| Date | Saturday, 26 August 2000 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 1:1 Airdrieonians |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Referee | Alan Gemmill |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: Edward Cunnington, 3: Ian Maxwell, 4: Brian Irvine, 5: Steven Ferguson 1, 6: Kenneth Gilbert, 7: Mark Millar, 8: Derek Holmes, 9: George Shaw 1 (1 pen) 1, 10: Alexander Bone, 11: John McQuade 1 |
| Bench | 0: Garry Hamilton, 0: David MacKay, 0: Franck Escalon, 0: Paul Kinnaird, 0: John Fraser |
| Airdrieonians | |
| Manager | Don Mackay |
| Starting 11 | Javier Sanchez Broto, Eddie Forrest 1, Miguel Alfonso, Austin McCann, Darren Brady, Jesus Garcia Sanjuan 1, Antonio Calderon, Fabrice Moreau, David Fernandez 1, Scott Boyce, John Elliott |
| Bench | Stephen Wilson, Stuart Taylor, Gareth Evans, Martin Prest 1, Paul Clark |
| Attendance | 2,210 |
| Match Report | Ross County Goal Scorer: George Shaw (16' Pen.) Ross County Substitutions: Franck Escalon for Derek Holmes (32') Paul Kinnaird for John McQuade (46') John Fraser for Steve Ferguson (69') Ross County Cautions: George Shaw (40') John McQuade (45') Steve Ferguson (67') Airdrieonians Goal Scorer: Eddie Forrest (45') Airdrieonians Substitutions: Martin Prest for John Elliott (66') Gareth Evans for David Fernandez (81') Airdrieonians Cautions: David Fernandez (19') Jesus Garcia Sanjuan (42') Martin Prest (88') Report by Dave Edwards for the Press & Journal. Ross County 1 Airdrieonians 1 Ross County earned their first point in the First Division as Neale Cooper was thrilled by the skill of 32-year-old Spaniard Antonio Calderon. However, it wasn't all about Airdrie. Cooper said: "We finished with only 10 men having already committed our three substitutes when Alex Bone went off suffering from dehydration. I thought that Nicky Walker was magnificent in goal--not only for a wonder save similar to Gordon Banks one from Pele in the 1970 World Cup--but also for his sheer professionalism and general play which inspired the rest of the lads." In the seventh minute, County were awarded a penalty when Sanjuan handled in the box and George Shaw converted it with ease. However Calderon wove another spell on the stroke of half-time to wrong-foot the County defence and swing over an inch-perfect cross which Eddie Forrest swept home. In the second half, home keeper Walker produced a couple of dazzling saves, the best in 52 minutes with that superb Banks-style stop to deny Darren Brady. |