Date	Saturday, 10 January 2004
Competition	Scottish Cup
Fixture/Score	Celtic 2:0 Ross County
Venue	Celtic Park
Attendance	30,565
Referee	Iain Brines
Comments	Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Celtic 2 Ross County 0 Celtic emerged victorious, but Ross County did themselves proud by running the European giants close in a fascinating encounter at Parkhead. All the pre-match talk from Dingwall chairman Roy MacGregor, manager Alex Smith and the players had been of using the tie as a learning experience. Smith showed just why MacGregor and the directors appointed him as manager with the County line-up and tactics causing Martin O'Neill's super-stars all sorts of problems. It is Celtic who will meet Hearts in the next round of the Scottish Cup, but it is Ross County who took a giant step. It is to County's credit that the result remained in doubt until 16 minutes from time when the deadlock was broken. When the third-round draw was made back in December, O'Neill hailed his County counterpart Smith as a man for whom he has the utmost respect. The Celtic boss paid Smith the best possible compliment by fielding a very strong side, with Stanislav Varga, Stilian Petrov and Alan Thompson the only players missing from the hoops side which beat Rangers the previous week. O'Neill's approach proved justified as Celtic found themselves battling through one of the toughest home matches of their season. Celtic were twice eliminated from this competition by Highland opposition when Caley Jags dumped them in 2000 and again last year and, in the 74 minutes preceding John Hartson's opening goal, another Highland shock looked possible. From the first minute, when Graham Bayne towered over Bobo Balde to win a header, you could sense that a mere cup day out was the farthest thing from the visitors' minds. They were in Glasgow to have a go. Of course, it was difficult to ascertain whether Celtic were flat following the euphoria of their Old Firm derby win--or if County knocked them out of their stride. But whatever the reason, it made for compulsive viewing. County handled Celtic's physical presence in style with Jim Lauchlan and Sean Webb outstanding in central defence against John Hartson and a strangely subdued Henrik Larsson. In midfield, former Celt David Hannah relished the chance to go up against his old club and he was ably supported by John Rankin and Stephen O'Donnell, whose forays down the flanks kept Didier Agathe and Ross Wallace on the back foot. Up front, Bayne and his partner David Winters ran the Celtic back three ragged. Winters in particular was outstanding, his direct running and close control giving Chris Sutton and Jackie McNamara major problems. Had fortune favoured Winters more in the 55th minute, he could have put County in front. Rab Douglas dived at full stretch to palm Rankin's driven cross out and, when Winters hit the loose ball, it seemed goal bound until Douglas redeemed himself with an excellent one handed save. Bayne then sent a looping header just over the bar and the missed opportunities proved to be a harsh lesson learned for County when Celtic grabbed the vital opener. Wallace crossed from the left and Hartson displayed all his experience, jostling with Lauchlan to give himself some space, before heading the ball past Graeme Smith from six yards. Lauchlan's protestations cut no ice with referee Iain Brines, but replays showed that the County player had a valid claim. The former Dundee United defender looked to have been on the receiving end of a two-handed push by the Welshman. County then could count themselves very unlucky to be behind--but the Hoops netted a second 10 minutes from time when Paul Lambert's 25-yard strike was deflected into the top-left corner of the net by Bayne. More cruel luck but, to County's credit, they kept pushing for a goal and refused to accept defeat. The standing ovation for Smith's team was richly deserved and the growing reputations of the Ross players were suitably enhanced. County headed home with their heads held high after showing that their young team is coming of age.
Ross County
Manager	Alexander (Alex) Smith
Starting 11	1: Graeme Smith, 2: James Lauchlan 1, 3: Sean Webb, 4: Hugh Robertson, 5: Mark McCulloch, 6: David Hannah, 7: John Rankin, 8: Jamie McCunnie, 9: Stephen O'Donnell, 10: David Winters, 11: Graham Bayne
Bench	0: Leslie Fridge, 0: Don (JNR) Cowie, 0: Sean Higgins, 0: Steven McGarry, 0: Conor Gethins
Celtic
Manager	Martin O’Neill
Starting 11	Rab Douglas, Dianbobo Balde, Neil Lennon, Chris Sutton, Shaun Maloney, John Hartson 1, Ross Wallace, Didier Agathe, Jackie McNamara, Henrik Larsson, Paul Lambert 1
Bench	Stiliyan Petrov, Stephen Pearson, Craig Beattie, Magnus Hedman, Stanislav Varga