| Date | Saturday, 14 December 2002 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 1:0 Ayr United |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 2,352 |
| Referee | Cammy Melville |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Ross County 1 Ayr United 0 Alex Bone came in from the cold to score the only goal of the game as Ross County, under the leadership of Alex Smith, continued to put daylight between themselves and the relegation zone. Bone, an almost forgotten figure at Victoria Park until the arrival of Smith, took his chance well after an inch-perfect delivery from Mark McCulloch set up the chance. Bone's clincher, which earned him the man-of-the-match plaudits, made it seven points out of nine for Smith. The County boss said: "I had hoped we would be able to win both the home games and we did this without losing a goal. If we hadn't lost a bad goal at Alloa a couple of weeks ago, it could have been nine points out of nine. "The home wins have been good for the players' confidence and I've also given our supporters a free good factor." Smith suggested that there have been definite signs of progress since he took over, he added: "We're a lot tighter at the back and have learned not to concede goals. This can only give us the platform to go on and win more games and start to climb the table." Ayr boss Campbell Money was mystified how his side came away empty-handed. He said: "How we lost the game with the amount of pressure we had I just don't know. County hardly created any clear chances and, as for the goal we lost, it was terrible. "How someone like Alex Bone could be left unmarked in the box is beyond me. But it was a good header to be fair to him." It sounded like a case of sour grapes from Money, who would have loved to put one over on his old mentor. The former St Mirren goalkeeper could only point to the fact his side were blooding a number of teenagers and were without the influential James Grady. County were minus the suspended Mark Perry. Young Sean Webb made a rare appearance in the heart of the County defence and never put a foot wrong alongside Brian Irvine. County started the match well and Hugh Robertson whipped in a cross from the left in the second minute and the inrushing Bone scrambled the ball just wide of the upright. The home side went closer three minutes later when Graham Bayne met a Robertson corner at the near post and his flashing header crashed off the crossbar. The Honest Men replied with a long-range effort from Paul Shearer that Tony Bullock saved. But most of the action was at the other end the industrious Steve McGarry set up Bone with another chance which Dodds saved. The County goal came under a bit of pressure at the start of the second half when McCulloch was forced to punch a Sheerin cross clear. The same player caused panic again when he pounced on a Martin Canning slip, but fired the ball into the side netting. Steve Hislop replaced the limping Bayne in the 57th minute and within two minutes County were ahead. After the Ayr defence had survived a couple of corners, the ball broke kindly to McCulloch, who picked out the unattended Bone to head powerfully into the net from close range. County substitute Don Cowie missed a great late chance. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Alexander (Alex) Smith |
| Starting 11 | 1: Anthony (Tony) Bullock, 2: Martin Canning, 3: Sean Webb, 4: Paul Deas, 5: Hugh Robertson, 6: Brian Irvine, 7: Kenneth Gilbert, 8: Mark McCulloch, 9: Alexander Bone 1, 10: Steven McGarry, 11: Graham Bayne 1 |
| Bench | 0: Leslie Fridge, 0: Steven Ferguson, 0: Steven MacKay, 0: Don (JNR) Cowie, 0: Steven Hislop |
| Ayr United | |
| Manager | Campbell Money |
| Starting 11 | John Dodds, David Craig, Mark Campbell, Paul Lovering, Marc Smyth, Willie Lyle, Paul Sheerin, Scott Chaplain, Allan McManus, Eddie Annand, Stewart Kean |
| Bench | Craig Nelson, Neil Murray, Aaron Black, Andrew Ferguson, Mark McColl |