Don Cowie was left baffled as to why Jordan White was denied a second penalty in as many matches before Ross County were forced to make a dramatic Dingwall comeback. At 1-1, White – who won and tucked away a penalty in the previous week’s win over Dundee – seemed to be sent crashing to earth inside the penalty area by goalkeeper Ross Sinclair. County’s players were convinced – but a VAR check confirmed referee Dan MacFarlane’s instant rejection.
Cowie studied the footage immediately after the match and nothing he saw altered his conviction. Just how it might have changed events on Saturday will never be known, but County’s complete dominance in the opening 40 or so minutes was undone by Drew Wright’s strike before the break and then two dead ball moments of magic from Nicky Clark. With six minutes of ordinary time remaining, the Staggies looked dead and buried, but somehow mustered an incredible fightback with goals from substitute Alex Samuel and – seven minutes into nine minutes of stoppage time – a second consecutive headed goal from man of the match Akil Wright.
Cowie was thrilled with the spirit on show, but aggrieved at White’s denied penalty. He said: “At the time I thought it was a penalty and, seeing it back, I can see it being given from a different official. “It was checked very quickly and cleared so it obviously wasn’t a high enough bar to get looked at.
” A strange game Just four days after Craig Levein was sacked, the victim of four.