with his 21st minute opportunity, which arrived when he attempted to catch out Hoops goalkeeper Fraser Forster with a first time lob but failed to keep his effort down.
The former Livingston player added: “Usually I’m all about power, but I saw him off his line. It bounced up and sat and I went with the inside of my foot to try and lob him.
“Afterwards, you think about what you could have done differently, but it’s just one of those days.
“Next time I’ll put my foot through it.”
Mullin says the Parkhead showing gives the Staggies confidence ahead of Wednesday’s game against second-placed Rangers at Ibrox.
The 27-year-old added: “It shows if we have a go, we’ll get opportunities.
“We need to dust ourselves down and go again as this is a massive week.”