Don Cowie felt Ross County fully merited their cinch Premiership play-off first-leg victory although he was disappointed they did not come away from rain-lashed Stark’s Park with more than a 2-1 lead over Raith Rovers.
The Staggies looked to be well on course to securing their top-flight survival when they opened up a 2-0 second-half lead through a penalty from Yan Dhanda and a Jack Baldwin header.
But Championship promotion hopefuls Rovers rallied in the closing stages and pulled one back through Sam Stanton in the 82nd minute, leaving the tie delicately poised ahead of the return leg in Dingwall on Sunday.
“I thought the performance deserved a lead,” said manager Cowie. “I’m disappointed we didn’t get the clean sheet because I thought at 2-0 we started to look really comfortable.
“That’s the only real frustration, apart from that I’m really proud of the group.
“We knew there was going to be a big crowd here tonight, rightly so because of the great season they’ve had, so it was important we tried to keep the crowd as quiet as possible and I thought we did that really well until the last seven or eight minutes.
“I felt we should have seen the game out and at least have a 2-0 lead going into the second leg because we started to look really confident and were passing the ball about really well and I thought at that stage, if anything, we could have maybe got a third.”
Raith boss Ian Murray was frustrated with the way his team started but delighted that they managed to keep themselves in the tie.
“I thought Ross County started well, it’s difficult playing against a team that are at a higher level,” he said.
“We were just a bit sloppy at times, a bit rushed with the ball. A couple of tweaks helped us and most of the second half apart from 10 minutes I thought we were the better side.
“The late goal gives us a chance. We know it will be difficult but we know what we have to do which is good.
“We have to play better than we did in the first half because Ross County put us under a lot of pressure without creating too much, but we had to defend really well.
“We are back in the tie. The subs gave us energy, and we have nothing to lose now. It comes down to one game on Sunday afternoon.”
Interim boss Stephen Frail expects Motherwell to appoint a new manager next week and admits their first job will be to lift the players’ confidence after a 3-0 mauling at home to Ross County.A double from Ronan Hale and Connor Randall’s last-minute strike secured an impressive victory for the Staggies at Fir Park.Defeat sees the Steelmen drop into the bottom half of the Premiership tab...
Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalkeeper Gabe Breeze after Carlisle picked up a vital point in the League Two relegation battle with a goalless draw against in-form Colchester at Brunton Park.Breeze made two excellent saves from Lyle Taylor as the Cumbrians ended a four-game losing run and the former Man City boss was astounded by the 21-year-old’s performance.He said: “The game had som...
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook launched a scathing attack on his play-off hopefuls after they surrendered an early lead to lose 3-1 at Sky Bet League Two table-toppers Walsall.The Spireites enjoyed a rapid start when Jamie Grimes’ eighth-minute header put them ahead against a wobbling Walsall side, who were winless in five matches with the chasing pack closing in.However, Bim Pepple and Dylan D...
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has allayed fears of an injury scare to top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid.Haaland went down clutching his leg in the latter stages of the champions’ 4-0 Premier League thrashing of Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and was immediately substituted.Losing the Norwegian would be a major blow to ...
Rotherham manager Steve Evans described Thomas Parsons’ performance as “atrocious” after the referee awarded a stoppage-time penalty from which Reading snatched a 2-1 victory in League One.Reading had led 1-0 at half-time through top scorer Harvey Knibbs but Sam Nombe levelled for Rotherham from a spot-kick in the 57th minute.With the game heading for a draw, Parsons adjudged Mil...
Michael Flynn believes his team can make a charge towards the League Two play-offs places after watching them come from 2-0 down to beat Barrow 3-2 at home.Matty Taylor scored twice before fellow substitute Ashley Hay hit the winner as the Robins continued their perfect home record in 2025.Cheltenham climbed to 13th in the table and sit eight points off seventh-placed Crewe with two games in hand....
Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised Jay Stansfield’s work ethic after he lit up St Andrew’s with the only goal of a 1-0 win to sink play-off chasing Charlton.Stansfield’s 23rd-minute strike stretched City’s lead to nine points ahead of second-placed Wycombe, with Blues boasting a game in hand.Victory was City’s 30th in all competitions as they extended their unbea...
Andoni Iraola refused to get carried away after Bournemouth fans were left dreaming of a potential Champions League adventure following a first league double over south-coast rivals Southampton.Travelling Cherries fans chanted of playing in European football’s premier competition next season after their side soared to fifth spot in the Premier League table thanks to a deserved 3-1 success at...
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup praised his side for fighting back to draw 1-1 at Hull after he demanded “I want to see my football team back”.The Norwich boss had some tough words for his team as they trailed 1-0 at half-time to the relegation-threatened side, including for Kellen Fisher – but the player then delivered the assist for Josh Sargent’s equaliser.The Un...
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Jota has a chance of starting against Bayern Munich after scoring and impressing in a 3-0 victory over Dundee United.Jota earned the club’s man-of-the-match award after cutting in from the left and curling home from 18 yards to double the lead given to the hosts by another impressive finish from Callum McGregor.The Portuguese winger has now started two gam...
