Don Cowie warned his freefalling Ross County side they cannot feel sorry for themselves after a seventh consecutive defeat away to fellow strugglers St Johnstone cranked up the threat of relegation.
County, having been 10 points clear of bottom spot just two months ago, are now only three points ahead of last-placed Saints with two games to play after going down 2-1 at McDiarmid Park.
Elliot Watt scored the winner for the hosts on the hour after County forward Alex Samuel cancelled out Daniels Balodis’ opener just before the break.
The Staggies thought they had grabbed what would have been a crucial equaliser in the 82nd minute but Ronan Hale’s effort was ruled out for offside after a lengthy VAR check.
“You think you’ve got a point when Ronan scores a goal with 10 minutes to go but in terms of fine margins, that probably sums up the run that we’re on right now,” said boss Cowie.
“Just fine lines. From the clip I’ve seen, it’s very tight, but I’ve not seen the VAR side of it.
“I’ve just said to the group, there’s no point feeling sorry for ourselves, because I certainly am not going to.
“We’ve got two massive games coming up. Despite the poor run of form that we’ve been on, we have still got an opportunity to get ourselves out of the situation that we’re in. We’re making it difficult for ourselves, but we’ve still got that opportunity.”
Cowie was irked after wing-back Zac Ashworth was shown a straight card in the 10th minute of stoppage time for dissent, ruling him out of Wednesday’s crucial trip to a Dundee side two points above them.
“Zac has performed well recently, but he needs to take accountability for that,” said Cowie. “It’s not acceptable.
“You’ve got to keep your discipline despite the frustration that the game was getting away from us. You’ve still got to do it in the right manner. He’s let himself and his team-mates down because it now means he’s not available for Wednesday.”
Saints boss Simo Valakari praised his side for handling the pressure of a game they had to win to keep their survival hopes alive.
“When you get your last chance you need to deliver, and the boys did that today,” he said.
“We could all see the nervousness and there were a few dodgy moments when we didn’t do the right things. That’s totally understandable – my players are human beings.
“But I loved that they kept trying to do the right things under pressure and in the end it all came good. We’ve kept the fight going.”
Wycombe and Charlton could not be separated as they played out a goalless draw in the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final at Adams Park.Despite Mike Dodds’ Chairboys being the out-of-form side out of all of the teams involved in the play-offs, they were superb in the opening 45 minutes.Jack Grimmer and Fred Onyedinma worked brilliantly down the right-hand side to cause the Addi...
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressed his anger after his side were forced to battle back from 2-0 down to claim a draw at Liverpool on Sunday.The Gunners paid the price for a lacklustre start as they conceded twice in quick succession early on to the newly-crowned Premier League champions at Anfield.They battled back to draw 2-2 with goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Mikel Merino – who was...
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has no concerns about continuing to pick Trent Alexander-Arnold despite the defender being booed by his own fans in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal.The right-back was targeted by a significant section of the Anfield crowd when he came on as a substitute after confirming on Monday he will not be extending his current deal with the newly-crowned Premier League champions when...
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis insists he is “proud” of Nuno Espirito Santo despite storming onto the pitch to confront the manager after watching his side fumble Champions League qualification.Marinakis was seen emotionally remonstrating with Nuno after Facundo Buonanotte’s 81st-minute strike earned Leicester a 2-2 Premier League draw at the City Ground, inflicting ...
Head coach Mat Sadler praised Walsall’s “fighting performance” after they secured a 2-0 win at Chesterfield in the first leg of their League Two play-off semi-final.Both goals came in the first half, with Taylor Allen scoring from the spot and Alfie Chang doubling the advantage.Sadler said: “I thought we played well. I thought we started a little bit edgily and then grew in...
Liverpool fans mercilessly taunted Arsenal about their European failures but Mikel Arteta’s side salvaged some pride as they came from two goals down to draw at Anfield.On an afternoon when academy graduate Trent Alexander-Arnold was booed by some of his own fans six days after announcing he was leaving the club in the summer at the end of his contract things turned even more sour.Following ...
Ruben Amorim cast doubt over his future should “brave” summer moves fail after Manchester United’s “embarrassed” head coach raged about a lack of urgency and big club mentality.The Red Devils returned to earth with a bump three days after reaching the Europa League final as fellow strugglers West Ham secured their first Premier League win at Old Trafford since 2007.To...
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo defended Evangelos Marinakis after the owner stormed on to the pitch having watched his side fumble Champions League qualification.Marinakis was seen emotionally remonstrating with Nuno after Facundo Buonanotte’s 81st-minute strike earned Leicester a 2-2 Premier League draw at the City Ground, inflicting a damaging blow to Forest’s hopes of fi...
Ange Postecoglou allayed fears of a potential injury for Dejan Kulusevski before the Europa League final, but criticised his much-changed Tottenham team following a record-breaking Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace.Eberechi Eze struck twice for the FA Cup finalists either side of half-time to bring Spurs back down to earth with a 2-0 home reverse after Thursday’s euphoric scenes in Nor...
Walsall take a two-goal lead back to Bescot Stadium after first-half goals from Taylor Allen and Alfie Chang secured a 2-0 win at Chesterfield in the first leg of their League Two play-off semi-final.Allen opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 28 minutes and Chang doubled the Saddlers’ advantage six minutes before half-time.The visitors made a strong start and had a chance in the op...
- 1 Joe Garner bags brace as Oldham go into play-offs with win over downed Ebbsfleet
- 2 Albanian Laura Woods goes braless in pink top
- 3 Man Utd are losing the feeling of being a massive club – Ruben Amorim
- 4 Eddie Howe tells Newcastle to ‘drive forward’ and seal Champions League spot
- 5 Daily Laugh - Bye Arsenal, PSG to UCL Final
- 6 Ruben Amorim believes fighting spirit carried Man Utd to Europa League final
- 7 Rangers thump Aberdeen to end five-match winless streak at Ibrox
- 8 Onana ready to fight for his place
- 9 Liverpool want Julian Alvarez to replace Nunez
- 10 ‘Hard worker’ Ollie Watkins praised by Unai Emery after scoring at Bournemouth