Date	Sunday, 31 January 2016
Competition	Scottish League Cup
Fixture/Score	Ross County 3:1 Celtic
Venue	Hampden Park
Attendance	22,130
Referee	Craig Thomson
Comments	Match Report Report by Tom English for the BBC. Ross County 3 Celtic 1 League Cup Semi Final Ross County created a massive upset by beating 10-man Celtic in a frenetic League Cup semi-final at Hampden Park. Gary Mackay-Steven scored after only 26 seconds to give Celtic the lead, but the turning point came when Efe Ambrose was sent off for fouling County's Alex Schalk in the box. Martin Woods scored from the penalty, Paul Quinn headed a second after the break and Schalk hammered in the third. Scott Fox saved Leigh Griffiths' penalty to secure a place in the final. County seized the day once Ambrose departed and deserved what was a momentous victory for the club. This time last year, they were rock bottom of the Premiership, six points adrift. Now they are sitting fourth in the league and in the League Cup final for the first time in their existence, where they will face Hibernian on 13 March. All this came despite County looking a shambles in the early minutes. Celtic were ahead in the blink of an eye. Callum McGregor played a ball through the giant chasm between County's centre-halves and in motored Griffiths, who ran on freely before squaring to Mackay-Steven. That goal could have been followed by others. Griffiths had the County defence tied in knots in the minutes that followed. Ambrose twice went close with headers, the second of them kicked off the line by Richard Foster. It was so easy for Celtic and then, in a sudden twist, it became impossibly hard. In that fateful moment, Mikael Lustig allowed Schalk to get away from him and on to a loose ball in the Celtic penalty area. Ambrose was slow to appreciate the danger and, in his attempt to recover his ground, his knee came into contact with Schalk, who went over. It was a penalty and it was a red card for Ambrose. Storm Efe had done its damage again and Woods sent Craig Gordon the wrong way from the spot. Celtic, to their credit, had the best of the rest of the half. They brought on their new recruit, Erik Sviatchenko, for the unlucky McGregor, to plug the Ambrose gap and create some trouble for County. Stuart Armstrong and Lustig had half-chances but could not capitalise. When the next opportunity fell to County, they were infinitely more ruthless. McIntyre's team went at Celtic and got their reward. From a corner that carried to the back post, Andrew Davies nodded precisely to Quinn, who buried his own header past Gordon. The goalkeeper complained bitterly that he had been impeded as the delivery came into the box - he was booked for his trouble - but he would have been better off castigating his defenders, who allowed two free headers so close to his goal. Celtic's misery - and vulnerability - was seen again just after the hour, when Woods played Schalk through on goal and the Dutch Under-21 striker thumped his finish into the top corner. Again, Celtic's defence was a soft touch, easy prey to a simple pass through its heart. Even when Celtic got a very fortunate penalty, given against Brian Graham for handball, Griffiths - of all people - could not convert. Indeed, Celtic had to rely on Gordon making a fine save from Jackson Irvine to avoid a fourth. It hardly mattered. County created history none the less. For Ronnie Deila's Celtic, this was a catastrophic day and an abrupt end to their treble dream. For Jim McIntyre and his players, a day of days. Manager Ronny Deila asked Celtic fans to recognise the positives in his team after they lost their League Cup semi-final to Ross County at Hampden. Efe Ambrose was sent off and Leigh Griffiths missed a penalty as Celtic lost 3-1 to Jim McIntyre's men. "People will see that we were very good at the start of the game and we have been very good lately," Deila told BBC Scotland. "It was a day when small things went against us." The Scottish Premiership leaders face Aberdeen on Wednesday, when they will defend a six-point lead over the second-placed side. "We need to go on and we have three days to bounce back and win against Aberdeen," said Deila. Celtic were in control of the semi-final after only 30 seconds, when Gary Mackay-Steven prodded Griffith's cut-back into the net. But, 13 minutes later, the game was turned on its head when Ambrose fouled Alex Schalk in the box and Martin Woods scored after the Nigeria defender was sent off. Paul Quinn headed County ahead and Schalk made it three before Griffiths had a penalty saved after Brian Graham was adjudged to have handled in the box. "I think we started very well and the first 15 minutes was fantastic football," said Deila. "Then the red card comes and it changes the game, but we controlled the game after that until the break." The Norwegian thought referee Craig Thomson got it wrong in awarding County's second goal, before which goalkeeper Craig Gordon appeared to be fouled. "It is a clear free-kick," he said. "It should never be a goal. They just pushed him out of the goal." Asked if it was a penalty when Ambrose challenged Schalk, Deila said: "He touched him, but I don't think he would have reached the ball. "I think Craig Gordon would have saved it. It was a very hard decision for the referee." Deila said he was "disappointed" by the defeat but added: "We are in a good position in the league and still in the Scottish Cup, so we still have things to fight for."
Ross County
Manager	Jim McIntyre
Starting 11	1: Scott Fox, 2: Marcus Fraser 1, 7: Michael Gardyne, 8: Ian McShane 1, 12: Richard Foster, 15: Andrew Davies, 18: Stewart Murdoch 1, 23: Alex Schalk 1, 36: Jackson Irvine, 42: Martin Woods 1 (1 pen) 1, 43: Paul Quinn 1 1
Bench	21: Gary Woods, 3: Jamie Reckord, 5: Scott Boyd, 9: Brian Graham, 10: Liam Boyce, 17: Jonathan Franks, 24: Raffaele De Vita
Celtic
Manager	Ronny Deila
Starting 11	Craig Gordon 1, Efetobore Ambrose Emuobo, Dedryck Boyata, Carl Mikael Lustig 1, Kieran Tierney, Nir Bitton, Stuart Armstrong, Gary Mackay-Steven 1, Stefan Johansen 1, Callum McGregor, Leigh Griffiths
Bench	Emilio Izaguirre, Nadir Ciftci, Scott Brown, Logan Bailly, Erik Sviatchenko, James Forrest, Aidan Nesbitt