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Don Cowie believes Ross County showed ‘signs’ they are good enough to escape relegation threat in defeat to Aberdeen

The interim boss felt he was able to take positives from his side's loss at Pittodrie.

Ross County interim manager Don Cowie.
Ross County interim manager Don Cowie. Image: Shutterstock.

Ross County interim manager Don Cowie believes his side showed “signs” they are good enough to escape the threat of relegation despite suffering a 2-1 defeat at Aberdeen.

Simon Murray’s 26th-minute header cancelled out Bojan Miovski’s early opener at Pittodrie but County suffered defeat following Jamie McGrath’s effort in the 78th minute.

The defeat leaves the Staggies sitting 11th in the relegation play-off spot with 28 points, one behind St Johnstone – who were beaten 2-1 by Dundee – and now six behind the ninth-placed Dons.

In their two remaining games before the split, Cowie’s side travel to Kilmarnock next Saturday before hosting Rangers on April 6.

Following the defeat at Pittodrie, Cowie said: “There are still seven games to go and that is 21 points. There are a lot of points to play for.

“We know when we go into the split, everyone plays each other at the bottom of the league.

“We’re not interested in anyone else. All we have to do is focus on Ross County. I’m seeing really good signs from the group. If we keep playing like we did today then we will pick up points.

Ross County's Simon Murray scores to make it 1-1 against Aberdeen at Pittodrie. Image: SNS
Ross County’s Simon Murray scores to make it 1-1 against Aberdeen at Pittodrie. Image: SNS

“I thought it was a really good performance. The team responded really well from a poor start to the game.

“We were spooked in the opening 10 minutes, but I thought the response was excellent and we deserved to go in at half-time level. We felt we could step on and try to win the game after that.

“But, if you can’t win the game you have to make sure you don’t lose it. We lost it and we have to go and learn from that.”

Cowie wants County to improve away form

Cowie says the belief is present throughout the squad, but has urged his side to improve their away form.

He added: “You have got to believe and I’ve got a group who believe in themselves.

“We’ve got players who can score goals and I think we have shown over the last seven or eight games that we can be dangerous, but what we need to do is start picking up points away from home.

“That is going to be really important. We’ve proven at home we’re on a good run and since I have come into this role, we have played well away from home, but have nothing to show for it.”

For Miovski’s opener, County defender Loick Ayina was unable to clear the ball off the line, while Cowie believes his side should have done better to prevent McGrath’s winner.

Ross County’s Loick Ayina failed to clear Bojan Miovski’s close-range effort as the forward gave the Dons a 1-0 lead. Image: SNS.

He added: “I am watching a team that is defending really well throughout the game, but it is just moments of concentration that are detrimental to the result.

“The first goal, nine times out of 10, Loick clears it off the line. The second goal, it is just a bit too easy how Aberdeen get into the box. It is disappointing and we have to get better and learn from it.”

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