| Date | Saturday, 27 September 2003 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Raith Rovers 1:7 Ross County |
| Venue | Starks Park |
| Attendance | 2,292 |
| Referee | Kevin Toner |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Raith Rovers 1 Ross County 7 David Winters grabbed a hat-trick as red-hot Ross County continued their flying start to the season with a 7-1 thrashing of Raith Rovers at Stark's Park. But the former Dundee United man believes it is too early to start talking about titles. "We are optimistic we can be up there challenging all season, but we are a young side and it is asking a lot for us to maintain this level of form," Winters said. "We are quietly confident in our own ability, so we will certainly be trying our best to keep going and keep winning games because everyone at the club is very ambitious." Winters was the star of the show as County ran riot in Kirkcaldy with a treble of high quality, the first of which just before half-time was the pick, a curling right foot shot from 25 yards. In an incredible game, Rovers were actually the better team in the opening 25 minutes after defender Ian Brown had cancelled out Steve McGarry's early opener for County. However, when Raith player-boss Antonio Calderon limped off, the home side lost its shape and first Sean Higgins and then Winters had County in command by the interval. Raith piled forward after the break and came close on a couple of occasions. With 15 minutes left, however, substitute Graham Bayne's deflected shot looped into the net and the floodgates opened, with first Steven O'Donnell curling in a free kick, before Winters completed the rout with a close-range finish, then a fine header inside the final five minutes. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Alexander (Alex) Smith |
| Starting 11 | 1: Colin Stewart, 2: Stuart Malcolm, 3: Sean Webb, 4: John Rankin, 5: Mark McCulloch, 6: Steven MacKay, 7: Stephen O'Donnell 1 1, 8: Jamie McCunnie, 9: Sean Higgins 1, 10: Steven McGarry 1, 11: David Winters 3 |
| Bench | 0: Leslie Fridge, 0: Hugh Robertson, 0: Don (JNR) Cowie, 0: Graham Bayne 1, 0: Conor Gethins |
| Raith Rovers | |
| Manager | Antonio Calderon |
| Starting 11 | Ramiro Gonzalez, Ian Brown 1, Goran Stanic 1, Shaun Dennis, Paquito Ortiz, Darren Brady, Ryan Blackadder, Antonio Calderon, Steven Robb, Craig Stanley, John Sutton |
| Bench | Jamie Sweeney, Richard Brittain 1, Martin Prest, Karl Hawley, Christian Patino |