| Date | Saturday, 15 March 2003 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 2:3 Saint Johnstone |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 2,689 |
| Referee | John Rowbotham |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Ross County 2 Saint Johnstone 3 Ross County were sucked back into the relegation dogfight despite a spirited fightback against promotion-chasing St Johnstone at Victoria Park on Saturday. With second-bottom Alloa winning at Ayr, Alex Smith's side are now only three points clear of the wasps, who have a game in hand. First-half strikes from Stuart Noble and a fabulous 25-yard free kick from Paul Hartley set Saints on the way, but a Darren Dods own goal and a Steve Ferguson header late in the game made for a nervy last few minutes for the Perth side. Smith is confident that his side can avoid the drop, despite a fourth successive defeat. He said: "It's getting a little bit tight but we're still three points in front of Alloa, and our superior goal difference makes it four. "But I've been through bigger and tenser times than this, and if we can start winning our games we will be all right." Saints made the breakthrough in the 16th minute when Noble, stroked home from 12 yards. And the striker capitalised on a defensive mistake to double Saints' advantage in the 37th minute. The Perth side extended their lead further in the 68th minute thanks to Hartley's superb free kick. There looked no way back for County, but when a Graham Bayne shot was helped into his own net by Dods in the 78th minute, County's tails were up. And when Ferguson added a second three minutes later, it was game on. But saints managed to hold on to their slender lead. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Alexander (Alex) Smith |
| Starting 11 | 1: Anthony (Tony) Bullock, 2: Sean Webb, 3: Martin Canning, 4: Hugh Robertson, 5: Brian Irvine, 6: Kenneth Gilbert, 7: Steven Ferguson 1, 8: Don (JNR) Cowie, 9: Mark McCulloch, 10: Conor Gethins 1, 11: Anastasios Venetis |
| Bench | 0: Leslie Fridge, 0: Michael Bolochoweckyj, 0: Steven MacKay, 0: Steven McGarry, 0: Graham Bayne |
| Saint Johnstone | |
| Manager | Billy Stark |
| Starting 11 | Kevin Cuthbert, Grant Murray, Ian Maxwell, Darren Dods 1, Mark Baxter, Mark Robertson 1, Paul Hartley 1, Mark Reilly, Patrick Connolly, Peter MacDonald, Stuart Noble 2 |
| Bench | Simon Miotto, David McClune, Marc McCulloch, Ross Forsyth, Chris Hay |