Date	Saturday, 01 August 1998
Competition	Scottish League Cup
Fixture/Score	Ross County 4:1 Montrose
Venue	Victoria Park
Attendance	923
Referee	Steve Kaney
Comments	Match Report Report from the Daily Record. Ross County 4 Montrose 1 Derek Adams was the dazzler of Dingwall....but his hat-trick heroics were hatched in the heat of Orlando. The ex-Aberdeen and Burnley striker was in stunning form as his team-mates cruised through to a second round League Cup meeting with Morton at Cappielow. And the secret of his success was hard work in Florida. Adams said: "I put in a lot of training through the break and in pre-season. I also took a training break in Orlando, which really helped focus my mind. "I did a lot of work in the heat and humidity and I think that's why I felt so sharp against Montrose."I've got far more strength in my upper body and I can't be nudged off the ball as easily now." Adams, club top scorer for the past two seasons, reckons Montrose were also made to suffer because of Ross rage. He explained: "the lads have spent the summer brooding over last season's promotion failure. "It was the second year in a row we had fallen at the final hurdle and it hurt everyone. "We know exactly how we blew it and there is incredible motivation to make sure that it doesn't happen again. "We aim to channel our anger into performances this season." County looked a far more solid outfit, with new boy Ian Maxwell slotting perfectly into defence and threading intelligent passes to the midfield and front men. Frenchman Franck Escalon, a surprise choice as man of the match given Adams' endeavours, also had a fine game. Adams scored the first goal in the 40th minute from an Escalon pass and Roy McBain set up Neil Tarrant to net a stunning header 17 minutes later. A clever Adams lob from 20 yards made it 3-0 before Benny Andrews pulled one back for Montrose. But their joy lasted just two minutes as Adams completed his hat-trick with a fierce shot. Montrose, who are now sponsored by a chip shop, took a real battering, but boss Tommy Campbell was reluctant to criticise his players. He said: "Other clubs will come to Victoria Park and get a doing. We did well to haul ourselves back into the match, then lost another quick goal."
Ross County
Manager	Neale Cooper
Starting 11	1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: William Furphy, 3: Ian Maxwell, 4: David MacKay, 5: Alexander Taylor, 6: Kenneth Gilbert, 7: Franck Escalon, 8: Roy McBain, 9: Derek Adams 3, 10: David Ross, 11: Neil Tarrant 1
Bench	0: William (Billy) Herd, 0: Murray Hunter, 0: Keith (Billy) Ferries
Montrose
Manager	Kevin Drinkell
Starting 11	Mark Murray, Rod Wylie, Jim Watt, Mark Craib, Craig Mailer, Benny Andrew 1, Graham Meldrum, Craig Farnan, Gary Higgins, Jamie Loney, Colin McGlashan 1
Bench	Fraser Fitzpatrick, Jim Henry, Scott Taylor