Celtic had to dig deep to win against Ross County in Dingwall yesterday. The Scottish Champions arrived in the Highlands after being soundly dispatched by Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League. Staggies boss Don Cowie said that his side would look to capitalise on a European hangover from the Hoops.
At half time, Cowie had his wish with Celtic fan Ronan Hale opening the scoring from the spot (after a retake due to Schmeichel being off his line). Celtic had most of the ball but laboured to create anything of real significance.
Hale could have had a second with an audacious lob before Celtic clickcked into gear. Callum McGregor and Daizen Maeda both had half decent chances. The Celtic skipper was involved again as he struck a half volley against Alistair Johnston to restore partity.
Johnston turned provider with 88 minutes gone, the Canadian slid the ball into the German attacker, who cut inside and beat Ross Laidlaw with a curled effort.
It was a game that Celtic had to show their ability to grind out a result, dig in and battle to get a result. Dingwall is a tough place to go and Cowie has a well-drilled side up there. Celtic can now go into the International Break and regroup after an excellent period since the last International Break, with the Dortmund result an outlier.
