| Date | Saturday, 10 August 1996 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish Challenge Cup |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 0:4 Ayr United |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 963 |
| Referee | Alan Gemmell |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Daily Record. Ross County 0 Ayr United 4 Gordon Dalziel must do a helluva line in half-time pep talks. For the second week in a row, Ayr changed from first-half flops to second half stunners. But the Somerset Park boss isn't claiming any credit....he's as baffled as the fans by the transformations. He said: "We were pretty rotten in the first half and it was like last week's game against Livingston all over again. "In the second half it suddenly all clicked and we were like a different team." Dalziel, who faces a crunch Coca-Cola Cup clash with rivals Kilmarnock tomorrow, added: "That's a big game for us and I hope the boys will be a lot sharper from the start. "But I've got to be pretty happy with our overall performances so far and by the way we're hitting the back of the net." Isaac English opened the scoring after 40 minutes when he latched onto a Steve Kerrigan flick and struck a 20-yard drive past former Hamilton keeper Dave Cormack. Cormack, who had a nightmare second half, should have saved the Paul Smith shot which put Ayr two up in 51 minutes. Smith broke wide on the right and from an awkward angle let fly with a powerful, but hopeful drive. He admitted: "I just hit the shot because I was knackered. I couldn't believe it when the ball hit the net." Cormack was again at fault when Willie Jamieson got No.3 and more poor defensive play allowed Smith to hit the fourth. Despite seeing his side crash out of their second cup competition in eight days, injured player-manager Neale Cooper wasn't too despondent. He said: "What happened in the second half was a bit naive from our point of view and I would like to see a bit more fight when we go behind. But it's all part of the learning process." |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: David Cormack, 2: Stuart Golabek, 3: David Matheson 2 1, 4: William (Billy) Herd, 5: David MacKay, 6: Johnston Bellshaw, 7: William Watt, 8: Gordon Connelly, 9: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 10: Colin Milne, 11: Derek Adams |
| Bench | 0: Ross Ruickbie, 0: Robert (Robbie) Williamson, 0: Andrew (Andy) MacLeod |
| Ayr United | |
| Manager | Gordon Dalziel |
| Starting 11 | Henry Smith, Robert Law, Gregg Hood, Willie Jamieson 1, Robert Connor 1, Paul Smith 2, Isaac English 1, Steve Kerrigan 1, Darren Henderson 1, Paul Kinnaird |
| Bench | Unknown, John Traynor, Jim Mercer, Duncan George |