| Sandy Wallace | photo edit | |
|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Scotland |   |
| Date of Birth | ||
| Place of Birth | ||
| Start Date | 1984 | |
| End Date | 1985 | |
| Biography | 1984-1985 Sandy Wallace Donnie Giles caretaker stint ended when our own Wallace, Sandy was appointed on a permanent basis. Poor weather in the winter of 1984 delayed Sandy’s managerial start. His first game came almost seven weeks into the New Year and saw County hammered 4-0 at home to Inverness Thistle. John Buchanan and Dave Jackson made playing debuts for the club that day. Buchanan scored the first goal of Wallace’s reign in a 3-1 North of Scotland defeat to Caley. There were eleven games left in the Highland League season and with our third manager of the year (sound familiar….?) earned 3 wins and 3 draws. 13 goals scored and 19 conceded. County were also beaten by Caley in the North of Scotland Cup in February. Less than 100 paying spectators witnessed County’s first win under Wallace at the end of March when Forres were beaten 4-2 in Dingwall. The victorious County squad was Ure MacKay Steven Lemmon Allan Cowie Sutherland Buchanan Duff MacQueen Jappy Ferries Jackson. County were unbeaten in their following three games but lost their last tie of a difficult season in which they finished fourth from bottom. Pre-season glamour ties for 1984/85 were against Hearts and Celtic, both ending in 2-2 draws. Dave Jackson scored a double against Celtic. Amazingly, considering the previous season, County topped the Highland League by September and celebrated this achievement by defeating Lossiemouth 6-2 in the “best, most accomplished display” Wallace had seen from any team in eight or nine years. Their unbeaten league record lasted into October. County finished the season in a respectable sixth place that Wallace could justifiably be proud of. 14 wins, 6 draws, 53 scored and 47 conceded. Things did not go so well in the next season despite his efforts to field a young team. Before Christmas the board decided to dispense with Wallace’s services and he was to be replaced by the player coach he had signed. County had played 17 games by this stage, 7 wins and 3 draws including an 11-2 win over Lossiemouth (they had scored 12 in the first 7 games…) with Billy Ferrie scoring 4 goals. In his second last game County lost 2-0 in an historic first ever league game away at Fort William. | |