Ross County manager Don Cowie expressed his discontent with the free-kick awarded that led to Celtic’s late winner against his team.
The Staggies were poised for a remarkable victory following Ronan Hale’s first-half penalty, holding a 1-0 lead until Celtic equalised with Alistair Johnston’s goal in the 76th minute.
While a draw would have been a commendable result for the Dingwall outfit, Nicolas Kuhn’s strike just two minutes from the end ultimately secured all three points for Celtic.
The incident leading to Kuhn’s decisive goal came when Staggies substitute Jordan White was penalised for a foul on Luke McCowan—a decision Cowie vehemently disagreed with.
Reflecting on his team’s valiant efforts against the Premiership champions, Cowie lamented that this controversial call turned out to be the crucial factor in the match.
Cowie said: “It was disappointing for the players with the effort they have put in again.
“They kept a top-quality side relatively quiet in terms of real goalscoring opportunities.
“We said beforehand it was about being compact, with good concentration levels, which I saw in abundance in the group.
“The equaliser was a bit fortunate, it was a bit of a ricochet.
“For me, they score a goal from a free-kick which was never a foul in the middle of the pitch.
“Jordan put his foot out but made no contact with Luke McCowan. He then lost the ball and they got a free-kick.
“At that stage, we were a little bit out of shape, and a good team punishes you which is what happened.
“With my eye at the time I didn’t think it was a free kick, and I’ve seen it again and it’s not.
“We can still react and prevent the goal, but it’s disappointing that the decision goes against us.
“I asked the referee about it and got no response. He’s got his opinion, and I’ve got mine.”