Ross County skipper Jack Baldwin has backed goalkeeper George Wickens to bounce back from his blunder in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Hibernian.
With the scoreline goalless at Easter Road, County had succeeded in frustrating the Edinburgh side until Wickens spilled a Dylan Vente cross, which allowed Myziane Maolida to net the opening goal.
Dylan Levitt went on to net a late second to kill off the Staggies’ hopes. The result means Don Cowie’s men remain in the relegation play-off position, four points adrift of Aberdeen.
Englishman Wickens has been an excellent performer since joining on loan from Fulham in January.
Defender Baldwin is confident the 22-year-old will quickly put the error behind him, insisting he could have helped him by cutting out the danger in the first place.
Baldwin said: “He’s an honest lad and really frustrated. I probably could have helped out a bit before it got to that stage and just cleared the ball.
“These things happen in football, he will feel sore for a couple of days but he’s been great since he’s been here. We will keep him right, and not let his head drop too much.
“You’re the last line of defence as a goalkeeper so if you make a mistake it ultimately leads to a goal.
“He gave me the shout to come and collect it and as a defender you should probably just clear your lines first and foremost and have the argument with him after.
“We’re both frustrated and I could probably have helped him out before it got to that.”
Skipper used experience to comfort Wickens
Baldwin insists he leant on his experience in an effort to comfort Wickens in the immediate aftermath of the defeat in the capital.
The 30-year-old, who was back in the side for the first time since January 2 following injury, added: “I made a joke with him that I have been there many times myself giving goals away. He is a great lad and he will get over it.
“I was just trying to take the pressure off a bit. When you make a mistake as a footballer you feel like you have let the whole team down and you can bury yourself in it for quite a bit of time.
“I’ve had a 12 or 13 year career and I’ve made loads of those mistakes where I’ve given goals away.
“You want someone to let you know you’ll be all right and he has been great for us. He should not keep his head down.”
Baldwin looking to bounce back in Hibs rematch
County have 10 matches remaining in their efforts to secure Premiership survival.
The Staggies are out of action this weekend, with their next assignment a rematch against Hibernian at Victoria Park next Wednesday.
Despite the result, Baldwin believes there is plenty for his side to build on.
He added: “We’ll do our debrief and watch parts of the game back.
“It was a frustrating afternoon. We knew the challenges Hibs possessed and the threats they’ve got but I felt we nullified them a lot in the first half.
“A couple of times they gave the ball back to us because of our shape and we limited the options they had on the ball.
“We’ll look to do that again and hopefully stay that little bit more resilient in the next fixture.”
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