| Date | Saturday, 14 April 2001 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Alloa Athletic 1:1 Ross County |
| Venue | Recreation Park |
| Attendance | 647 |
| Referee | Douglas McDonald |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Alloa Athletic 1 Ross County 1 Ross County and Alloa battled out a hard-fought First Division draw at Recreation Park on Saturday. The point saw Neale Cooper's County claim sixth place on their own on 37 points, while Alloa moved above Raith Rovers into third bottom spot in the battle to beat the drop. Cooper said: "Recreation Park is a difficult place to go to because Alloa are a good side. "We had around six players missing because of suspension and injury, forcing me to field a makeshift side. But our boys did well, with Steve Ferguson immense in the middle of the park. Even when a goal down, we kept going at it, for what was a massive point." Alloa manager Terry Christie said: "We desperately wanted to hold on to our lead but perhaps nerves crept in. "County worked for the equaliser and a draw was probably a fair result. "We have moved above Raith Rovers who come to Recreation Park on Saturday, so that game will be a like a cup final." Alloa made a brisk start with Ian Little racing clear from a lovely Willie Irvine pass but his angular shot was saved low at the post by youngster Garry Hamilton. County were soon on the attack, forcing Alloa's Dutch goalkeeper, Guido Van de Kamp to make confident stops from Martin Prest, Karim Boukraa and John McQuade. The Wasps counterattacked, with Irvine shooting only inches over the bar and a header from Richard Huxford saves by Hamilton from close range. Manager cooper brought on Mark McCormack and Derek Holmes for Boukraa and Prest at the start of the second half but it was Alloa who broke the deadlock in 69 minutes. Captain Steve Thomson rose for a corner by Irvine to head across goal, leaving Ian Little with an easy chance to head home from six yards. County's spirited play produced the equaliser in 74 minutes. Excellent footwork on the left from McQuade allowed him to cross for Bone to direct a header past Van de Kamp. A late surge from Alloa almost brought the winner. Wood drove against the post but Irvine hit the rebound wide. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Garry Hamilton, 2: Edward Cunnington 1, 3: Hugh Robertson, 4: Mark Perry, 5: Brian Irvine, 6: Steven Ferguson, 7: Steven MacKay, 8: Martin Prest, 9: Alexander Bone 1, 10: John McQuade 1, 11: Karim Boukraa |
| Bench | 0: Stefan Gonet, 0: Martin Canning, 0: John Fraser, 0: Mark McCormick, 0: Derek Holmes |
| Alloa Athletic | |
| Manager | Terry Christie |
| Starting 11 | Guido van de Kamp, Gregg Watson, John McQuillan, Stevie Thompson, Ian Little 1, Hamish French, Grant Johnson, Richard Huxford, William Irvine, Allan McManus 1, Gareth Evans 1 |
| Bench | James McQueen, Graeme Armstrong, Mark Wilson, Chris Wood |