| Date | Tuesday, 13 July 1999 |
|---|---|
| Competition | FRIENDLY |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 0:1 Dunfermline Athletic |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 700 |
| Referee | Kevin Bisset |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Ross County 0 Dunfermline Athletic 1 Owen Coyle saved Dunfermline's blushes with a last-minute winner against Ross County in last night's friendly at Victoria Park. Pars found it tough going against the well-drilled home side and were very fortunate to come away with a win in the opening match of their mini Highland tour. County almost took the lead in the second minute when new signing John Fraser set up Paul Kinnaird, but the former Dundee United player's cross was intercepted by Brian Reid. The fifers threatened in the eighth minute when Andy Smith headed inches over from an Eddie May cross, and, three minutes later, James Dolan was unlucky with a 25 yarder which was deflected past for a corner. Brian Irvine, who was making his home debut, was proving a real handful for the pars defence at set-pieces. The former Dons and Dundee defender came close in 27th minute with a flashing header that flew just over Ian Westwater's goal. Both teams picked up the pace in the second half with County on top in the early stages. A Paul Kinnaird free kick was blocked, then a Michael Gerraty snap-shot was tipped over the bar by Westwater as County threatened to make the breakthrough. At the other end, Smith was being well patrolled by Gary Wood but on one occasion managed to slip his marker only to mis-kick right in front of goal. County made several changes, bringing on four substitutes, but it was Dunfermline who grabbed the winner in 89th minute when Scott Thomson drifted into the box before squaring the ball for Coyle to tap over the line for the winner. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Robert (Bobby) Wilson |
| Starting 11 | 1: Garry Hamilton, 2: Franck Escalon, 3: Roy McBain, 4: Garry Wood, 5: Brian Irvine, 6: Craig Tully, 7: John Fraser, 8: John McGlashan, 9: Michael Geraghty, 10: Steven Ferguson, 11: Paul Kinnaird |
| Bench | 0: Brian MacLeod, 0: Gary Nicol, 0: Kevin Finlayson, 0: Steven MacKay, 0: Garry Ewing |
| Dunfermline Athletic | |
| Manager | |
| Starting 11 | Westwater, Shields, Huxford, Reid, Tod, May, Thomson, Coyle, Smith, Dolan, Petrie |
| Bench | |