Don Cowie calls earning a seeded spot in League Cup second round a testament to his Ross County squad after 3-0 win over Stirling Albion
Ross County manager Don Cowie was delighted to round off a perfect League Cup group campaign and earn a seeded spot for the second round.
The Staggies saw off Stirling Albion 3-0 thanks to a double from Ronan Hale and a late strike from James Brown to, in theory, gain an advantage as the competition enters its knockout phase.
Having been asking for improvement after most of their matches so far, as well as looking to recruit to what he had called a somewhat thin squad, Cowie was happy to see his side meet the challenge head on and come through.
“I believe that on paper it was a really tough group,” Cowie explained.
“Two Championship teams – some Premiership teams had none – so to come out with 12 points I’m absolutely delighted.
“There are some stages in games where I would look for improvements, but we have achieved our goal at the start of it.
“It was a short break, we all know that, and we had new players coming in so there would be a transition phase so you can’t take getting 12 points for granted in what was a really competitive group at this stage of the season.
“I believe in the group we’ve got here. Numbers were low, but as the two weeks have gone on we’ve tried to recruit and doing that while getting fit and getting results is testament to the group we’ve got at this football club.”
Being a seed for the second round means that County will definitely avoid the five Scottish sides who qualified for European football at the end of last season, but does still leave them with the potential of facing top flight outfits Hibernian, St Johnstone Dundee United.
“First and foremost it’s about winning the four games,” Cowie reasoned.
“We could have done that and still not been seeded, but we’ve managed to get a seed.
“It doesn’t automatically mean you get an easy tie, but you do miss the clubs that are in Europe.
“Then it comes down to us and see what we can do in the next round.”
