Malky Mackay: It seemed as if we were playing until Celtic scored

Ross County manager Malky Mackay was frustrated with the timing of Celtic's winner. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

Ross County boss Malky Mackay accused referee Alan Muir of “playing” until Celtic scored as he lamented the seven minutes of added time that brought an Anthony Ralston winner only seconds before the final whistle sounded in a 2-1 defeat for his team.

The Highland club looked certain to repel ceaseless pressure from their visitors to hold on for a point as the six minutes elapsed that had been shown on the fourth official’s board. And Mackay found the last-gasp twist difficult to stomach.

“I don’t want to ask the referee anything, otherwise that’s going to cause me problems and put me into trouble if I say one more word to him,” Mackay said. “Where they got seven minutes from is an interesting one. At one point it felt as if we were playing until they scored. But for the ball coming off Dom Samuel’s head, the shot in the last second of the game [that led to the corner the goal came from] was going into the top of that stand. It’s fine lines, but I think you saw how relieved Celtic were leaving here.

“It’s a measure of where Ross County have come this season that we are running the Old Firm as close as that. I’m proud that our players enacted the gameplan, and ran Celtic as close as they did. You could hear with the celebrations they were lucky to get away with the three points.

“I look at the progression we’ve had since day one of the season, where we are taking on the Old Firm toe-toe-toe. The two defeats we have had recently [in a seven-game league run] have been against both of them, but we are scoring against them. We knew we could hurt Celtic.”

Get a year of unlimited access to all The Scotsman's sport coverage without the need for a full subscription. Expert analysis of the biggest games, exclusive interviews, live blogs, transfer news and 70 per cent fewer ads on Scotsman.com - all for less than £1 a week. Subscribe to us today