| Date | Saturday, 15 January 2005 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Airdrie United 2:1 Ross County |
| Venue | New Broomfield |
| Attendance | 1,512 |
| Referee | Douglas McDonald |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Airdrie United 2 Ross County 1 Ross County boss Alex Smith launched a blistering attack on his players and the referee after Airdrie snatched a controversial winner at New Broomfield. He was furious that his side failed to stop Owen Coyle scoring from close range in injury time--and insisted keeper Colin Stewart was impeded. County's Jim Lauchlan was booked by Dougie McDonald for his protests and now Smith hopes the sense of injustice will fire up his side when the two sides meet in the Scottish Cup tomorrow. Smith said: "If you go in and impede goalkeepers to get the ball it's a free kick. "I didn't speak to the referee. What's the point? But it will fire us up for Tuesday. "At 1-1, we should just shut up shop. We were very niave and we should have just accepted the draw." The Diamonds took the lead in 42 minutes when Willie McLean volleyed home a Coyle cross but, after a half-time dressing down. County came out flying and David Winters had a 25-yard volley tipped over. Don Cowie hit the post minutes later and Winters scored the equaliser in 60 minutes, volleying home Mark McCulloch's cross. Cowie had a close-range header well held by Mark McGeown before Coyle's late goal pinched the points for Airdrie. It looked as if Stewart had been blocked after a melee in the box and, with the County players waiting for a whistle, Coyle rammed the loose ball home. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Alexander (Alex) Smith |
| Starting 11 | 1: Colin Stewart, 2: John Robertson, 3: Martin Canning, 4: James Lauchlan, 5: Don (JNR) Cowie, 6: Fergus Tiernan, 7: Mark McCulloch, 8: Sean Kilgannon, 9: John Rankin 1 1, 10: Alexander Burke, 11: David Winters |
| Bench | 0: Stuart Garden, 0: Stuart Malcolm, 0: Jamie McCunnie, 0: Sean Higgins, 0: Steven McGarry |
| Airdrie United | |
| Manager | Sandy Stewart |
| Starting 11 | Mark McGeown, Neil McGowan, Paul Lovering, Marvyn Wilson, Stevie Docherty, Alan Gow, Willie McLaren 1, Martin Hardie 1, Allan McManus, Mark Roberts, Owen Coyle 1 |
| Bench | Lee Hollis, Jerome Vareille, William Wilson, David Dunn, Kevin Barkey |