Ross County manager says their win over Dunfermline was deserved despite comments from Neil Lennon about performance of referee
TONY DOCHERTY felt Neil Lennon’s explosive rant at the match referee on Saturday detracted from a deserved “statement” victory for Ross County.
Dunfermline boss Lennon was, by his own admission, was “apoplectic” after the 3-2 defeat at the Global Energy Stadium, saying whistler Duncan Nicolson “cost us the game, cost us two goals”.
The former Celtic manager went on to say his side was in the ascendancy at 2-2 before Nicolson “ruined” the match.
But Docherty saw it differently, and was thrilled to see County finish the job despite having their two-goal lead after just three minutes pegged back.
Ronan Hale, with a scissor-kick, emerged as matchwinner for the Dingwall team to chalk up only their second league triumph of the campaign.
The outcome felt like another big step forward for Docherty, who is building momentum after a troubled start to the season.
Docherty hailed the mental toughness of his side and their refusal to be beaten, saying: “I think that was probably the strongest aspect to be taken from the game.
“I wouldn’t underplay the way we started the game - it was the way we’d trained all week.
“It was very much about being direct, playing on the front foot, and it was brilliant to get two goals in three minutes.
“The players deserve credit, but Dunfermline are a good side and came back into the game, playing some good football.
“But I’ve got to say, on the record, we deserved to win - absolutely, hands down, we deserved it.
“Dunfermline are a good side and posed problems, but they only had two shots on target.
“With everything that has gone on with us this season, we showed real character, mentality and resilience to see out the game.
“Watching the game back, we did it quite comfortably.
“With the talk about officials, it wasn’t about that. It was about us winning a game of football.
“The players deserve great credit, but that’s gone - and we need to make sure we’re ready for Arbroath.”
Putting points on the board has built a feelgood factor in Dingwall and Docherty, with a team now widely written off after a disastrous start now flying under the radar.
Docherty added: “There's a real benefit when you get, not just a result but a performance like that.
"I'd say it was a statement victory, given how we won the game.
"There is a confidence about the place. Everything has been upped.
"It's shoulder to the wheel a little bit more.
"It has been a brilliant training week and we're looking forward to going into our next away game, on the back of good momentum.
"As long as we can keep improving and developing, those are the two main things.”