| Date | Monday, 26 December 2005 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Saint Johnstone 1:1 Ross County |
| Venue | McDiarmid Park |
| Attendance | 2,519 |
| Referee | Ian Fyfe |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Saint Johnstone 1 Ross County 1 Ross County's hopes of ending 2005 on a winning note were shattered by World Cup-bound striker Jason Scotland. Sluggish St Johnstone, who earned a tongue-lashing from manager Owen Coyle for their performance, had the Trinidad and Tobago international to thank, his 60th-minute leveller earning a share of the honours in this First Division tussle. Home keeper Kevin Cuthbert was called into action in the first minute to touch past a Kevin McKinlay strike. In their next attack, County striker Sean Higgins took advantage of poor marking to squeeze a deflected shot past the Perth keeper. McKinley's cross picked him out in the penalty area and with Saints defenders hesitating Higgins seemed miscue his shot but it squirmed into the corner from eight yards. Perth skipper Kevin James rose to connect with a Darren Sheridan corner but did not trouble Stuart Garden in the County goal. At the other end only a magnificent full-stretch save from Cuthbert prevented a stunning 35-yard drive from defender Lionel Djebi-Zadi finding the corner of the net in the 24th minute. Perth manager Coyle decided a change was needed urgently to get his side going. Midfielder Ryan Stevenson was removed and Stephen Dobbie was pitched in. Seconds from the interval Stevie Milne was given a glimpse of goal when a James header picked him out but his strike was off target. County threatened quickly after the interval but Higgins watched Cuthbert easily deal with his half-hearted shot on the turn. It the 60th minute Saints drew level thanks to the footwork and finishing prowess of Scotland. The Centre drew in Jim Lauchlan before lashing an unstoppable low drive into the far corner. Bizarrely, Dobbie redirected a net-bound James header over the County bar as Saints pressed for a winner. County caretaker manager Garden Speirs said: "I was delighted with the performance although it dipped a bit in the second half. This is a hard place to come." Perth counterpart Coyle blasted: "We were shocking in the first half if the truth be told. I can't fault my players for effort in the second period but we lacked the quality we have come to expect." |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Gardner Spiers |
| Starting 11 | 1: Stuart Garden, 2: James Lauchlan, 3: Lionel Djebi-Zadi, 4: Sean Webb, 5: David Cowan, 6: Kevin McKinlay, 7: Don (JNR) Cowie, 8: John Rankin, 9: Mark McCulloch, 10: Alexander Burke, 11: Sean Higgins 1 |
| Bench | 0: Joseph Malin, 0: Neil McDonald, 0: Fergus Tiernan, 0: David Winters, 0: Gary McSwegan |
| Saint Johnstone | |
| Manager | Owen Coyle |
| Starting 11 | Kevin Cuthbert, John Henry, Steven Anderson, Goran Stanic, Kevin Rutkiewicz, Kevin James, Paul Sheerin, Darren Sheridan, Ryan Stevenson, Steven Milne, Jason Scotland 1 |
| Bench | Mark Paston, William Dyer, Neil Janczyk, Stephen Dobbie, Steven Doris |