| Date | Saturday, 23 November 2002 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 0:0 Saint Johnstone |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 2,614 |
| Referee | Ian Fyfe |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Ross County 0 Saint Johnstone 0 Caretaker manager Danny MacDonald is delighted by the way the Ross County players have responded following Neale Cooper's resignation. After a good display in a 2-0 defeat by Falkirk last week, County gained their first point in five outings in this goalless draw with St Johnstone. MacDonald said: "Although everyone at the club was gutted when the gaffer left, the players have shown the right attitude during the past couple of games. "There is a fine mixture of young and experienced players here and there is also an air of optimism about the place as we wait for the new manager. "I thought we were a bit unlucky not to take more out of the game. I felt sure we would have been able to have improved on our first-half showing, but we continued to give the ball away far too much." MacDonald has ruled himself out of taking over full-time. He said: "I have not applied for the manager's job, but I will be more than willing to help the new boss in any way I can when the time comes." Saints were first to threaten when Keigan Parker's cross fell for Tommy Lovenkrands, but the Dane sliced his shot well wide. Billy Stark's men dominated the early stages without threatening Tony Bullock's goal and it took County 24 minutes before they could muster any effort of note. Mark McCulloch won the ball just inside the area but his shot crashed a couple of feet past Alan Main's post. Saints came storming back and Chris Hay was not far away with an angled drive which flew just past the upright. Then Parker hooked the ball over the crossbar following a Lovenkrands corner. At the other end, McCulloch was again the player to threaten, but his low shot was well-held by Main. Man-of-the-match Steve MacKay carved out the best opening of the game when his diagonal ball found McCulloch on the right-hand side of the area, but the former Caley Thistle player's shot was blocked by Main. Saints responded and a clever free kick from Mark Reilly in the 63rd minute almost set Lovenkrands free on goal, but Bullock was quick off his line to gather the ball. In County's best spell of the match, Steve McGarry found Don Cowie unmarked in the 74th minute, but the youngster shot straight into the arms of Main. Main then pulled off the save of the match a couple of minutes later when he somehow got a hand to a 30-yard rocket from Hugh Robertson. Then, in a late flurry, Saints went all out for the winner. A Hay shot was blocked in front of goal by MacKay, then a goal-bound effort from former County favourite Ian Maxwell was diverted from its course by the head of Lovenkrands. The last chance fell to the home side when substitute Steve Hislop found space on the left hand side of the Saints box. but his shot shaved the far post with Main a virtual spectator. Billy Stark said: "This is always a difficult place to come as County have so many decent players. I was happy with the application of my players, although disappointed with the result. The ball didn't seem to run our way in front of goal." |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Danny MacDonald |
| Starting 11 | 1: Anthony (Tony) Bullock, 2: Martin Canning, 3: Mark Perry, 4: Hugh Robertson, 5: Brian Irvine, 6: Steven Ferguson, 7: Mark McCulloch, 8: Don (JNR) Cowie, 9: Steven MacKay, 10: Alexander Bone, 11: Steven McGarry |
| Bench | 0: Leslie Fridge, 0: Sean Webb, 0: Paul Deas, 0: Graham Bayne, 0: Steven Hislop |
| Saint Johnstone | |
| Manager | Billy Stark |
| Starting 11 | Alan Main, David McClune, Grant Murray 1, Ian Maxwell, Jim Weir, Darren Dods, Mark Reilly, Mark Ferry, Tommy Lovenkrands, Keigan Parker, Chris Hay |
| Bench | Kevin Cuthbert, Ross Forsyth, Manny Panther, Ryan McCann, Paddy Connolly |