| Date | Tuesday, 09 December 2025 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish Challenge Cup |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 4:0 Celtic B |
| Venue | Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 479 |
| Referee | Joel Kennedy |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Andrew Henderson for the Ross-shire Journal Ross County 4 Celtic B. 0 Ross County recorded a comfortable victory over Celtic B to progress into the round of 16 in the KDM Evolution Trophy. A first-half strike by Jay Henderson, followed by Ross Docherty’s finish early in the second half and a Jamie Lindsay double, saw off the young Hoops. County had the early chances, with Jay Henderson seeing an effort crash back off the crossbar in the opening minutes. Connor Randall was also then set up, only to shoot over, after a nice interchange on the right-hand side, before the Staggies were dealt a blow. Nicky Clark, making his first start since the goalless draw against St Johnstone in mid-October, was forced off with an injury in the 18th minute, being replaced by Jordan White. White nearly broke the deadlock with a header, connecting with Len O’Sullivan’s cross, but he was denied by a good save from Marcus Gill – who had a brief emergency loan spell in the Highlands last season with Inverness Caledonian Thistle. There was another concerning moment around 10 minutes before the interval when both Dean Cornelius and Miller Thomson went down needing treatment. Although Thomson came back on, Cornelius was replaced by Ben Crompton. Minutes before the break County finally did take the lead, with Jay Henderson finding space inside the box to turn and shoot, and making no mistake as he put the Staggies 1-0 in front. Another double change for the hosts saw Thomson and Alex Iacovitti withdrawn, with Gary Mackay-Steven and Declan Gallagher taking their places, and within 80 seconds of the restart it was 2-0 to County. White had the initial chance, heading on to the crossbar, but no Celtic defender picked up Ross Docherty’s run to follow the play in as he volleyed the ball into the net. With 18 minutes left on the clock, County hit the woodwork again. Crompton played a well-weighted ball down the line for Mackay-Steven, curling into his path as he entered the box, and his attempt to find the far corner hit the post and bounced clear. They did make it 3-0 in the 81st minute, with Mackay-Steven expertly controlled a cross-field pass before going on a mazy run into the penalty area, where he laid the ball off for Jamie Lindsay to finish first time. Soon after, Lindsay claimed his second of the evening, this time converting after being played through by Henderson. There was one final setback for County right at the end of the match, though, as Ben Crompton was carried off with a painful-looking leg injury. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Tony Docherty |
| Starting 11 | 21: Bradley Foster, 3: Len O'Sullivan, 6: Connor Randall, 7: Jay Henderson 1, 8: Dean Cornelius, 14: Nicholas (Nicky) Clark, 15: Dylan Smith, 16: Alexander Iacovitti, 23: Ross Docherty 1 1, 29: Miller Thomson, 38: Jamie Lindsay 2 |
| Bench | 1: Ross Laidlaw, 2: Ben Crompton, 9: Ronan Hale, 12: Scott Fraser, 17: Gary MacKay-Steven, 26: Jordan White, 31: Declan Gallagher, 39: Joe Coyle, 44: James Scott |
| Celtic B | |
| Manager | Stephen McManus |
| Starting 11 | Marcus Gill, Cole Crawford, Andrew Kyle, Finlay Hale 1, Hayden Borland, Francis Turley, Tom Pickford, Owen Hartington, Samuel Isiguzo 1, Sean McArdle, Ben Summers |
| Bench | Corey Swan, Joseph Haney, Kayden Daly, Conor Daly, Robert Rachwal, Calvin Keenan, Emmanuel Obidiwe, Filip Skorb |