| Date | Saturday, 12 April 1997 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 3 |
| Fixture/Score | Alloa Athletic 1:1 Ross County |
| Venue | Recreation Park |
| Attendance | 597 |
| Referee | Ian Elmslie |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Stephen Owens for the Daily Record. Alloa Athletic 1 Ross County 1 Alloa hailed their goal hero Willie Irvine--then faced up to the prospect of losing him for the rest of the season. In the first half hour, Irvine scored a wonder goal and hit the bar, before he was rushed to hospital for X-rays on a shoulder injury. And Wasps boss Tom Hendrie groaned: "Willie might not play again this season. Losing him is a big blow because he's such a class player." Irvine stalled County's promotion push with a superb 20th minute free kick after Stuart Golabek fouled Miller Mathieson on the edge of the box. The game boiled over five minutes later and Alloa's David Pew and County's Gerry Farrell were red-carded for fighting. Both sides missed second-half chances before County got a deserved 68th minute equaliser. Roy McBain's corner caused panic in the Alloa box and allowed Derek Adams to fire in from close range. Optimistic County chief Neale Cooper said: "We are now equal on points with Forfar. We play them next week and that'll be a big one. "The attitude which the boys showed today was brilliant. They are all genuinely upset in the changing room. "Overall, Alloa had a few first-half chances, but we were unfortunate not to win this one." |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Kevin Morgan, 2: Stuart Golabek, 3: William Furphy, 4: Robert (Robbie) Williamson, 5: William (Billy) Herd, 6: Roy McBain 1, 7: Gerard Farrell 1, 8: Kenneth Gilbert 1, 9: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 10: Derek Adams 1, 11: Garry Wood |
| Bench | 0: Steven Ferguson, 0: Andrew (Andy) MacLeod, 0: John Hewitt |
| Alloa Athletic | |
| Manager | Tommy Hendrie |
| Starting 11 | Michael Monaghan, Craig Valentine, Mark Nelson, Keith McCulloch 1, Paul McAneny, David Pew 1, Kevin Kane 1, John McCormack, Miller Mathieson, William Irvine 1, Paul Simpson |
| Bench | James Gilmour 1, J Piggott, Michael McAneny |