| Date | Saturday, 18 January 1997 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 3 |
| Fixture/Score | East Stirlingshire 2:3 Ross County |
| Venue | Firs Park |
| Attendance | 343 |
| Referee | Graeme Allison |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Matthew Clark for the Daily Record. East Stirlingshire 2 Ross County 3 Two goal County teenager Steven Ferguson hopes to hand a Cup KO to former club Dunfermline next week. Fergie , 19, who still trains with the Pars--but not this week--said: "Hopefully, they'll be worried that they let me go." County boss Neale Cooper admitted: "We started off as I wanted, then sat back and went 2-1 down. We battled well and are delighted to win but can play better." Shire boss Billy Little was reduced to silent fury after referee George Allison denied his side a stonewall penalty in 29 minutes when Mark Abercromby was brought down in the box by Billy Herd. Then, with the score 2-2, Shire's Paul Ronald headed a Grant Inglis corner into the net in 52 minutes--only to see it disallowed for a foul on keeper Steve Hutchison. Little moaned : "If I say what I feel, I'll be in front of the SFA without a doubt." Derek Adams hit County's third goal, while shire's scorers were David Watt and David MacKay (own goal). |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Stephen Hutchison, 2: William (Billy) Herd, 3: David MacKay, 4: Johnston Bellshaw, 5: Gerard Farrell 1, 6: Roy McBain, 7: Steven Ferguson 2, 8: Julian Broddle 1, 9: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 10: Alexander (Sandy) Ross, 11: Andrew (Andy) MacLeod |
| Bench | 0: William Furphy, 0: Gordon Connelly, 0: Derek Adams 1 |
| East Stirlingshire | |
| Manager | Billy Little |
| Starting 11 | Wilson, Davie Watt 1, Gordon Russell, Colin Campbell 1, Scott Sneddon, Alan Neill, Grant Inglis, Mark Abercromby, Martin McBride, Paul Ronald, A Stirling 1 |
| Bench | Murray Hunter, Paul Paterson, Steve Ramsay |