| Date | Tuesday, 25 September 2001 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Cup |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 0:0 Heart of Midlothian |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 2,657 |
| Referee | Garry Mitchell |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Dave Edwards for the Press & Journal. Ross County 0 Heart of Midlothian 0 After Extra Time Win 5-4 on Penalties Ross County recorded a famous victory over Premier League Hearts last night in the CIS League Cup. It gained them ample revenge for their penalty shoot-out defeat in the capital three years ago. County keeper Tony Bullock was the hero of the hour with two fabulous saves from Steven Boyack and Thomas Flogel in a nail-biting penalty drama. The big English keeper also hammered home one of County's spot kick along with teammates Alex Bone, Ian Maxwell, Steven Hislop and Steven MacKay. Both sides had chances to win in extra time, with Brian Irvine going close for the homesters, while Webster and Severin might have tied it up for Hearts. Hearts won an early free kick on the edge of the County box and Fulton slipped the ball to Flogel, but the Austrian's powerful drive sailed over the bar. Then County engineered an opening, but Bone miskicked eight yards out and did not trouble Niemi. Irvine was booked for a 22nd-minute foul on Fulton and a minute later Hearts' Severin escaped with a telling-off after a hefty tackle on Hastings. Robbie Neilson's name went into referee Gary Mitchell's book for a mistimed sliding tackle on Boukraa in 30 minutes. Two minutes later County were dealt a blow when Hastings, who had been injured in the challenge with Severin, limped off. Early in the second half, the ball broke to Flogel on the edge of the box, but his thunderous drive scraped the bar. Hearts survived a scare in 54 minutes when Pressley was stretchered off with a leg knock, only to return to the action two minutes later. County carved open the Hearts defence, but Cowie's final pass failed to find Hislop or Bone, who were both in acres of space. Heart hit back and County keeper Bullock had to do well to block a close-range follow-up effort from Boyack. County survived a real let-off in 80 minutes when Webster's powerful downward header from a Boyack corner cannoned back off the inside of the upright, with Bullock beaten. Hearts had the ball in the net in 87 minutes after Severin's effort was blocked by Bullock and Kirk fired the ball home, but the Maroons substitute was clearly in an offside position. Neither side could forge an opening during the extra half hour. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Anthony (Tony) Bullock, 2: Hugh Robertson, 3: Ian Maxwell, 4: Sean Webb, 5: Mark Perry, 6: Richard Hastings, 7: Brian Irvine 1, 8: Don (JNR) Cowie, 9: Alexander Bone, 10: Steven Hislop, 11: Karim Boukraa |
| Bench | 0: Ramiro Gonzalez, 0: Steven MacKay 1, 0: Bryan Dlugonski, 0: Mark Millar, 0: John McQuade |
| Heart of Midlothian | |
| Manager | Craig Levein |
| Starting 11 | Antti Niemi, Andy Webster, Steven Pressley, Kevin McKenna, Stephane Mahe, Robbie Neilson 1, Scott Severin, Steve Fulton, Thomas Flogel, Steven Boyack, Stephane Adam |
| Bench | Roddy McKenzie, Stephen Simmons, Robert Sloan, (Juanjo)Juan José Carricondo Pérez , Andy Kirk |