St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson bemoans penalty decision at Ross County

Posted Wednesday, February 28, 2024 by PA

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson felt his side should have been awarded a penalty in their 1-1 draw at Ross County.

The Buddies had to come from behind after an Alex Gogic mistake allowed Jordan White to slot past goalkeeper Zach Hemming early on, but Robinson felt a possible handball from Ross County’s Ryan Leak should have been checked by VAR.

Toyosi Olusanya salvaged a point late on for St Mirren, but Robinson said: “There was a blatant handball and I believe it wasn’t checked.

“That happened before the foul, so I don’t understand why that would be.

“I can’t control that, but it seems quite obvious from what we’ve seen and what we’ve been told.

“We were not at the top of our game, there were three or four players who were below what they have been recently, but we showed great character to get back into it and get a point – and it could have been three with the chance at the end.

“We didn’t start well. We made a mistake, which is so uncharacteristic of Alex, but he showed great mentality to play the way he did after.

“Ross County scored with their only shot on goal, which came from our mistake. But we didn’t play as well as we can.

“The subs gave us a real impetus when they came on. A point away from home is a point gained. If we can take seven points from this week it would be fantastic for us.”

Ross County interim manager Don Cowie looked at the result as two points dropped after they had enjoyed the lead for so long in the match.

“It was two points dropped, especially when you’re leading with five minutes to go,” Cowie said.

“It wasn’t the greatest game or the best performance from us but when you’re leading at that stage you have to get the points.

“I thought we defended very well until the goal.

“St Mirren are a very good team with a lot of players who can hurt you but I thought we kept them pretty quiet so it’s frustrating.

“The message before the game was to build on Saturday and we’ve done that by adding a point. It’s a step in the right direction, taking four from six, and we want to add to that against Hibs now.”