Josh Mullin's eyes lit up when he spotted Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster sprinting off his line. But it might take some time for the Ross County star to forgive himself for attempting the lob.

Mullin's audacious effort cleared the crossbar when a more conventional strike might have been the better option. It was a sign of things to come for the visitors who passed up a number of chances to silence Parkhead in a first-half where they were much the better team for the majority.

Sitting ninth in the Premiership table, Ross County cannot afford not to take their chances. Especially when Celtic are there for the taking. Which, at the time, they most certainly were. And Mullin knows it. "I think the way the first-half went, the chances we had, a team like Ross County doesn't come to Parkhead and get that many chances too often," the winger said.

"So there's a slight frustration and we think in the first half we should maybe have scored. If you don't take your chances against Celtic you'll be punished and that's exactly what happened.

"Usually I'm all about power but I seen [Forster] off his line and it's bounced up and sat. I've went with the inside of my foot to try and lob him and then you start thinking to yourself that you'd do things different."

County were on the end of a 6-0 hammering at Parkhead the last time they showed up but were significantly better this time. More drilled defensively and with a clever game plan to catch their opponents on the counter, the Highland outfit were unfortunate to suffer another defeat which appears heavier than the 90 minutes might suggest.

"I think when you come to a place like Parkhead and have a slight frustration [it shows improvement]," Mullen added. "We're not saying by any means we should've won the game, but we know we had chances there to make it a more difficult game for them.

"It shows from last time we were here, when we have a go we will get opportunities and we'll need to regroup for Wednesday against Rangers as they're at the top of their game as well."

Asked if the showing at Celtic proves County can cause an upset against Gers, Mullin replied: "Definitely. It's about trying to take the positives because we've got a massive week coming up and can't be too down. Obviously we are disappointed but we'll need to brush ourselves down on Wednesday - because it's massive."