Date	Saturday, 16 March 2002
Competition	Scottish League Division 1
Fixture/Score	Ross County 4:1 Saint Mirren
Venue	Victoria Park
Attendance	2,957
Referee	Alan Freeland
Comments	Match Report Report by Paul Third for the Press & Journal. Ross County 4 Saint Mirren 1 Ross County boss Neale Cooper believes the atmosphere in the dressing-room has been the major factor in his side's resurgence. County moved up to sixth place in the First Division with a comprehensive win over the Buddies and Cooper praised his players. He said: "To go seven games undefeated in the First Division is no mean feat and the spirit in the dressing-room these last few weeks has been fantastic. "To beat St Mirren 4-1 is a massive result for us and we are growing in confidence with every game. I couldn't ask for any more from the players. "We played a lot of good football against St Mirren, who have some good players in their own right. But we are creating so many chances in games now and we could have had six or seven here." Cooper called defender Martin Canning back from his loan spell at Peterhead earlier in the week and the 20-year-old earned praise for a commanding display. Cooper said: "He played at right wing back which is a position he is not accustomed to and I thought he was magnificent. "Connor Gethins and Steven Hislop were also tremendous and they are forming a very potent partnership. But all the boys deserve credit for their recent form." County now prepare for a double header against Caley Thistle--beginning tomorrow at Victoria Park--and Cooper believes the two games have come at the perfect time. He said: "The derbies are great game for everyone in the area and we will go into the games with great confidence. We have strung a few good results together but we'll miss Conor on Tuesday as he is away with the Republic of Ireland to play against Holland. Steven Hislop also took a knock on his ankle but he should be okay. "Caley have done so well over the years and to be going into the game on the same points as them after our poor start to the season says a lot about the boys. We're looking forward to the game." Steven Ferguson grabbed County's opener after 24 minutes when he played a one-two with striker Gethins before firing the ball high past Buddies trialist keeper Scott Strang. The visitors hit back three minutes later when Ian Ross's shot from the edge of the box took a deflection to wrong-foot County keeper Tony Bullock and the ball rolled over the line via the keeper's left post. Cooper's men regained the lead in the 31st minute when buddies defender Jamie McGowan diverted Ian Maxwell's cross into his own net while under pressure from Gethins. County extended their lead three minutes into the second half when Steven Hislop latched on to Strang's mis-kicked clearance to cross the ball and Gethins had the simple task of heading the ball into the empty net from a yard. The goal proved too much for the Buddies fans to bear and three of them were arrested after heading for the St Mirren dugout. Hislop grabbed County's fourth 14 minutes from time when he raced on to Hugh Robertson's through ball to fire the ball low under Strang from eight yards. Buddies boss Tom Hendrie believes his fans should be supporting the team--who have slipped to eighth in the table--in their time of need instead of heckling staff and players. He said: "The fans have to look at the situation at the club. We have lost players like Steven McGarry, Alex Burns and Ludovic Roy. But they don't want to hear excuses, they just want results. But they are making our task all the more difficult when they don't get behind the boys."
Ross County
Manager	Neale Cooper
Starting 11	1: Anthony (Tony) Bullock, 2: Martin Canning 1, 3: Ian Maxwell, 4: Mark Perry, 5: Richard Hastings, 6: Hugh Robertson, 7: Brian Irvine, 8: Kenneth Gilbert, 9: Steven Ferguson 1 1, 10: Steven Hislop 1, 11: Conor Gethins 1
Bench	0: A Trialist, 0: Cedric Anselin, 0: Don (JNR) Cowie, 0: Alexander Bone, 0: Karim Boukraa
Saint Mirren
Manager	Tom Hendrie
Starting 11	Scott Strang, Barry McLaughlin, Jamie McGowan 1, Scott Walker, Hugh Murray, Scott McKenzie, Iain Nicolson 1, Ian Ross 1, Mark Yardley, Jose Quitongo, Ricky Gillies
Bench	Chris Kerr, Gary Bowman, John Dempster, Ryan McCann, Trialist