Date	Saturday, 28 November 1998
Competition	Scottish League Division 3
Fixture/Score	Ross County 2:0 Dumbarton
Venue	Victoria Park
Attendance	1,802
Referee	Ian Elmslie
Comments	Match Report Report by Alasdair Fraser for the Daily Record. Ross County 2 Dumbarton 0 Alex Taylor admits he used to worry himself sick about playing--until he hit the road with the Dingwall Crazy Gang. Taylor, 36, took 20 years to find the cure for his matchday nerves and he reckons it was worth waiting for. The midfielder is one of several Ross County stars based in the Glasgow and together they travel the 190 miles to home games. And Taylor insists the patter on the long trip north makes him forget his nerves. It's certainly working, The veteran middle man hit the goal that prised open the Dumbarton defence and sent County on their way to three points that helped keep them top of the Third Division pile. He said: "Saturdays have always been about football for me and in the mornings I was often a bag of nerves. "The difference now is that I have to spend the morning on the road north from Glasgow to the Highlands. "I share a car with some of the other southern-based players and the crack is so good that, rather than sweat about the game, you relax. "So the travelling north doesn't bother me at all--in fact it helps me perform better." Taylor broke the deadlock after 58 minutes with a perfect finish from Roy McBain's cross. Until then, County had been struggling to break down a rock-solid Sons side, who at that stage looked capable of winning. But Taylor, who landed the man-of-the-match award after sinking his second goal of the season, reckons manager Neale cooper has transformed County's fortunes this season--by turning his Dingwall squad into gamblers. He said: "That's seven wins in a row now and we are also the only team in Britain who are yet to drew a game. "That's very unusual, but it speaks volumes about our approach. Last season we threw away promotion by drawing too many games. Draws are almost as bad as defeats now, so we are being told to take risks when we reach a stalemate and it seems to be paying off. "We are going out to win every game and apart from a three or four-match spell earlier this season we have been incredibly consistent." County surged six points clear at the top with with two goals in three minutes. They made their intentions clear from the start with Roy McBain feinting past two defenders and cracking a 20-yard shot off a post. Dumbarton were matching County, though, and Martin Mooney twice tested Nicky Walker, forcing the keeper to fumble his second blast at goal. The first half ended even, but two minutes into the second period, Paddy Flannery could have put the Sons in front after a winding run and blazing shot wide from the edge of the area. But County stunned their opponents with their double strike around the hour mark. In 58 minutes, Roy McBain took a glorious long pass on the left flank from Steve Ferguson and his cross was met by Taylor who flicked the ball into the far corner of the net from 12 yards. Then, two minutes later, Neil Tarrant went charging through and squared to Ferguson whose shot ricocheted off the keeper and back on to his body before finding the net. A delighted Cooper said: "That's seven wins in a row now and a six-point cushion at the top, but I don't really look behind at who is chasing us. I'm telling the players we have only to worry about our own results and if we keep winning no one will catch us." Dejected Dumbarton manager Ian Wallace said: "We've been creating chances all season but don't seem able to take them. "I'd love to be able to go out and buy a striker but there is no cash available."
Ross County
Manager	Neale Cooper
Starting 11	1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: Mark Haro, 3: David Matheson 1, 4: Stuart Golabek, 5: Ian Maxwell, 6: Kenneth Gilbert, 7: Alexander Taylor 1, 8: Steven Ferguson 1, 9: Roy McBain, 10: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 11: Neil Tarrant
Bench	0: David MacKay, 0: David Ross, 0: Connor Campbell
Dumbarton
Manager	Ian Wallace/Jimmy Brown
Starting 11	Des Barnes, William Wilson 1, Craig Brittain, Lee Sharp, Stephen Jack, Toby King, Martin Mooney, Colin McKinnon, Paddy Flannery, Keith Millar, Alex Grace
Bench	Paul Harvey, Joe Robertson, Barry Wilkinson