Don Cowie praises Ross County’s game management after holding on for all three points against Motherwell in Dingwall
Ross County manager Don Cowie says he was delighted with the resilience his players showed to hold on to all three points against Motherwell in Dingwall.
Ronan Hale got the Staggies off to a flying start in the second half, capitalising on Noah Chilvers’ deflected effort to sweep home and break the deadlock.
A bit of quality shortly afterwards then saw Josh Nisbet find the back of the net from the edge of the box – with a little help from the inside of the post – to put County 2-0 ahead within 10 minutes of the restart.
There was potentially a late twist to come when Zach Robinson headed in Lennon Miller’s free kick in the 83rd minute, but Cowie’s men were able to hold on to all three points.
After what he deemed to be a more nervy ending to the match than necessary, Cowie did praise his side for how they generally played with the two-goal advantage.
“It’s a great three points – Motherwell have been excellent so far this season, but we always have belief here in Dingwall,” he stressed.
“We could have got more than the two goals, and I was really disappointed to concede because we had been really solid throughout the game.
“We had different personnel on the pitch, but we still have to defend that free kick.
“They had one ball right at the end that flashed across the face of goal, but barring that we managed to keep the ball in their half.
“I was delighted with our game management, but we want to be better and improve and to do that is making sure it stays 2-0 to make it easier for us watching at the side.
“That makes it nervy when it didn’t need to be, and you don’t like to see 10 minutes of added time at that point, but credit to the boys for seeing it through.”
All of the scheduled 3pm kick offs were hit by delays, mostly due to the freezing conditions that have come with Storm Bert.
There was a hold-up in Dingwall too, albeit in their case it was due to technical issues with VAR, but that did not mean it was particularly pleasant conditions to play football in.
Being pelted by rain throughout the match, there was also snow visible at the side of the pitch from earlier in the week, and Cowie made a point of crediting groundsman Davie Fraser for his work in making sure the pitch was playable.
“We all know that there’s one man in Davie Fraser that puts an incredible amount of work in,” Cowie added.
“For the pitch to be in the condition it was with the weather we’ve had this week, we’re very grateful for his effort.
“For the fans turning out in a really challenging time weather wise, they supported us brilliantly as they could see that the team was playing with belief.”
