Don Cowie says Ross County’s organised defensive performance against Aberdeen made their late defeat at Victoria Park all the harder to take.
An action-packed encounter at Dingwall looked destined to finish as a goalless draw following some valiant defensive efforts at both ends.
Both sides had goals chalked off following VAR checks, with Ronan Hale denied for the Staggies in the first half, before Slobodan Rubezic had a goal ruled out for the Dons early in the second half.
County’s big chance came midway through the second period, when Hale saw his spot-kick saved by Dimitar Mitov.
Ultimately it proved costly as Dons substitute Kevin Nisbet – who had made precious little impact after coming on – came up with the game’s decisive goal eight minutes into stoppage time.
County were back in home action after a difficult fortnight on the road, with a Premier Sports Cup exit to Spartans followed by a chastening 6-0 loss to Rangers at Hampden Park last weekend.
‘Performance built on togetherness’
Cowie was thrilled with the response his side showed, which made it all the more galling his side were left with nothing to show for their efforts.
He said: “I’m disappointed for the group. It was a performance that was built on real togetherness, really compact, and we limited Aberdeen to very few opportunities.
“It was everything I wanted from the group. To concede so late on is hard to take, but at the same time I’m really happy with what I saw.
“It’s raw right now. Naturally I’ve got a changing room that’s really disappointed, because we saw the effort they put in to get to that point in the game.
“Over the coming days, when we come back in on Monday, we will look at the positives and what we could have done better.
“But there were loads of things I enjoyed.
“We were disappointed with the manner we lost last week, and I saw a massive reaction from the group.
“It’s the players who cross the white line, and I saw a team that was really well organised, with no big spaces for Aberdeen to hurt us.
“They are a really good team – so we need to take real confidence and belief from that, and maintain that togetherness we showed on the pitch.”
The Staggies also showed attacking threat in spells during the course of the match, and the outcome could have been a very different one had Hale converted his spot-kick.
Cowie had no criticism of Hale’s effort, insisting all credit was due to Dons goalkeeper Mitov.
He added: “I have seen it back – and it’s a fantastic save. Ronan is a really clean striker of the ball and I think he has hit a decent penalty.
“It’s a fantastic save. On another day he scores it, but at the same time you move on from that. It’s part of football.
“There are still bits we can improve on and get better at. I thought it was a really good team performance, both defensively and carrying that threat going forward.”
Staggies showed strong response to difficult fortnight
County’s rearguard had been put under the spotlight following their porous display against Rangers at the national stadium the previous week.
The Staggies were vastly-improved from that front, as they limited a confident Dons side – which had won all eight games so far this term – to little by way of clear-cut chances.
Cowie reverted to a back three, and had to make a late change to his side ahead of kick-off when Will Nightingale was ruled out with a hamstring injury.
That meant Polish defender Kacper Lopata was thrown straight in following his midweek arrival from Barnsley, and he acquitted himself in commanding fashion throughout before eventually being withdrawn with cramp.
Lopata was part of a backline which allowed minimal threat to come Ross Laidlaw’s way, with Mitov by far the busier goalkeeper.
Frustrating day at the office for Hale
Staggies striker Hale has made a bright start to his Staggies career, netting four goals in his opening six games following his move from Cliftonville.
In his latest outing, Hale thought he had added to his tally when he bundled home from close-range after Josh Nisbet’s shot had been deflected into his path by Gavin Molloy.
A subsequent VAR check ruled that Eamonn Brophy was offside in the build up to the goal however.
Hale was handed another chance midway through the second half after Nicky Devlin was penalised for handling a George Harmon effort inside the box.
The striker produced a perfectly decent effort from 12 yards, but was denied by an excellent save from Mitov.
Despite an ultimately disappointing day, Hale is showing the sort of nuisance factor that makes it just a matter of time before he is back among the goals.
Nisbet impresses on first start
Australian international Josh Nisbet was handed his first starting outing by Cowie, having played the final 20 minutes against Rangers last weekend.
Nisbet, addressing his diminutive 5ft 3in stature prior to the match, spoke of how he has used a low centre of gravity to his advantage throughout his career so far.
That was apparent in the early stages, as he came out on top in a couple of midfield tussles with Dons skipper Graeme Shinnie.
Nisbet showed a desire to play through the lines but his impact faded in the second half, understandably given his lack of recent action, before he was replaced by Jack Grieves.
Player Ratings
ROSS COUNTY (3-4-1-2): Laidlaw 6; Wright 7, Lopata 7 (Campbell 80), Leak 7; Brown 6, Randall 7, Denholm 6 (Loturi 71), Harmon 6; Nisbet 7 (Grieves 80); Hale 6 (Chilvers 80), Brophy 6 (White 61).
Subs not used: Hamilton, Allardice, Telfer, Reid.
ABERDEEN (4-2-3-1): Mitov 8; Devlin 6 (Milne 90), Rubezic 6, Molloy 6, MacKenzie 6; Nilsen 7, Shinnie 7; Keskinen 7 (Morris 71), McGrath 5 (Nisbet 34), Gueye 5 (Ambrose 71); Sokler 5 (Besuijen 46).
Subs not used: Doohan, McGarry, Palaversa, MacDonald.
Referee: Euan Anderson
Attendance: 5,480
Man of the Match: Dimitar Mitov
Conversation