| Date | Tuesday, 20 August 2002 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish Challenge Cup |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 1:1 Saint Mirren |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 1,128 |
| Referee | Douglas McDonald |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Ross County 1 Saint Mirren 1 After Extra Time Loss 6-5 on Penalties St Mirren reached the Bell's Cup semi-finals after a penalty shoot-out victory against Ross County at Victoria Park. Saint sub Simon Lappin was the Paisley hero when he netted the winning penalty after Mark McCulloch's spot kick was saved by Kris Robertson. County made three changes from the side that lost to Ayr last Saturday. Steven MacKay and Conor Gethins were on from the start and Hugh Robertson made his first appearance of the season. Austrian Gerard Fellner lined up in the middle of the Saints back three, the former Falkirk defender having just signed a short-term contract for the Paisley club prior to the cup tie. Saints enjoyed the better of the early exchanges and Junior Mendes was not far away with a dipping shot in the 17th minute that just cleared Tony Bullock's crossbar. In a rare attack Alex Bone latched on to a Mark McCulloch pass on the edge of the 18 yard box but the former Buddies striker fluffed his shot wide. County came close in the 37th minute when MacKay just failed to connect with a Steven McGarry cross. Andrew Dow replaced Graeme Guy three minutes later after the Saints youngster was scythed down by County's Kenny Gilbert. Gilbert became the second County player in the referee's book following Steve Ferguson's yellow card a few minutes earlier. County took the lead very much against the run of play three minutes from the break when Gethins coasted in from the right to fire a low hard shot past Saints keeper Kris Robertson. County were first to show at the start of the second half Robertson blasted one just wide of his namesake's left hand post in the first minute. Substitute Sean Webb, who replaced Bone at the break, was the third County player to be booked in the 53rd minute for a hefty tackle on Brian McGinty. McGinty failed to take any further part in the tie and was replaced by Mark Yardley. Saints drew level in the 61st minute when Martin Canning needlessly fouled Ian Ross on the edge of the area. Ricky Gillies sent Bullock the wrong way from the resultant penalty kick. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Anthony (Tony) Bullock, 2: Martin Canning, 3: Mark Perry 1, 4: Hugh Robertson, 5: Mark McCulloch, 6: Kenneth Gilbert 1, 7: Steven Ferguson 1, 8: Steven MacKay, 9: Alexander Bone, 10: Steven McGarry, 11: Conor Gethins 1 |
| Bench | 0: Leslie Fridge, 0: Sean Webb 1, 0: Don (JNR) Cowie, 0: Graham Bayne, 0: Martin Wood |
| Saint Mirren | |
| Manager | Tom Hendrie |
| Starting 11 | Kris Robertson, Jamie McGowan 1, Chris Kerr, Graham Guy, Scott McKenzie, Ian Ross 1, Junior Mendes, Brian McGinty, Martin Cameron, Ricky Gillies 1 (1 pen), Gerhard Fellner |
| Bench | Andy Dow, Kirk Broadfoot, Simon Lappin, Mark Yardley, Billy Bauld |