| Date | Saturday, 26 December 1998 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 3 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 1:0 Cowdenbeath |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 1,842 |
| Referee | Garry Mitchell |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Daily Record. Ross County 1 Cowdenbeath 0 Neale Cooper last night gave Ross County fans their Christmas bonus by saying: "I'm here to stay". County manager Cooper ended all speculation about his future by signing a new two-year deal with the Third Division leaders. It had been thought that Cooper--recently linked with Aberdeen--would have to earn a contract by winning promotion at the third attempt. But County supremo Roy MacGregor wanted to ensure he hung onto his highly-rated boss. Cooper, whose deal was up in May, said: "I had no hesitation in signing this new contract. "I'm desperate to bring success here. The players know I'm determined and must match my commitment." MacGregor said: "We thought it was in all our best interests to secure Neale's future here." The Blue Brazil proved a handful for Cooper's men. Keeper Steve Hutchison almost scored, but Nicky Walker tipped his long kick out over the bar. Beath's Graeme Brown had a 'goal' chopped off for offside in 39 minutes. County's Stuart Golabek made the breakthrough in 63 minutes, hammering a 25-yard strike into the top corner. Ten minutes from time sub Brian Welsh almost equalised against the run of play, but slipped his shot wide. Beath boss Craig Levein said: "After matching County in the first half, we couldn't compete in the second. But we did have chances to snatch a point." |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: Ian Maxwell, 3: Mark Haro, 4: Stuart Golabek 1 1, 5: David MacKay, 6: John McGlashan, 7: Alexander Taylor, 8: Kenneth Gilbert 1, 9: Roy McBain, 10: David Ross, 11: Neil Tarrant |
| Bench | 0: Steven Ferguson, 0: Garry Wood, 0: Keith (Billy) Ferries |
| Cowdenbeath | |
| Manager | Craig Levein |
| Starting 11 | Stephen Hutchison, Alistair Hamilton, Martin Humphreys 1, Scott Sneddon, Mark Bradley, Graeme Findlay, Craig Winter, Richard Thomson, Willie Burns, Graeme Brown, Kenny Milne |
| Bench | Brian Welsh, Malcolm Robertson, Darren Pryde |