Date	Saturday, 26 September 1998
Competition	Scottish League Division 3
Fixture/Score	Ross County 0:1 Brechin City
Venue	Victoria Park
Attendance	1,512
Referee	Kevin Bisset
Comments	Match Report Report by Alasdair Fraser for the Daily Record. Ross County 0 Brechin City 1 John Young looked nothing like Dick Turpin at the after-match press conference. But deep down, the manager must have known that his Brechin side had got away with daylight robbery. They'd soaked up an avalanche of pressure from County before breaking out with less than five minutes left for Steve Campbell literally to steal the winner. The result put Brechin top of the Third Division, so Young was in no mood to apologise. But he did appear a touch embarrassed as he admitted: "I can see that people will say we stole the points. "We made one chance and took it while County made numerous opportunities but faild to convert them. "Still, that's what football is about--taking your chances and making them count. We defended superbly and confidence will be coursing through the side after such a solid display. "But it's fair to say that if one chance had gone in, the floodgates might have opened." While ex-Livingston midfielder Campbell ran away with plaudits, stand-in keeper James Butter was the real Brechin hero. Transfer-listed Butter had to be pulled in from a loan stint at East Fife after former Dundee United keeper Stuart Gardiner called off to attend his brother's wedding. And the stand-in star pulled off a string of vital stops in the first half from Steve Ferguson. Young pointed out "We are so fortunate to have two excellent keepers. "Stuart joined us from Dundee United four seasons ago and has been a superb acquisition, but James has come in today and made a real challenge. "We defended very well for long periods, but you need the confidence that a performance such as Butter's inspires." County started well. Winger Billy Ferries--back in the first team after more than a year out--set up Ian Maxwell with a well-aimed free-kick only to see the big centre-half head wide. Ferries then forced Butter to make a diving save at the feet of Tarrant on the stroke of half-time. Gary Higgins, newly signed from Montrose, came off the bench and almost scored in 75 minutes with a header from Alex Taylor's free-kick. But with four minutes left, Brechin broke away and after a sweeping break involving John Dickson, Campbell pounced to inflict misery on 1500-strong home support. Shattered County manager Neale Cooper said: "You have to give Brechin credit for snatching victory with one shot and one goal. "It is hard to break through a team which plays with 10 men behind the ball. "I can't criticise my players for their effort, but we are going to have to find goals early in games or sides will frustrate us. "However, you can see the players coming back after the hype of our League Cup clash with Hearts and there were a lot of pluses despite the defeat. "Billy Ferries looked like he had never been away. "That takes the pressure off Roy McBain as he has been the one who has been asked to be the creative force on the flanks."
Ross County
Manager	Neale Cooper
Starting 11	1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: William Furphy, 3: Ivo Den Bieman, 4: Ian Maxwell, 5: Franck Escalon, 6: Roy McBain, 7: Murray Hunter, 8: Steven Ferguson, 9: Kenneth Gilbert, 10: Neil Tarrant, 11: Keith (Billy) Ferries
Bench	0: William (Billy) Herd, 0: Gary Higgins, 0: Alexander Taylor
Brechin City
Manager	John Young
Starting 11	Jim Butters, Kevin Bain, Harry Cairney, Graeme Christie, Greig Smith 1, Stevie Campbell 1, Stuart Sorbie, Roddy Black, Craig Smart, Marcus Dailly, John Dickson
Bench	Steve Kerrigan, Andrew Hutcheon, Derek Laing