| Date | Saturday, 15 December 2001 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 0:1 Arbroath |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 2,056 |
| Referee | Brian McGarry |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Ross County 0 Arbroath 1 Dire, that was Ross County manager Neale Cooper's verdict after his side lost to bogey side Arbroath in a dour relegation battle at Victoria Park. Cooper was angry enough to keep his players locked in the home dressing room for over half-an-hour after they failed to break their duck against the Red Lichties for the time this season. Cooper fumed: "That was absolutely dire. Our use of the ball was atrocious, we just couldn't string passes together. "Nobody, apart from Tony Bullock, can hold his hand up and say he played well. "I just can't understand how they can perform they way they did against Raith Rovers last week then put on a display like that. "I need a lot more passion from the players. Some of them seem to lack the fight and will to win when it's most needed. "We need a team that will roll up its sleeves and get us out of the position we're in. I can't take anything away from Arbroath, they worked hard and capitalised on an error to score the goal." County pushed forward from the off, forcing a couple of corners, but their claims for a penalty were turned down by referee McGarry after Hugh Robertson appeared to be fouled by Arbroath centre back Innes Ritchie. The home side's first real effort on goal came in 17 minutes when Arbroath keeper Craig Hinchliffe did well to stop a fierce drive from Alex Bone. At the other end, Colin McKinnon surged down the left and Bullock had to be on his toes to push away the former Stenhousemuir man's dangerous cross. Hinchcliffe responded with another fine save from Bone and then got down quickly in the 26th minute to a Robertson grounder. The best first-half chance fell to Steve Hislop just before the interval, but he made no contact with a Robertson cross with only Hinchcliffe to beat. Steve Mackay replaced Neil Tarrant for the second half but there was still to excite the crowd in a match crying out for a goal. It duly arrived on the hour mark, it arrived against the run of play and it went in the wrong end for the home fans. Frenchman Cedric Anselin lost possession in the middle of the park, Graham Bayne threaded the ball to Stephen Mallan and he calmly drove the ball into the corner of the County net. Cooper sent on Steve Ferguson and teenager Conor Gethins for Anselin and Bone, but they added no new cutting edge. Indeed the nearest either side came to another goal was in the final minute, when former County man John McGlashan's goal-bound shot was deflected for a corner by Richard Hastings. Arbroath boss John Brownlie said: "It might not have been an epic but we ground out a win and I'm delighted. County were very dangerous at set pieces but we defended really well." |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Anthony (Tony) Bullock, 2: Hugh Robertson, 3: Ian Maxwell, 4: Mark Perry, 5: Richard Hastings, 6: Brian Irvine 1, 7: Cedric Anselin, 8: Don (JNR) Cowie, 9: Steven Hislop, 10: Neil Tarrant, 11: Alexander Bone |
| Bench | 0: Ramiro Gonzalez, 0: Sean Webb, 0: Steven Ferguson, 0: Steven MacKay, 0: Conor Gethins |
| Arbroath | |
| Manager | John Brownlie |
| Starting 11 | Craig Hinchcliffe, Innes Ritchie, George Rowe, Jordan Tait 1, Steve Florence, Andy Cargill, Colin McKinnon, John McGlashan, Paul Brownlie 1, Graham Bayne, Stevie Mallan 1 |
| Bench | Craig Wight, John McAulay, Jim Mercer, Jim Gardner, Kevin Heenan |