Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Campbell stars in sturdier County defence

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Don Cowie insists his Ross County side have shored up at the back as he singled out Everton loanee Eli Campbell for praise after the defender was called up for England’s Under-20s.

County sit seventh in the goals conceded table (18), with their last two games finishing as goalless draws.

“We spoke about being better defensively – and if you look at the goals against, they’ve really only come in a couple of games rather than over a period of 12 matches – which shows the improvement that we’ve had,” Cowie said.

“The [last] two games highlighted that, two really solid defensive displays – albeit without getting the goals to get three points.”

The main concern for County is their troubling away record as they have gone 22 games since last winning on the road.

“Until we break that [record], I’m always going to get asked the question and rightly so. It doesn’t mean we go into any away game not trying to win it – I think on Saturday you could see that,” Cowie added.

“If we keep giving ourselves the best opportunity one of these days we will fall on the right side of it away from home – and that can give the group real belief.”

Meanwhile, Campbell – who moved back to his natural centre-back position for the draw against St Mirren instead of filling in at left wing-back – came in for praise.

“He’s done brilliantly,” Cowie added. “You forget how young and inexperienced he is in terms of first-team football, but he’s been a breath of fresh air in terms of how he conducts himself and trains.

“I don’t think it matters which position I play him in – he will do the best he can and once again on Saturday he illustrated that.”

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