[ad_1]
Malky Mackay felt his 10-man Ross County did well to limit the damage in their 4-0 defeat to Celtic.
County played the final hour of the match a man down, after defender Kayne Ramsay was shown a straight red card by Don Robertson.
By that point the Dingwall men were already three goals behind, with the dismissal of Ramsay a potentially ominous moment.
The Hoops netted just one further goal through Giorgios Giakoumakis’ penalty, which sealed his hat-trick, and Mackay insists his players felt a strong resolve to avoid a chastening afternoon.
Mackay said: “It doesn’t make it any easier when we go down to 10 men after 30 minutes. That made the job all tougher, and we were looking at damage limitation at that point.
“I’m delighted with the resilience of the team at that point, as that could end up being seven or eight. It has been before with teams here after going down to 10 men.
“To play for 60 minutes with 10 men, and keep it fairly reasonable at that point, is OK.
“Our right back came off so we had to tweak the shape slightly to make sure we stopped them carving us open, which I think we did.”
Mackay had question marks over Robertson’s decision to dismiss Ramsay, for a challenge on Celtic midfielder Tom Rogic.
Australian Rogic was forced to come off injured following the tackle, however Mackay felt there was no malice shown by the on-loan Southampton player.
He added: “I looked at it again quite quickly and I thought his right foot came through and took the ball.
“I don’t think there was even a tackle on that foot. I think his momentum from his left foot coming off the ground is what the referee gives the sending off for.
“I asked the referee if he was sure, and that’s what he told me it was for.
“By the letter of the law you could say his feet were off the ground, but I don’t think there was any malice in it or anything he meant to do.
“He got first to the ball, but the crowd were shouting and the referee gave it. I think it could maybe have been a yellow.”
[ad_2]
Source link
