Date	Saturday, 06 January 1996
Competition	Scottish Cup
Fixture/Score	Ayr United 0:2 Ross County
Venue	Somerset Park
Attendance	2,053
Referee	Jim Herald
Comments	Match Report Report by Keith Jackson for the Daily Record. Ayr United 0 Ross County 2 They say that any good striker would kick his own granny for a goal. Brian Grant wouldn't stop there. The Ross County hit man roomed on Friday with good friend and captain Cammy Robertson, listening to the Scouser's football dream--to score his first-ever Scottish Cup goal in his last season after 13 years with the club. So what does Grant do when the 34-year-old's dream finally comes true? He tries to pinch it for himself. Robertson was walking on air when he strutted out of the dressing-room at five past five on Saturday. But as he stood there, giving us his after-match chat, he hears the Beeb have given his 69th minute opener to Grant--and that his mate is, at the very moment, telling Jock Brown all about it. Rig worker Robbo had to pick his jaw up off the floor before running off to try and nip Grant's goal heist in the bud. Minutes later the duo returned wearing Bonnie Langford-style grins, with Grant saying: Ok, I'll let the big man have it. I think the only thing my boot made contact with was the wind, but you can't stop a striker's greedy instincts. That's why my hands shot up in the air the moment the ball hit the net. But I admit it's Cammy's goal. the big man's superb and he deserves it." Robertson beamed: "Granty's scored 13 in the cup, so I'm sure he doesn't mind me having this one. "It's all the sweeter for me as I've lifted every trophy in the Highland League with Ross County since the day in 1984 they said they couldn't afford to keep me any longer. "We had won the wooden spoon that year and things were pretty desperate, but I stayed loyal. Maybe this is my reward." Robbo's ball into the box didn't look like a scorer until Grant's bid to connect with it confused Ayr Keeper Cammy Duncan, allowing it to squeeze in at the corner. County's cup kings were on the march into the third round when John Sharples tried to clear a Billy Ferries cross and sent the ball spinning into his own net. It was a sad end to a sad day for United--the first time they've failed to reach the last 32 in 33 years. But they never looked like winning a tie which was wrecked by raging wind and a pitch which appeared to have had half of Ayr beach dumped on it. Neither side could get going in a first half which had toil factor 10 written all over it. There wasn't much to shout about--and by the end even less to laugh about for the poor Ayr punters. Ayr boss Gordon Dalziel said: "It's a disaster--the money we could have raised from a cup run would have helped me bring in the kind of better quality players I'm looking for. "Too many of our players were below par--and I include myself in that. "But the hard work goes on. I'm hopeful of bringing in a striker and a left-sided player in the coming week." As the ground emptied, the Somerset Park PA blasted out a chorus of D:Ream's Things Can Only Get Better. And that just about says it all.
Ross County
Manager	Robert (Bobby) Wilson
Starting 11	1: Stephen Hutchison, 2: Stuart Golabek, 3: William Furphy, 4: William (Billy) Herd, 5: David MacKay, 6: Johnston Bellshaw, 7: Cameron Robertson 1, 8: Gordon Connelly, 9: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 10: Brian Grant 1, 11: Jamie MacPherson 1
Bench	0: Robert (Robbie) Williamson, 0: Colin Milne, 0: Andrew (Andy) MacLeod
Ayr United
Manager	Gordon Dalziel
Starting 11	Duncan, Clarke, Traynor, George, Jamieson 1, Sharples 1, Smith, Steel, Dalziel, Balfour, Kinnaird
Bench	Wilson, Byrne, Barnstaple