| Date | Saturday, 24 January 2026 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish Championship |
| Fixture/Score | Airdrieonians 0:1 Ross County |
| Venue | Albert Bartlett Stadium |
| Attendance | 1,151 |
| Referee | Duncan Nicolson |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Will Clark for the Ross-shire Journal. Airdrieonians 0 Ross County 1 Ross County have moved off the bottom of the Championship with victory against Airdrieonians in their first away win of the season. Kieran Phillips scored the winner three minutes from time to give the Staggies victory as they moved one point above Queen’s Park as they lost 4-1 at Raith Rovers. It is a pivotal moment of the season for Ross County in looking to avoiding relegation as they will face teams that were in the bottom four before kick-off this afternoon in the next three matches. As well as facing Airdrieonians this afternoon, the Staggies face Greenock Morton next Saturday before a trip to Glasgow to take on Queen’s Park on Tuesday, February 3. Manager Stuart Kettlewell says he is looking at reducing the numbers at Ross County saying there were too many players in the squad, with this afternoon’s game also a chance to evaluate the players that are at his disposal. The Staggies went into the game after a valiant effort against high flying Premiership outfit Motherwell in the Scottish Cup fourth round losing narrowly 1-0. In their previous Championship match, they put on arguably their best overall performance of the season when they defeated title contenders Partick Thistle 2-0 in Dingwall. Ross County suffered a blow after four minutes when Dean Cornelius was forced off injured and was replaced by Ryan Duncan. In a quiet first half, Jay Henderson came the closest to breaking the deadlock for Ross County when he latched on to a flick on from Jordan White but was well saved Harry Stone. In a game of few chances, County came close to breaking the deadlock four minutes from time when James Scott’s curling effort was well saved by Stone. But Phillips scored the winner in the 87th minute to give Ross County victory and move them off the bottom of the table, one point above Queen’s Park. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Stuart (Ketts) Kettlewell |
| Starting 11 | 30: Trevor Carson, 3: Len O'Sullivan, 5: Levis Pitan, 6: Connor Randall, 7: Jay Henderson, 8: Dean Cornelius, 15: Dylan Smith, 16: Alexander Iacovitti 1, 23: Ross Docherty, 26: Jordan White, 38: Jamie Lindsay |
| Bench | 21: Bradley Foster, 9: Ronan Hale, 11: Kieran Phillips 1, 14: Nicholas (Nicky) Clark, 25: Jack Wells-Morrison, 27: Ryan Duncan, 29: Miller Thomson, 31: Declan Gallagher, 44: James Scott |
| Airdrieonians | |
| Manager | Aaron Taylor-Sinclair |
| Starting 11 | Harry Stone, Dylan MacDonald, Lewis Strapp 1, Craig Ross, Sean McGinty, Dean McMaster, Jamie Barjonas, Cole McKinnon, Charlie Telfer, Chris Mochrie, Euan Henderson |
| Bench | Lewis McGrattan, Robbie Mahon, Gavin Gallagher, Charlie McArthur, Adam Devine, Cade Melrose, Scott Constable, Adam Aird, Jake Hastie |