Date	Sunday, 16 April 2017
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Ross County 2:2 Celtic
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Attendance	6,205
Referee	Don Robertson
Comments	Match Report Report by Martin Dowden for the BBC. Ross County 2 Celtic 2 Liam Boyce earned Ross County a precious point against 10-man Celtic with a controversial late penalty. The hosts earned the spot-kick when Alex Schalk went down under Erik Sviatchenko's challenge, but it seemed a clear dive from the County man. Kieran Tierney had fired Celtic ahead before Michael Gardyne nodded the home side level after the break and Patrick Roberts made it 2-1 to the champions. Celtic skipper Scott Brown was sent off after the penalty for a lunge on Boyce. But Celtic are set to appeal against the red card, with the hearing not taking place until 28 April, meaning Brown is likely to be available for next Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers. The result takes Ross County on to 33 points, two behind seventh-placed Kilmarnock and three clear of the relegation play-off spot. Taking a point against the champions is a significant outcome for County, although the circumstances in which it was earned were far from ideal. Whatever reason Schalk may offer for going down, Sviatchenko was not even close to making a tackle and it looked like obvious simulation. Schalk simply threw himself to the ground and it is difficult to fathom how the officials managed to miss that and award a penalty. Boyce showed tremendous nerve to drill home the spot kick to boost County's quest to avoid relegation. Things got worse for Celtic when captain Brown earned a straight red card for a reckless late challenge on Boyce. There had been some earlier niggle between the pair but Brown's anger over the penalty call may have been behind this rash moment. Before Schalk's intervention, Celtic had reasserted their authority thanks to a piece of fine play from Patrick Roberts, who brilliantly nutmegged Kenny van der Weg before firing the ball through keeper Scott Fox. The goalkeeper had to do better as he got down slowly and he also might have been at fault at Tierney's first-half opener which fizzed into the corner from 25 yards. Celtic had regained the initiative in the latter stages and Stuart Armstrong was very unlucky with a free-kick that cracked off the crossbar. The visitors were well in control before the late drama. Jim McIntyre's County side were solid until Tierney's opener but once they conceded they faced something of a conundrum. Goal difference is important so should they sit in and hope for a chance, or go for broke and risk further concession? They came out after the break on the front foot and it paid off. Ryan Dow swung a deep cross in from the left and Gardyne powered a superb header in off the bar for his first goal of the season. County kept going forward with Andrew Davies and Boyce going close. The hosts' improvement prompted Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers into three substitutions, with one of those, Roberts, delivering what looked like the winner. The conclusion was very unfortunate but it could be the difference between County staying in the Premiership or not. Respective managers Jim McIntyre and Brendan Rodgers agreed Ross County were incorrectly awarded a late penalty in their fiery 2-2 draw with Celtic. County striker Alex Schalk threw himself to the ground in the Celtic box, under no contact from defender Erik Sviatchenko. Referee Don Robertson pointed to the spot, allowing Liam Boyce to draw the game in the 90th minute. "It's not a penalty," County boss manager McIntyre conceded. "I've watched it back, you can clearly see Sviatchenko go to tackle him, he's pulled out at the last minute and Alex is expecting contact and is on his way down. "From that side of things, I can fully understand Celtic's anger or disappointment. But we've had several of them go against us this season where teams have had penalties that have not been penalties, and it's been hard to take, so I understand that. "It doesn't look good, of course it doesn't. There's clearly no contact, but I believe what he's saying in terms of expecting contact. Some you get, some you don't." Celtic manager Rodgers labelled the decision one of the poorest he had seen since taking charge of the Scottish Premiership champions last summer. "It's a very disappointing end to a game we dominated throughout," he told BBC Scotland. "We had good control and then the points are taken from us by a horrendous decision. I've seen some bad decisions up here but that's one of the worst. "Referees have a tough job but I don't know what he was seeing. The linesman and the fourth official need to help him or else why are they there? "There's no way Sviatchenko makes any attempt to get the ball. I'm sure the boy (Schalk) will get punished for it." If the Scottish Football Association decides to take retrospective action against Schalk, he could face a ban. Hearts winger Jamie Walker was suspended for two matches in August after being found guilty of diving to win a penalty against Celtic. Meanwhile, Celtic captain Scott Brown is set to be available for next Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers despite being sent off in stoppage time. The skipper was shown red for a late lunge on Boyce that could result in a suspension should referee Robertson deem it violent conduct. But Celtic are appealing against the red card and the appeal will not be heard until 28 April, before the final Old Firm Premiership game of the season on 29 April. "It was the culmination of poor decisions," Rodgers said. "He had a lot given against him and not for him. I think he was just a wee bit late in his tackle." The challenge sparked a bout of pushing and shoving outside the County box, as both sets of players rushed to the scene. Boyce said he was lucky to escape serious injury, but played down the challenge from Brown. "I was waiting on the challenge coming, trying to buy us a free-kick to take the pressure off," Boyce said. "I didn't realise how strong he was coming in and thankfully my leg wasn't planted on the ground, otherwise it could have been a really bad one. "It was a bad challenge - he caught me high up on the shin and it's swollen now. But listen, it happens in games. I had caught him just before."
Ross County
Manager	Jim McIntyre
Starting 11	1: Scott Fox, 2: Marcus Fraser, 3: Jason Naismith, 6: James O'Brien 1, 7: Michael Gardyne 1 1, 9: Ryan Dow, 10: Liam Boyce 1 (1 pen) 1, 12: Timothy Chow, 15: Andrew Davies 1, 28: Kenny Van der Weg, 52: Reghan Tumilty
Bench	31: Aaron McCarey, 4: Christopher Routis, 11: Craig Curran, 17: Jonathan Franks, 23: Alex Schalk, 27: Milan Lalkovic, 63: Dylan Dykes
Celtic
Manager	Don Robertson
Starting 11	Craig Gordon, Jozo Simunovic 1, Erik Sviatchenko, Kieran Tierney 1, Scott Brown 1, Stuart Armstrong, Callum McGregor, James Forrest, Moussa Dembele, Scott Sinclair, Tomas Rogic
Bench	Kolo Touré, Emilio Izaguirre, Leigh Griffiths, Cristian Gamboa, Logan Bailly, Patrick Roberts 1, Eboue Kouassi