St Johnstone boss Steve Lomas admitted he could not fault his players despite Saturday’s 1-0 defeat by Ross County at Victoria Park.
Saints missed the chance to make it three league wins in a row as they completely dominated the game in Dingwall, only to lose to an early super strike from Ivan Sproule on a pitch consisting more of sand than grass.
Lomas said: “I think every stat in the game will show that we were miles ahead in terms of possession, corners, shots, territory but it is very difficult when you concede the first goal as they are very hard to break down. They camp in and get five in midfield behind the ball.
“But I can’t fault my players’ effort in trying to play the right way on a difficult pitch. We were away from home but their goalkeeper was man of the match, which tells you something about the game.”
Not for the first time, though, Staggies boss Derek Adams’ overall opinion of a match was at odds with his opposite number’s.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=3NY0aNdLVmk%3Flist%3DPL0DF74379D4B448F0
He said: “I don’t think St Johnstone troubled us in any way. They had a lot of possession but I thought they would have worked Mark Brown a lot more than they did.
“He didn’t have any outstanding saves to make.”
St Johnstone are quickly back in action as they host Celtic on Tuesday night at McDiarmid Park.
For a full match report from Dingwall, see Monday’s Courier or try our new digital edition.