| Date | Saturday, 01 February 1997 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 3 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 3:1 Albion Rovers |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 1,146 |
| Referee | Jim Herald |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Ross County 3 Albion Rovers 1 Willie Furphy, out in the cold for most of the season, is set to be handed a key role as Ross County face a triple test in Third Division title campaign. The third-top Dingwall men visit second-placed Forfar Athletic on Saturday, followed by a midweek home game with leaders Inverness Caledonian Thistle. They are then at home to fourth-placed Alloa Athletic on Saturday week. Ex-Ayr United and Elgin City defender Furphy was an effective midfield ball-winner as County dimmed Albion Rovers' promotion hopes with their third successive victory over the Coatbridge men. County's good win was threatened by a moment of madness involving Julian Broddle, who handled a cross. Gardiner scored the 16th-minute penalty kick to equalise Sandy Ross's third-minute opener, which was teed up for him by fine work from Andy McLeod. It took County to 58th minute to regain the lead, Ross powering home a Header from a Billy Ferries cross. Substitute Derek Adams clinched the points five minutes from time from a Ferries cut-back. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Stephen Hutchison, 2: William Furphy 1, 3: William (Billy) Herd 1, 4: David MacKay, 5: Johnston Bellshaw, 6: Gerard Farrell, 7: Roy McBain, 8: Julian Broddle, 9: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 10: Alexander (Sandy) Ross 2, 11: Andrew (Andy) MacLeod 1 |
| Bench | 0: Robert (Robbie) Williamson, 0: Steven Ferguson, 0: Derek Adams 1 |
| Albion Rovers | |
| Manager | Vinnie Moore |
| Starting 11 | Graham Duncan, Neil McKilligan 1, Neil McGowan 1, David Byrne, Paul Martin, Colin Mitchell, Ian McInnes, Lee Gardener 1, Willie Waters, Vincent Moore, Thomas Walker |
| Bench | Ian Harty, Martin Clark, John Dickson |