| Date | Tuesday, 27 March 2001 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Livingston 1:1 Ross County |
| Venue | Almondvale Stadium |
| Attendance | 2,658 |
| Referee | J Smith |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Livingston 1 Ross County 1 Livingston's First Division championship hopes were dealt a further dent last night as they failed to overcome stout resistance from a well-organised Ross County side at Almondvale. The result means Livvy have taken only one point from a possible six in the last two matches, giving challengers Ayr some hope of catching at the top. However, Neale Cooper's County will be delighted at the way they managed to hold firm against the tide of home attacks. County rode their luck in the opening stages, surviving a seemingly relentless onslaught from the home side. In 11 minutes Franck Escalon had to clear a John Anderson header off the line, with the goal at Livvy's mercy. However, County must have been thanking their lucky stars when their first real attack of the match brought them the opening goal in 18 minutes. Karim Boukraa launched a ball into the area and former Dundee midfielder Hugh Robertson showed a clinical touch, getting ahead of the Livvy defence to power a header beyond Ian McCaldon. It was not long before the league leaders got themselves back into the game. In 32 minutes Barry Wilson bulleted a powerful shot towards the goal and Nicky Walker could not deal with the venom in the attempt, the ball squirming agonisingly over the line. David Bingham headed inches wide for Livvy in 47 minutes and County sub Derek Holmes squandered a good chance, ballooning the bar over the far stand. County survived some late scares but looked delighted at the end to claim a point. County manager Neale Cooper said: "We were hanging on for our lives at times but it is a great result when you consider the quality they have. I think they will go on and win the title as they are the best team in the league, so I have to be happy with a point. "We were without any presence at the back because we had Brian Irvine and Ian Maxwell out. Sometimes it was not pretty but if you are missing the back-bone of the team then that can happen." Livvy boss Jim Leishman said: "I am disappointed we did not win but I was not unhappy with the way we played." |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: Edward Cunnington, 3: Hugh Robertson 1, 4: Mark Perry 1, 5: David MacKay, 6: Craig Taggart, 7: Franck Escalon 1, 8: Steven Ferguson 1, 9: Alexander Bone, 10: Martin Prest 1, 11: Karim Boukraa |
| Bench | 0: Garry Hamilton, 0: Martin Canning, 0: Darren Henderson, 0: John Fraser, 0: Derek Holmes |
| Livingston | |
| Manager | Jim Leishman |
| Starting 11 | Ian McCaldon, Paul Deas, Phillipe Brinquin, John Anderson, Mark McCulloch, Graham Coughlan, Barry Wilson 1 1, Steve Tosh, Darren Jackson, David Bingham, Scott Crabbe |
| Bench | Dave McEwan, Michael Hart, Derek Fleming, Alex Burns, Davide Xausa |