| Date | Wednesday, 12 February 1997 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 3 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 0:3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 5,017 |
| Referee | Garry Mitchell |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Michael Grant for the Press & Journal. Ross County 0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3 Caley Thistle opened up a gaping 10-points lead at top of Division 3 and took a huge step towards promotion with a classy derby destruction. A divisional record crowd of 5,017 crammed into Victoria Park and saw ex-St Johnstone striker Scott McLean grab a goal in each half to send Caley Jags on the way to 10th straight league win. Davie Ross twice came close before Caley Jags broke the dead lock in 36 minutes. McLean completed a sweeping move with a calm finish when he side-footed the ball low into the net from Wilson's fine cross. Roy McBain almost equalised with a header which struck woodwork, but the league leaders scored a vital second two minutes before the break. Charlie Christie passed to Barry Wilson and, although there seemed to be little he could do, the winger unleashed a screaming right-foot shot 25 yard which sailed past Steve Hutchison. That was a killer goal and, although County thought they were back in it when Adams had the ball in the net, that was ruled offside and in 61 minutes Caley Jags stretched their lead. Several players got a touch as the ball bobbled in the County box before McLean jabbed it through a ruck of players for his second. County's suffering increased when Richard Hart took a heavy knock and had to be helped off only minutes after coming on for Adams. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Stephen Hutchison, 2: William Furphy, 3: William (Billy) Herd, 4: David MacKay, 5: Steven Ferguson, 6: Roy McBain, 7: Kenneth Gilbert, 8: Gerard Farrell, 9: Derek Adams, 10: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 11: Alexander (Sandy) Ross |
| Bench | 0: Robert (Robbie) Williamson, 0: Julian Broddle, 0: Richard Hart |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | |
| Manager | Steve Paterson |
| Starting 11 | Jim Calder, Mike Teasdale, Richard Hastings, Iain McArthur, Mike Noble, Paul Cherry, Barry Wilson 1, Iain Stewart, Scott McLean 2, Charlie Christie, David Ross |
| Bench | Ross Tokley, Marco De Barros, Wayne Addicoat |