| Date | Tuesday, 25 August 2009 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Cup |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 2:1 Hamilton Academical |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 764 |
| Referee | Chris Boyle |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the BBC. Ross County 2 Hamilton Academical 1 Ross County outplayed Scottish Premier League opponents Hamilton Academical to reach the third round of the the Co-operative Insurance Cup. The First Division side dominated for long spells to earn themselves a thoroughly-deserved victory. Paul Di Giacomo opened the scoring just after the half hour-mark with a fine strike and Richard Brittain slotted in after 52 minutes to increase the lead. Accies got a consolation in injury time when Simon Mensing struck a low drive. Hamilton had the first effort on goal in the fifth minute when Mensing played a neat one-two with Leon Knight, but County goalkeeper Michael McGovern got down well to smother the resulting drive. There was a chance at the other end seconds later when a deep cross from Iain Vigurs found Brittain at the back post. But, with the goal at his mercy, he ballooned his shot over the crossbar. The home side came close again in the 15th minute when Di Giacomo nipped in between Luis Rubiales and Mark McLaughlin and squared the ball for Gardyne, but Martin Canning got there first to clear the danger. County deservedly took the lead in the 31st minute when Gardyne swung a ball in from the left and Brittain headed the ball against the crossbar, but Di Giacomo latched on to the rebound to fire the ball into the net. Just on the stroke of half-time, Alex Keddie came up from the back to send a Brittain corner over the bar at the far post. Accies were seeing a lot more of the ball at the start of the second half, but it was County who doubled their lead shortly after the restart. Di Giacomo won possession and his short pass to Stuart Kettlewell was swept across to Brittain, who took one touch and fired the ball low into the net from 12 yards. Accies had a chance to get back into the tie four minutes later when Marco Paixao had a clear sight of goal, but McGovern made a brilliant point-blank save to keep him out. County came close to adding another in the 70th minute when Scott Morrison's cross into the box was knocked on by substitute Martin Scott, but Di Giacomo failed to turn the ball in at the back post. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Derek Adams |
| Starting 11 | 1: Michael McGovern, 2: Gary Miller, 3: Alexander Keddie, 4: Steven Watt, 5: Scott Morrison, 6: Stuart Kettlewell, 7: Richard Brittain 1, 8: Paul Lawson, 9: Iain Vigurs, 10: Michael Gardyne, 11: Paul Di Giacomo 1 |
| Bench | 0: Joseph Malin, 0: Scott Boyd, 0: Martin Scott, 0: Garry Wood, 0: John Stewart |
| Hamilton Academical | |
| Manager | Billy Reid |
| Starting 11 | Tomas Cerny, Izzy Iriekpen, Grant Evans, Mark McLaughlin, Martin Canning, Simon Mensing 1, Luis Rubiales, James Wesolowski, James McArthur, Leon Knight, Marco Paixao |
| Bench | Sean Murdoch, David Louhoungou, David Elebert, John Paul Kissock, Flavio Paixao |