Ryan Leak claims St Mirren penalty amnesia as Ross County skipper defends ref with alternative theory

Ross County skipper Ryan Leak has defended referee Chris Graham and VAR by claiming he was the one fouled in St Mirren’s controversial penalty claim.

The Staggies continued their rival with a 1-1 home draw with the Buddies on Tuesday night, although the big talking point was the decision not to give a first half handball against their stand-in captain. The ball hit Leak’s outstretched hand inside the box but he is adamant that he was fouled by St Mirren’s James Bolton in the build up to the game’s big flashpoint.

Leak claimed: “I thought it was a foul against me, to be fair. That’s what I said to the referee. I think it was checked, I’m not too sure what they were checking but I just explained to the ref that I thought I got fouled. I wasn’t too concerned, you have to get on with it as it’s what they decide in the end. In a 50-50 moment, with the way the ball comes in, I can’t really remember much about it.”

County look to be on the back of another Highland rising. Don Cowie led them to a home win over Livingston and they were just minutes away from being denied a second win by Saints. The 25-year-old admitted: “The gaffer said after the game we haven’t picked up many points in the last few weeks, so we always have to see it as a positive.

“We were grinding out for so long in the game – we all know it wasn’t a pretty game. I don’t think George had much to do saves-wise in the second half, he came and collected a lot of balls which helped us out.

“But it was just one moment in the game and we got punished for it. The three points were there so late on and we had one lapse of concentration, but we have to move on from it.

“It was tough to play on that pitch with the conditions. I don’t think we did enough to win the game, we