| Date | Saturday, 05 October 1996 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 3 |
| Fixture/Score | East Stirlingshire 0:1 Ross County |
| Venue | Firs Park |
| Attendance | 398 |
| Referee | George Simpson |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Ronnie MacKay for the Daily Record. East Stirlingshire 0 Ross County 1 Billy Little reckons his Shire flops have lost their bottle. The gaffer watched in agony as a Sandy Ross goal kept them anchored at the bottom and he groaned: "Our confidence is at a low ebb. I'm bitterly disappointed because again we dominated a game and came out losers. "Our finishing, passing and defending were diabolical--the players need to take more responsibility. "We are just not positive enough and sadly there are no encouraging signs for the future. "Our squad is stretched with only 15 fit players." Striker David Muirhead--snapped up from Bonnybridge Juniors--was denied a debut goal by Steve Hutchison in 16 minutes. Little said: "We could have been three of four up at half-time. We need a scorer, but it's unfair to put pressure on David." County boss Neale Cooper admitted his side were under pressure near the end, but insisted: "We battled hard and got the reward." |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Stephen Hutchison, 2: Christopher (Chris) Somerville, 3: William (Billy) Herd 1, 4: David MacKay 1, 5: Johnston Bellshaw 1, 6: Kevin Fotheringham, 7: Julian Broddle, 8: Gordon Connelly 1, 9: Derek Adams, 10: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 11: Alexander (Sandy) Ross 1 1 |
| Bench | 0: Robert (Robbie) Williamson, 0: Andrew (Andy) MacLeod, 0: Brian Grant |
| East Stirlingshire | |
| Manager | Billy Little |
| Starting 11 | Wilson, Matthew Cochrane, Gordon Russell 1, Colin Campbell, Alan Neill 1, Steve Ramsay, Grant Inglis, Murray Hunter, David Muirhead, Mark Abercromby, Paul Ronald |
| Bench | Andy Scott, Murray, Brian Ross |