Don Cowie pleased with improved Ross County display against Aberdeen in Dingwall – but admits late winner for Dons will hurt
Ross County manager Don Cowie refused to be too critical of his players after their efforts against Aberdeen – even if the manner of their 1-0 defeat might make it hard to see the positives for a few days.
At the end of a controversial fixture that saw goals for each side ruled out by VAR, and Ronan Hale miss a penalty that was also awarded by VAR, Kevin Nisbet scored a 98th minute winner for the Dons after slotting home Shayden Morris’ cutback.
Having seen his side concede six goals to Rangers a week previously, Cowie felt there was a major improvement in how his side performed back at home against Aberdeen.
When they return to training next week, then, he insists there will be plenty of positives to take from the game.
“I’m disappointed for the group,” he reasoned.
“I thought it was a performance that was built on a real togetherness – we were really compact and limited Aberdeen to very few opportunities.
“To concede so late on is hard to take, but I’m really happy with what I’ve seen.
“It’s raw right now, and naturally I’ve got a changing room that’s really disappointed after the effort they have put into the game.
“When we come back in next week, we’ll see the positives, but there were loads of things I really enjoyed.
“I’m pleased with the character of the group. It’s the players who cross the white line and play as a team, and I saw a team that was really well organised.
“There were no big spaces or gaps for Aberdeen to hurt us, and we limited a really good team to very few opportunities, so we need to take confidence from that.”
Cowie had no complaints over the VAR decisions, and he also preferred to credit Dons goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov for saving the penalty rather than placing the blame on Hale for his strike.
“I’ve seen it back and it’s a fantastic save,” Cowie stressed.
“Ronan is a really clean striker of the ball, and he has hit a decent penalty. It’s a fantastic save – on another day he scores it, but it’s just part of football.
“I have seen the disallowed goal back, but at the time I didn’t get too excited because I though Eamonn may have strayed offside.
“I didn’t realise in the moment how close it was, but that’s what VAR is there for. It goes for us with the penalty too, we just didn’t manage to take advantage of it.”
Another positive County could take from the game was a full debut for defender Kacper Lopata – but Cowie revealed afterwards it was not part of the plan until hours before kick off.
“If I’m being honest, Kacper wasn’t meant to start,” Cowie added.
“Will Nightingale was meant to start, but he pulled out after feeling something in his hamstring.
“For Kacper to come in at such short notice, I thought he was excellent.
“He’s a leader, an organiser, and he wants to put his body on the line. You could see that in buckets today.”
