| Date | Saturday, 23 April 2005 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 1:1 Queen of the South |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 2,147 |
| Referee | Craig Thomson |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Ross County 1 Queen of the South 1 A sensational strike by Queen of the South's Eric Paton denied Ross County all three points in a game they dominated for long spells at Victoria Park. After Steve McGarry had given County an early lead, Paton spotted Colin Stewart off his line and amazingly lobbed the bemused Dingwall goalkeeper from the halfway line. It will go down as one of the goals of the season, but that was no consolation to a County side which again showed it lacks a cutting edge in front of goal. Even County manager Alex Smith, who was given a new contract on the eve of the match, said: "Their goal was wonderful and one that came from nothing--it was a fabulous effort. "I thought that we played good football at times, but I was disappointed with our second-half display and we allowed Queens to get comfortable. We didn't put them under enough pressure." Smith admitted his side lacked that something special, adding: "I will be looking for an experienced player to strengthen our side, But I will need to identify the area where he could be used best. It will all depend on the budget available." County made an impressive start and the opening goal came via route one. McGarry got on the end of a long ball from John Robertson and the striker nipped in between Chris Carr and Queen keeper Richard Barnard to lift the ball into the net. The Doonhamers levelled in spectacular fashion in the 21st minute when Paton's audacious attempt from 45 yards caught Stewart flatfooted. John Rankin passed up a good chance to restore County's lead before the interval, with the former Manchester United player seeing his effort blocked by Barnard after being set up by Sean Kilgannon. Rankin came closest to a winner, in the 79th minute, when he struck the underside of the bar with a vicious shot that deserved better. Four minutes later, he tried to emulate Paton with a long-range lob, but it just missed the target with Barnard struggling to get back on his line. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Alexander (Alex) Smith |
| Starting 11 | 1: Colin Stewart, 2: Martin Canning, 3: John Robertson, 4: Mark McCulloch, 5: Don (JNR) Cowie, 6: John Rankin, 7: Jamie McCunnie, 8: Sean Kilgannon, 9: Fergus Tiernan, 10: Alexander Burke, 11: Steven McGarry 1 |
| Bench | 0: Stuart Garden, 0: Neil McDonald, 0: Kevin McKinlay, 0: David Winters, 0: Sean Higgins |
| Queen of the South | |
| Manager | Iain Scott |
| Starting 11 | Richard Barnard, Tom English, Stephen Payne, Eric Paton 1, Jim Thomson, Chris Carr, Stuart Lovell, Steve Bowey, Willie Gibson, David McNiven, Garry Wood |
| Bench | Paul Burns, Brian McColligan, Derek Lyle, Brian McLaughlin, Graham Wright |