| Date | Saturday, 12 April 2003 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Alloa Athletic 2:1 Ross County |
| Venue | Recreation Park |
| Attendance | 876 |
| Referee | David Somers |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Alloa Athletic 2 Ross County 1 Ross County manager Alex Smith blasted his players for letting three points slip away in a Recreation Park survival battle. The County manager was so annoyed by his squad that he kept them in the dressing room for 40 minutes after the match as he let them know in no uncertain terms where they had gone wrong. "Alloa had only three real chances in the entire game and they scored from two of them." he said. "I am now left wondering how we lost that game. "We really have to look closely at the four games remaining, three of which are at home. The next two fixtures--St Mirren and Arbroath, both at Victoria Park--are absolutely vital for us if we are to stay up. "I had worked all week preparing the players. I don't know if Alloa were that good or we were that disappointing. "Some players maybe think that everything is all right because our last victory was in the derby game against Caley Thistle. "But there is more to life than that." Credit must go to Alloa for they have been showing much improved form recently, and this victory pulls them level on points with County. Alloa manager Terry Christie said: "Derek Ferguson, the former Rangers midfielder, has been a huge player for us recently, and we are also having great service from keeper Derek Soutar, on loan from Dundee, and youngster Robert Sloan, who has been in fine form since joining us on loan from Hearts. He added: "With four games remaining we have everything to play for and our lads are now in there fighting." It was Sloan who produced the cross for Ross Hamilton to drive Alloa into a 12th minute lead. But County equalised thanks to a Steven Ferguson penalty kick in 27 minutes after Hugh Robertson was fouled in the box by Max Christie. A great tussle then unfolded with County enjoying a slight advantage, only to show a failing inside the area as Alloa defended stubbornly. Then, with 71 minutes gone, the home side struck again to give them their third victory over County this season. Andy Seaton got down the left before crossing perfectly to youngster Sloan to beat Tony Bullock with a well-placed downward header. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Alexander (Alex) Smith |
| Starting 11 | 1: Anthony (Tony) Bullock, 2: Sean Webb, 3: Hugh Robertson, 4: Brian Irvine 1, 5: Mark McCulloch, 6: David Hannah, 7: Don (JNR) Cowie, 8: Steven Ferguson 1 (1 pen) 1, 9: Anastasios Venetis, 10: Graham Bayne, 11: Steven McGarry |
| Bench | 0: Leslie Fridge, 0: Martin Wood, 0: Conor Gethins 1, 0: Craig Campbell, 0: David Winters |
| Alloa Athletic | |
| Manager | Allan Maitland |
| Starting 11 | Derek Soutar, Craig Valentine, Andy Seaton, Gregg Watson, Stevie Thompson, Ian Little, Robert Sloan 1, Derek Ferguson, Max Christie, Ross Hamilton 1, Richard Walker |
| Bench | Jim Evans, Gareth Hutchison, Ryan Davidson, Scott Crabbe, Mark Cowan |