Date	Wednesday, 28 November 2001
Competition	Scottish League Cup
Fixture/Score	Ross County 1:2 Rangers
Venue	Victoria Park
Attendance	5,972
Referee	John Rowbotham
Comments	Match Report Report by Dave Edwards for the Press & Journal. Ross County 1 Rangers 2 Only a remarkable injury-time penalty save by Rangers goalkeeper Stefan Klos from Ross County skipper Ian Maxwell stopped the Dingwall men from forcing their illustrious opponents into extra time at Victoria Park last night. Two first-half goals from Shota Arveladze and Claudio Reyna looked to have booked a CIS League Cup semi-final berth for Rangers but County substitute Steve Mackay reduced the leeway in 88 minutes. And County were handed a glorious chance to force the tie into extra time when Lorenzo Amoruso raised his arm to push Conor Gethins inside the box. The Italian was sent off for the challenge and County were awarded a penalty. With regular spot-kick expert Steve Ferguson out suspended Maxwell took the responsibility but Klos dived to his left to make the save which saw Rangers through. Amoruso was lucky to escape without at least a caution when he raised a hand to Steve Hislop as the two jostled for possession in the Rangers six-yard box in the fifth minute. County keeper Tony Bullock bravely dived at the feet of Peter Lovenkrands as the Dane closed in on goal. Rangers' early pressure paid off in 14 minutes when they took the lead. Lovenkrands cut the ball bark into the path of Arveladze and the Georgian international swept the ball into the net from eight eight yards with the County defence posted missing. It was almost 2-0 three minutes later but Bullock brilliantly tipped De Boer's rising drive over the top. Karim Boukraa fired an enticing ball into the Rangers box which just eluded Steve Hislop and the chance was lost. A minute later Hislop broke clear but Klos confidently held his 25-yard drive. Lovenkrands was proving a thorn in the County defence but this time Bullock fielded his 20-yard drive with ease. De Boer should have added a second but again Bullock was the home hero when he dived fearlessly to block the midfielder's fierce drive. Reyna made it 2-0 for Rangers in 32 minutes when his 20-yard drive beat Bullock with the help of a deflection on its way to the net. Amoruso was short with a pass back just after the break but Klos managed to beat Bone to the loose ball. County thought they had reduced the leeway in 51 minutes when Hislop crashed in a 15-yard drive but Klos threw himself to his right to grab the ball on the line. Hislop was booked for sliding into the grounded keeper, while Rangers youngster Maurice Ross was also yellow-carded for protesting. Bone endeared himself to the home faithful when he came out on top in a shoulder-to-shoulder tussle with Amoruso. Klos had to look lively to punch away a dangerous Perry cross, with Bone ready to pounce at the back post. County were forcing the pace in the second period, leading Rangers manager Dick Advocaat to make a double substitution, Mols and Latapy replacing De Boar and Lovenkrands. Klos was again called into action when he dived to stop a dipping Cowie cross as County went in search of a goal. Brian Irvine set up Hislop but the big striker just failed to get on the end of the former Don's deep cross. In 63 minutes Bone again forced Klos into action when the German keeper dived to stop the County player's flashing drive. Rangers mounted their first real attack of the second half in 71 minutes when Ball's cross was headed just wide by Arveledze. Man-of-the-match Hislop had Klos scrambling across his line with a 20-yarder which inched past the upright. Bullock came to County's rescue when he brilliantly blocked a net-bound Mols drive. County deservedly made it 2-1 in 88 minutes when Klos could only push out a Hislop shot and Mackay stabbed the ball home from six yards much to the delight of the County fans. Keeper Klos was injured in the incident but managed to continue after treatment. The game exploded a minute into injury time when Amoruso was sent off for raising his hands to Gethins inside the box and the referee Rowbotham immediately red-carded the Italian and pointed to the spot. County skipper Ian Maxwell took the spot kick but Klos dived to his left to parry the defender's effort and take his side into the semi-finals of the cup.
Ross County
Manager	Neale Cooper
Starting 11	1: Anthony (Tony) Bullock, 2: Richard Hastings, 3: Hugh Robertson, 4: Ian Maxwell, 5: Sean Webb, 6: Mark Perry, 7: Brian Irvine, 8: Don (JNR) Cowie, 9: Alexander Bone, 10: Steven Hislop 1, 11: Karim Boukraa
Bench	0: Stefan Gonet, 0: Cedric Anselin, 0: Steven MacKay 1, 0: Mark McCormick, 0: Conor Gethins
Rangers
Manager	Dick Advocaat
Starting 11	Stefan Klos, Lorenzo Amoruso 1, Scott Wilson, Michael Ball, Maurice Ross 1, Ronald de Boer, Barry Ferguson, Claudio Reyna 1, Shota Arveladze 1, Claudio Caniggia, Peter Lovenkrands
Bench	Jesper Christiansen, Bert Konterman, Russell Latapy, Tore-Andre Flo, Michael Mols