| Date | Tuesday, 04 March 1997 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 3 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 2:0 Queen's Park |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 1,014 |
| Referee | Ian Elmslie |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Bill McAllister for the Press & Journal. Ross County 2 Queen's Park 0 Ross County's flying flank men Billy Ferries and Roy McBain set up the victory which gives a vital boost to their promotion push. Neale Cooper's men leap-frog Forfar Athletic into second place in the Bell's Third Division table after wide-men Ferries and McBain uncorked superb strikes. Ferries was the man of the match, tormenting the Hampden side's defence with his right wing pace and trickery. Queen's Park, however, were a good, attack-minded outfit who made life difficult for the Dingwall men in a game which never rose to great heights. Referee Ian Elmslie booked six players, but it was a fairly placid affair before 1,014 fans. Queen's keeper Gordon Bruce did well to turn aside a Derek Adams header in the early stages, while at the other end Steve Hutchinson blocked at the feet of Scott Edgar. Bruce again distinguished himself by turning a Sandy Ross close-range drive round the post. The referee warned home manager Cooper for comments from the dug-out then Edgar, of Queens, was booked for backchat as the half ended with the visitors fighting back. Johnston Bellshaw became the fifth name in the book in 47 minutes for a late tackle. Ian Maxwell came desperately close to equalising with a free kick which rattled the home cross-bar. County celebrated the let-off by going further ahead in 50 minutes. McBain cut inside off his left foot and curled the ball cleverly into the top corner with his right foot. Danny Ferry somehow turned the ball over the bar from point-blank range when it seemed easier to score and Queens again tried to rally. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Stephen Hutchison, 2: Robert (Robbie) Williamson, 3: Johnston Bellshaw 1, 4: Roy McBain 1, 5: Kenneth Gilbert, 6: Gerard Farrell, 7: Julian Broddle, 8: Gordon Connelly, 9: Derek Adams, 10: Keith (Billy) Ferries 1, 11: Alexander (Sandy) Ross |
| Bench | 0: Johnston Bellshaw, 0: Stuart Golabek, 3: Christopher (Chris) Somerville |
| Queen's Park | |
| Manager | Hugh McCann |
| Starting 11 | Gordon Bruce, Kenneth Kennedy, David Graham, Paul Ferguson, Mark Smith, Ian Maxwell, Martin Hardie, David Arbuckle, Scott Edger 1, Danny Ferry, Kevin McGoldrick |
| Bench | Derek Wilson |