| Date | Saturday, 10 May 2003 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 4:1 Ayr United |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 3,449 |
| Referee | Garry Mitchell |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Ross County 4 Ayr United 1 Roy MacGregor and Alex Smith revealed the cost of relegation for Ross County would have tallied up to £200,000. The drop in gates and loss of revenue would have hit the Dingwall club hard had front pair Steven McGarry and Sean Higgins not combined so brilliantly early in the second half against Ayr United to maintain County's Division 1 status. Smith and MacGregor made it clear a drop into Division 2 would have set back their ambitious plans--which includes a youth academy--by years. MacGregor said: "We've had our ups and downs this year, but Saturday was great. I'm delighted for the players and for Alex and I am stronger in my conviction he will take the club to a new level." Smith admitted relief was his overwhelming emotion after seeing off Alloa, who were pipped by County on goal difference in the relegation struggle. He said: "We needed someone to pull something special out of the bag and it came from Sean Higgins and Steven McGarry." County stormed ahead after the break with McGarry and teenager Higgins combining brilliantly and McGarry twice finishing in style. Ayr's Stephen Whalen hit back with a lethal right foot finish, but Higgins and Steve MacKay wrapped things up. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Alexander (Alex) Smith |
| Starting 11 | 1: Anthony (Tony) Bullock, 2: Jordon Tait, 3: Sean Webb, 4: Hugh Robertson, 5: Steven Ferguson, 6: Steven MacKay 1, 7: David Hannah, 8: Mark McCulloch, 9: David Winters, 10: Steven McGarry 2, 11: Sean Higgins 1 |
| Bench | 0: Leslie Fridge, 0: Don (JNR) Cowie, 0: Craig Campbell, 0: Conor Gethins, 0: Graham Bayne |
| Ayr United | |
| Manager | Campbell Money |
| Starting 11 | Craig Nelson, David Craig, Michael Dunlop, Marc Smyth, Willie Lyle, Neil Murray, Scott Chaplain, Stephen Whalen 1, Stewart Kean, Martin Ferry, Mark McColl |
| Bench | John Dodds, James Latta, Aidan McVeigh, Boyd Mullen, Ian Fulton |