| Date | Saturday, 28 December 2002 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 1:1 Clyde |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 2,534 |
| Referee | Mike Ritchie |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Ross County 1 Clyde 1 Ross County put daylight between themselves and the relegation zone with a gutsy performance against promotion chasing Clyde in an entertaining 1-1 draw at Victoria Park. County took the lead against the run of play in the 36th minute thanks to an opportunist strike from Steve MacKay, and had a second effort harshly ruled out for offside early in the second half. That could have killed it for the home side, but they conceded a scrappy equaliser and almost lost the game at the death when Leigh Hinds was denied by the wood-work. County boss Alex Smith said: "It was a very hard game. I thought Clyde started the game better, they passed the ball about well, and were very strong. We took a wee while to get started, but we gradually hauled ourselves into the game. "I wasn't particularly happy with the use of the ball in the first half, but we got the goal to put ourselves in front, and in the second half we passed the ball about better and created a few chances. "I thought the front two did exceptionally well, but we couldn't get the second goal." Clyde were first to show and veteran striker Willie Falconer just failed to convert a Jack Ross assist in the first minute. Lee Hinds forced a fine save from Tony Bullock, who was called into action again in the 12th minute when he had to rush from his goal to thwart the industrious Hinds. Clyde player-manager Alan Kernaghan should have given his side the lead in the 35th minute when he fired wildly over from the edge of the six-yard box. It was to prove a costly miss and County took the lead within a minute. Clyde looked to have cleared from a corner, but the ball bobbled out to MacKay, who spotted Bryn Halliwell off his line, and the winger's low grounder squeezed in at the near post. The County goal survived a scare three minutes from the break when Falconer eluded the home defence, but his header rebounded off the upright. Hislop was a handful for the Clyde defence and he tested Halliwell with a turn and shot inside the area which the Clyde goalkeeper got down well to hold. But Clyde got the goal their outfield play merited in the 66th minute when a Pat Keogh cross fell kindly for substitute Steve Convery, who headed past Bullock from four yards. There were chances for both to win the game. Clyde's best player Hinds should have done better when he shot into the side netting in the 86th minute, then a Hislop header flew wide, before Hinds fired one off the paintwork in the final minute. Clyde manager Kernaghan feels his side are still serious promotion candidates. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Alexander (Alex) Smith |
| Starting 11 | 1: Anthony (Tony) Bullock, 2: Mark Perry, 3: Paul Deas, 4: Martin Canning, 5: Sean Webb, 6: Brian Irvine 1, 7: Don (JNR) Cowie, 8: Steven MacKay 1, 9: Kenneth Gilbert 1, 10: Steven Hislop, 11: Graham Bayne |
| Bench | 0: Leslie Fridge, 4: Hugh Robertson, 0: Martin Wood, 0: Steven McGarry, 0: Alexander Bone |
| Clyde | |
| Manager | Alan Kernaghan |
| Starting 11 | Bryn Halliwell, John-Paul Potter, Simon Mensing, Alan Kernaghan, John Fraser 1, Jack Ross, David Hagen, Stephen Cosgrove, Willie Falconer 1, Pat Keogh 1, Leigh Hinds |
| Bench | Brian Smith, Alan Morrison, Stevie Convery 1, Colin Nish, Fabian Bossy |