| Date | Saturday, 16 November 1996 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 3 |
| Fixture/Score | Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2:0 Ross County |
| Venue | Caledonian Stadium |
| Attendance | 4,562 |
| Referee | Martin Clark |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Iain Campbell for the Daily Record. Brass-necked thistle star Barry Wilson ripped his old team apart--then celebrated in their social club. Dingwall boy Baz laid on Iain Stewart's double, but he was determined not to break with tradition so he put up with pelters from his old County mates back at the bar. And Wilson even risked turning his in-laws into outlaws--for father-in-law Ally MacKintosh is a County director. Barry grinned: "I've been taking stick all week--particularly from Ally. "It really wound me up and I went to bed on Friday night promising to stuff County. "I knew exactly the reception I was in for from the County fans, but it didn't worry me at all. "Ally even made me promise not to over-celebrate if I scored--he suggested I just do a golf swing or something. "But I was pretty pleased when Stewartie put away the first and I was Delirious when we tied things up late on. "And I was determined to go to the social club afterwards because I always do--win, lose or draw. "I was sure to leave my Man of the Match trophy on the table in the living room though--just so my father-in-law would see it when he came in!" Barry certainly put a smile on dad Bobby's face after his first ever game against County. Wilson Senior was sacked as the Dingwall club's boss during the summer and that was one of the reasons Raith free Barry chose Caley when both Highland rivals stepped in with offers. He revealed: "When Rovers freed me I got Bobby to phone Caley Thistle for training facilities. "Then Neale Cooper asked me to train with County, but I told him I'd already fixed up facilities. "I wasn't keen to go back to Victoria Park after what happened to my dad. "Managers come and go in football , but I wasn't happy with the way the thing was handled." Barry set up the first with a lung-busting run Brian Laudrup would have been pleased with--leaving old Raith team-mate Julian Broddle and three other County stars in his wake. But Jules made it clear the old pals act didn't start till After the match when he flattened the winger with a ferocious tackle. Wilson laughed: "My backside is still sore from that one and I told Brods to calm down--but we're still great mates." Caley Thistle gaffer Steve Paterson was delighted with his winger's performance, raving: "Barry is one of the fastest players in Scottish football and he can become very big for us. "There was plenty motiviation for him--but he did us a real turn." Caley's win took them into third place, but one cloud on their horizon is the loss of star striker Brian Thomson with what looked like a slipped disc. Paterson added: "That's our first win in the new stadium and with the crowds we're getting this will become an intimidating place for teams to come." County boss Cooper felt the loss of striker Sandy Ross for elbowing Richard Hastings left his side up against it. He sighed: "It was a spur of the moment thing and no-one is more disappointed than Sandy' "I'm disappointed with the result--but pleased with my players' attitude in adversity. "Now we have to pick ourselves up--and we're still just one point behind Caley." |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Stephen Hutchison, 2: William (Billy) Herd, 3: David MacKay, 4: Johnston Bellshaw, 5: Gerard Farrell 1, 6: Julian Broddle, 7: Roy McBain, 8: Gordon Connelly, 9: Derek Adams, 10: Alexander (Sandy) Ross 1, 11: Andrew (Andy) MacLeod |
| Bench | 0: William Furphy, 0: Stuart Golabek, 0: Keith (Billy) Ferries |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | |
| Manager | Steve Paterson |
| Starting 11 | Jim Calder, Mike Teasdale, Richard Hastings 1, Iain McArthur, Mike Noble, Wayne Addicot, Barry Wilson 1, Iain Stewart 2 1, Brian Thomson, Charlie Christie, Scott McLean 1 |
| Bench | Ross Tokely 1, David Ross, Marco De Barros |