Date	Saturday, 04 February 2012
Competition	Scottish Cup
Fixture/Score	Saint Mirren 1:1 Ross County
Venue	Saint Mirren Park
Attendance	3,334
Referee	Bobby Madden
Comments	Match Report Report from the BBC. Saint Mirren 1 Ross County 1 St Mirren face a trip to Dingwall after their Scottish Cup fifth-round tie against Ross County ended in a draw. Richard Brittain put County in front five minutes from the break after Stuart Kettlewell was felled by keeper Craig Samson. However, Steven Thompson quickly responded for the Premier League team by heading home a swift equaliser. In added time, Brittain missed a penalty after Marc McAusland fouled Marc Corcoran in the area. St Mirren captain Jim Goodwin returned from injury to play his first match since December, with Aaron Mooy and Gary Teale also included in place of the injured Graham Carey, cup-tied Dougie Imrie and substitute Steven Thomson. Visiting manager Derek Adams handed starts to Steven Craig and Corcoran, replacing Michael Gardyne and Rocco Quinn for the First Division leaders. Mooy stung the palms of visiting goalkeeper Michael Fraser with a speculative long-range effort from the left and, on the half-hour, Teale weaved his way down the right flank but his cross was booted clear from the feet of David Barron. Corcoran sent an effort from just outside the box well over the bar after picking up possession in midfield - but his side then went in front from the penalty spot five minutes before the break. Brittain picked out Kettlewell with a precise long cross-field pass and, as the County midfielder controlled it and raced in at the right corner of the box, home goalkeeper Samson rushed out and brought him down as he attempted to sweep the ball away with his arm. Brittain took the subsequent penalty and coolly fired it into the bottom-left corner, with Samson diving the wrong way. However, St Mirren were level within three minutes when Thompson rose to head home Van Zanten's cross from the right in a busy penalty area - and McGowan even went close to putting his side in front before half-time with a shot from outside the box which was palmed out for a corner. With 54 minutes played, County's Iain Vigurs's shot from just outside the area went over the bar and then Jeroen Tesselaar prevented Colin McMenamin from pulling the trigger to put the visitors ahead. Shortly after the hour mark, a Paul McGowan shot went wide of the Ross County goal as the hosts went in search of a lead, then another Vigurs attempt failed to find the St Mirren net and a McMenamin header drifted over the hosts' bar. County could have gained the advantage when McMenamin fired towards goal, but his close-range effort hit the St Mirren side-netting. In the dying moments of the match, Corcoran was brought down by McAusland inside the St Mirren penalty area, but Brittain missed the resulting penalty - much to the relief of the home support. Ross County manager Derek Adams said while he was unhappy that his side drew 1-1 with St Mirren in the Scottish Cup, the performance warranted a replay. County captain Richard Brittain missed a penalty in the dying minutes of the match after netting from the spot in the 40th minute. "It's disappointing, because it was the last kick of the ball and if you score, it's all over," said Adams. "But the application and desire to win the match was there to see." Brittain put County in front from the spot five minutes from the break after Stuart Kettlewell was felled by keeper Craig Samson. However, Steven Thompson quickly responded for the Scottish Premier League team by heading home a swift equaliser. Both sides had chances to finish off the match, but Brittain failed to convert the late penalty and the match now goes to a replay in Dingwall. "We're delighted with the way we played and the performance, but unfortunately we have to go to a replay," said Adams. "I thought it was still a good cup tie. It was end-to-end at times and it was competitive. "Both teams wanted to win the match, which was important. "I certainly didn't want a replay - we have a lot of games to be played - but performance-wise, it was excellent." Despite Brittain's miss, Adams remained optimistic that his side can make life difficult for St Mirren in the replay at home, given their good record there all season. "Richard has been great for us," said Adams. "He scored a good penalty in the first half and in the second half, with the last kick of the ball, we had an opportunity to go into the quarter-finals. "But, it goes to another day, and we'll see how it goes next time. "We have a good record at home, we've done very well in cup competitions and I think we'll do well against St Mirren, so we're looking forward to it."
Ross County
Manager	Derek Adams
Starting 11	1: Michael Fraser, 2: Gary Miller 1, 3: Scott Morrison, 4: Scott Boyd, 5: Grant Munro, 6: Mark Corcoran, 7: Stuart Kettlewell 1, 8: Richard Brittain 1 (1 pen), 9: Iain Vigurs 1, 10: Steven Craig, 11: Colin McMenamin
Bench	0: Joseph Malin, 0: Paul Lawson, 0: Alex Cooper, 0: Samuel Morrow, 0: Kurtis Byrne
Saint Mirren
Manager	Danny Lennon
Starting 11	Craig Samson 1, David van Zanten 1, Lee Mair, Marc McAusland, Jason Tesselaar, David Barron, Jim Goodwin 1, Paul McGowan 1, Aaron Mooy, Gary Teale, Steven Thompson
Bench	Graeme Smith, Hugh Murray, Steven Thomson, Graham Carey, Nigel Hasselbaink