| Date | Saturday, 02 March 2002 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Airdrieonians 0:2 Ross County |
| Venue | Excelsior Stadium |
| Attendance | 1,337 |
| Referee | Douglas McDonald |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Airdrieonians 0 Ross County 0 Delighted Ross County manager Neale Cooper has only one request as his side battle to escape the threat of relegation--more of this, please. County fully deserved the three points and will go with confidence into tomorrow night's second leg of their double-header against the promotion-seeking Diamonds. Cooper said: "If we can play like this until the end of the season then we have a good chance of staying up." Striker Alex Bone summed up the mood when he said: "We are now aiming at the top half of the table, never mind relegation." Had it not been for an outstanding display by Airdrie keeper Neil Bennett the margin would have been much greater--and County would not have had to wait until the second half to clinch the points. Steve Hislop hoisted the warning signals for the Airdrie defence as early as the fourth minute when he made space to flash over a cross for Steve Ferguson, whose effort was just wide. And then keeper Bennett set out to deny County as he blocked a Kenny Gilbert drive and then left Hislop thinking of what might have been. Airdrie escaped when Hislop managed to shake off defenders only to find that Bennett had raced from his line to the edge of the penalty area to block him. And as the rebounded from the keeper's feet, it took an acrobatic save from the back-tracking Sandy Stewart to scoop the ball off the line. Airdrie supporters were lifted at the interval when they heard that Partick Thistle were trailing in their clash with Arbroath. But although County keeper Tony Bullock was forced into a good save from Owen Coyle, Airdrie's spirits were dampened when County took the lead. Dangerman Hislop raced to the goal line before finding Hugh Robertson, whose clinical finish gave keeper Bennett no chance. And when the Airdrie defenders footered and fumbled, Alex Bone wrapped up the points with the second goal. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Anthony (Tony) Bullock, 2: Mark Perry, 3: Richard Hastings 1, 4: Hugh Robertson 1, 5: Ian Maxwell, 6: Brian Irvine, 7: Cedric Anselin, 8: Steven Ferguson, 9: Kenneth Gilbert, 10: Alexander Bone 1, 11: Steven Hislop 1 |
| Bench | 0: Ramiro Gonzalez, 0: David Lilley, 0: Karim Boukraa, 0: Conor Gethins, 0: Mark McCormick |
| Airdrieonians | |
| Manager | Ian McCall |
| Starting 11 | Neil Bennett, Sandy Stewart, John Henry, Mark Reilly, Jerome Vareille, Paul Armstrong, Neil MacFarlane, Allan McManus, Mark Roberts, Owen Coyle, A Trialist |
| Bench | Allan Ferguson, Lee Gardner, Anthony Smith, Stuart Taylor, Stevie Docherty |