Don Cowie pleased with level of fight Ross County showed in comeback victory over Kilmarnock – and says match winner Noah Chilvers just needs to believe in himself more
Ross County manager Don Cowie said his side had to fight for their comeback victory against Kilmarnock.
The Ayrshire outfit took the lead shortly before half time through Corrie Ndaba’s drilled effort, but a second yellow card for Liam Donnelly on the hour mark turned the game on its head.
County immediately took advantage as Jordan White swept home an equaliser after Killie could not clear Noah Chilvers’ free kick, and the same man would deliver a corner that was turned into his own net by Joe Wright for the decisive goal.
While it would be easy to say that the sending off was the turning point, Cowie was also pleased with how his team managed to contain Kilmarnock in the early going before recovering from the deficit on the scoreboard.
“You see the impact that winning can have on the league table, and I’ve spoken about how strong our performances have been at home, so it was a really important three points,” Cowie said.
“I spoke to the group prior to the game about fighting your corner against Kilmarnock. They make it difficult for you, and for the first half hour we did the basics really well to stand up to it.
“We came off it slightly for 10 minutes, and that’s where we got punished.
“In the second half it was about having a bit more intent and threat, and the sending off has a bearing on that but we earned that with Noah Chilvers turning and running away from his opponent.
“We still had to try and take advantage of that, and we did so really well. Obviously it was a bit nervy with there only being one goal in it, but I can’t really remember Kilmarnock having any chances within that.
“We were solid, and we have to have those concentration levels game after game.”
Cowie also reserved praise for Chilvers individually, with the impact his set-piece delivery ended up having on the outcome.
“He’s a real quality player,” Cowie added.
“He would be slightly frustrated in terms of hitting the target with a couple of attempts, but it’s his two deliveries that get us our goals.
“He was a little bit behind the group in the summer, but we’ve got a lot of belief of what he can do in this league.
“His run led to the sending off, and he needs to have that belief in himself.
“His qualities are different to the other attacking midfielders we have, and it’s about him showing that on a consistent basis.”