| Date | Saturday, 23 November 1996 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 3 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 1:0 Cowdenbeath |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 1,382 |
| Referee | Stuart Dougal |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Bill McAllister for the Press & Journal. Ross County 1 Cowdenbeath 0 Former Don Neale Cooper yesterday celebrated his 33rd birthday in style with his team having moved into second place in the Bell's Third Division and his first four months as a manager ending with him having firmly established himself with the Dingwall fans. Cooper stood firm in a sticky start to his managerial career and has fashioned his own team, with only four North players in the starting line-up which saw County Knock Cowdenbeath off top of the table on Saturday with a gritty performance at Victoria Park. The only drawback to County's satisfaction is that striker Sandy Ross has broken the news to them that he will be out of action for seven weeks. As well as a five-game SFA suspension, the former Brechin City man had fixed up an end-of-year holiday break which begins immediately after his ban expires. It Keeps the powerful attacked out of the January 2 derby against Inverness Caledonian Thistle and the January 4 Scottish Cup tie against Montrose in Dingwall. "It's unfortunate that Sandy's suspension ends just when he is going abroad," said Cooper. "It's just one of the coincidences that happen and can't be helped. Sandy booked his holiday before joining us." Ross's place against the Fifers was taken by debutant Steve Ferguson, signed from Dunfermline on Friday. He played for 70 minutes before being replaced by Stuart Golabek. Cooper was pleased with the 19-year-old's contribution, saying: "Steve tired near the end and it is a big step for him coming from reserve football to such a quick, hectic type of game. He'll play in Tuesday's Inverness Cup tie with Nairn County to get him further acclimatised." A 21st-minute penalty goal gave Derek Adams his 11th strike of the season and it was to prove decisive. But the former Burnley player missed several chances to wrap up the points in the second half as Cowdenbeath fought hard to salvage something. "We've played better," said Cooper. "But I'm delighted with the result." He praised goalkeeper Steve Hutchinson for an outstanding performance to deny the Fifers an equaliser. The ex-Falkirk keeper was out of favour early in the season but has shown a positive attitude and is now producing the goods consistently. County have a clean bill of health. apart from Cooper's knee problem, for Saturday's home game against East Stirling, the bottom club in the division. The 1,382 fans saw County register only their third league home win. Cooper's men have bounced back from opening with four straight league defeats to gather an impressive 25 points out of a possible 33 in their last 11 games. that is a tally which certainly made it a happy birthday for the ex-Dunfermline defender. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Stephen Hutchison, 2: William (Billy) Herd, 3: David MacKay, 4: Johnston Bellshaw, 5: Gerard Farrell, 6: Julian Broddle 1, 7: Steven Ferguson, 8: Roy McBain, 9: Gordon Connelly, 10: Derek Adams 1 (1 pen), 11: Andrew (Andy) MacLeod |
| Bench | 0: Stuart Golabek, 0: William Furphy, 0: Keith (Billy) Ferries |
| Cowdenbeath | |
| Manager | Sammy Conn |
| Starting 11 | Neil Russell, Alistair Hamilton, Graham Meldrum 1, Garry Wood 1, Barry McMahon 1, Sammy Conn 1, Willie Stewart, Kenny Munro 1, Craig Winter, Ritchie, Dougie Coulston |
| Bench | Kevin Bowmaker, Brough, Brian Malloy 1 |