Date	Saturday, 19 April 1997
Competition	Scottish League Division 3
Fixture/Score	Ross County 1:1 Forfar Athletic
Venue	Victoria Park
Attendance	3,034
Referee	Mike Pocock
Comments	Match Report Report by Derek McGregor for the Daily Record. Ross County 1 Forfar Athletic 1 Ben Honeyman will never forgive himself if Forfar fail to pip Ross County for promotion. The Station Park striker is hurting inside after blowing a golden chance to give his side the edge in a head-to-head race for second place. Forfar were 1-0 up at Dingwall when Honeyman was sent clean through by Alan Morgan after 29 minutes. The ex-Dundee United star was perfectly positioned to kill off the Highlanders but he opted for a fancy finish and missed out after being forced wide by keeper Kevin Morgan. County thanked their lucky stars and kept pace with Forfar when Stuart Golabek grabbed a stunning equaliser after the break. Honeyman said: "If I'd scored the game would have been over. I knew straight away how crucial the miss could be. "It immediately goes through your head that you don't regret it later. "Sure enough, they got back into the game--and we ended up having to settle for a point, gutted we didn't win. "I was desperate to get the chance to score again to make up for it but nothing came my way." Forfar boss Ian McPhee refused to blame Honeyman for his side's failure to win. He said: "I've been trying to lift the lad but everyone else is lift the lad but everyone else is down because they couldn't hold the lead. "I think it will go to the last day between us and County. It's going to be tense." That must be the understatement of the year. You would have needed a chainsaw to slice the tension that almost smothered this packed ground before kick-off. It had to be one of the biggest games in the Dingwall club's history, especially when you count how much chief executive Roy MacGregor has sunk into the club in a bid to reach the Second Division. County looked Paralysed by nerves on a glorious afternoon. And they were further jolted when Morgan hammered Forfar in front from close range after 22 minutes. It took an interval tongue-lashing from County boss Neale Cooper to help his men back into the game--and he was delighted when Golabek's left-foot shot bulleted past keeper Dean Robertson from 25 yards. Cooper, who claimed he was under no pressure to follow champs Caley Thistle up, said: "The ball was like a hot potato for us in the first half and the players knew they couldn't do any worse. "The board have said to me the first season is a bedding-in one. "We've put ourselves in a position we didn't think we could after the start we had and we want to make the most of it." Northern Ireland manager Bryan Hamilton was an interested spectator before taking a coaching clinic in the town yesterday. And he probably left wondering if County's exciting 20-year-old striker Garry Wood had Irish connections. He always looked a threat and has a big future ahead of him.
Ross County
Manager	Neale Cooper
Starting 11	1: Kevin Morgan, 2: William Furphy, 3: Stuart Golabek 1 1, 4: Robert (Robbie) Williamson, 5: William (Billy) Herd, 6: Roy McBain, 7: Kenneth Gilbert 1, 8: Derek Adams, 9: Garry Wood, 10: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 11: John Hewitt
Bench	0: Johnston Bellshaw, 0: Steven Ferguson, 0: Andrew (Andy) MacLeod
Forfar Athletic
Manager	Ian McPhee
Starting 11	Dean Robertson, Mark Bowes 1, Douglas Craig, Jim Hamilton, Bobby Mann, Andy Cargill 1, Alan Morgan 1, John Allison, Jamie Loney, Iain Lee, Ben Honeyman
Bench	Paul Robert, Paul Hannigan, Alistair Gray