| Date | Saturday, 22 March 1997 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 3 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 1:0 East Stirlingshire |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 1,614 |
| Referee | Alan Freeland |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Daily Record. Ross County 1 East Stirlingshire 0 Gary woods knew he had hit the big time when he found himself playing alongside a star who scored the winning goal in a European final. Woods could hardly believe it when he was joined in his Ross County debut by John Hewitt, scorer of Aberdeen's 1983 Cup Winners Cup final winner over Real Madrid. And it got even better when the 20-year-old--signed from Cowdenbeath--was mobbed by autograph hunters. Woods hasn't even switched divisions but he insisted the 1600 crowd--10 times Beath's average--made it feel as if he'd stepped up a league. He beamed; "It was special when John Hewitt came on for the final 15 minutes. "I was only six when he scored that famous goal against Real, but I remember a lot about him. "I'm a Hibs fan and John has been a hero of mine ever since he scored two goals for Aberdeen against Hearts in the 1986 Scottish Cup final. "The whole day was amazing for me. I've never had so many kids chasing me for my autograph. "It's just as well my mum was there to protect me! "The crowd of 1600 was also amazing--and that is not even particularly good for County." He was the victim of three separate clattering, including the stamping offence which led to Steve Ramsay's 63rd-minute red card. County, without banned Sandy Ross and injured pair Andy MacLeod and David MacKay never really got going. Derek Adams headed in Stuart Golabek's cross in 25 minutes to keep them on course for promotion. Boss Neale Cooper said: "This is the first time we have beaten Shire here after three seasons in the league. "My players have maybe had too many tough games. "But Gary Woods did brilliantly and will be a tremendous signing." Stand-in Shire boss Angus Williamson said: "I felt we passed County off the park at times and had at least 70 per cent of the game." |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Kevin Morgan, 2: Stuart Golabek, 3: Robert (Robbie) Williamson, 4: Johnston Bellshaw, 5: Gerard Farrell, 6: Roy McBain, 7: Kenneth Gilbert, 8: Garry Wood, 9: Derek Adams 1, 10: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 11: Alexander (Sandy) Ross |
| Bench | 0: William Furphy, 0: William (Billy) Herd, 0: John Hewitt |
| East Stirlingshire | |
| Manager | Billy Little |
| Starting 11 | Gordon McDougall, Graeme Hamilton 1, Brian Ross, Scott Sneddon 1, Alan Neill, A Stirling, Steve Ramsay 2 1, David Muirhead, Paul Paterson, Mark Abercromby, Martin McBride |
| Bench | Farquhar, Matthew Cochrane, MacNamee |