| Date | Saturday, 13 December 1997 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 3 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 2:3 Dumbarton |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 1,226 |
| Referee | Alan Freeland |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Alasdair Fraser for the Daily Record. Ross County 2 Dumbarton 3 Raging Ross County boss Neale Cooper threatened a clear-out after his side threw away three vital promotion points. He raged: "That kind of performance just won't do. "If certain players don't want for the club. "I don't ask them to do things I don't think they can do, but I felt today that in certain areas of the park they were very slack. "We caused ourselves problems by giving the ball away." County took the lead in the 12th minute when teenager Neil Tarrant set up Gary Wood who headed home from six yards. Six minutes later, Dumbarton levelled after James Meechan rode a challenge from Roy McBain and Hammered the ball past Nicky Walker from the edge of the box. Wood nudged the Dingwall men back in front in 31 minutes, firing into an empty net from 20 yards after a blunder by keeper Kenneth Meechan. Dumbarton equalised again two minutes before half-time when Hugh Ward placed the ball perfectly for Meechan to head past Walker. A poor second half saw few real chances but Dumbarton clinched the points with 13 minutes left when sub Colin Mackinnon's cross from six yards out. Cooper praised striker Wood's contribution and believes the youngster was back to his best. He said: "We created a lot of chances in the first half and I'm delighted to see Gary Wood back in form. "But, apart from him, too many players had an off day. "Dumbarton didn't get too many chances at goal-- but they scored three times. That says it all." Sons boss Ian Wallace was delighted at the upset, but admitted he had feared for his side in the first half. He said: "We gave away two bad goals and when we gave the second one away I thought it was going to be one of those days. "After we got back on level terms the second time I always thought we looked like winning. "But Gary Wood was a constant worry for us on the break--he has pace and great finishing ability." County have already transfer-listed Gerry Farrell, Tom Callaghan and unsettled Julian Broddle. But Cooper's warning to his players suggests he is ready to axe more of his squad in a bid to avoid yet another promotion near-miss for the Dingwall men. Meanwhile, County play Rangers at Victoria Park in the all-ticket Billy Ferries/Chris Somerville testimonial tomorrow night. Ally McCoist, Ian Durrant, Ian Ferguson, Gordon Petric, Stephen Wright and Gary Bollan are all believe to be heading north for the game. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: Mark Haro, 3: William (Billy) Herd, 4: David MacKay, 5: Roy McBain, 6: Steven Ferguson 1, 7: Gerard Farrell, 8: Alexander Taylor, 9: Derek Adams, 10: Neil Tarrant, 11: Garry Wood 2 |
| Bench | 0: Kenneth Gilbert, 0: Neale Cooper, 0: Connor Campbell |
| Dumbarton | |
| Manager | Ian Wallace |
| Starting 11 | Kenny Meechan, Jamie Bruce, Lee Sharp, Craig Brittain, William Wilson, Colin McKinnon, Martin Mooney, Hugh Ward, Tom Currie, James Meechan 2, William Davidson |
| Bench | Graham McKenzie, Martin Glancy 1, Robert Reilly |