| Date | Saturday, 16 March 1996 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 3 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 2:1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 3,670 |
| Referee | Bobby Tait |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Derek McGregor from the Daily Record. Ross County 2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 Raging Steve Paterson last night told his Caley flops: "I won't hesitate to dump you." Paterson tore into his men after they failed to beat their Highland rivals for the fourth time in the league this season. The Caley boss, who last week was all smiles after his side's battling 3-0 cup defeat Rangers, blistered the dressing room wall at full-time. Caley now look likely to miss out on promotion, lying seven points off the pace in fourth spot. But third placed County are hanging onto Brechin's coat-tails with Livingston favourites for the title. Paterson said: "Players who were tremendous in the cup don't look good enough to get us promotion. "Of course, it's still mathematically possible for us to go up. But I can't see it now. On this form we've no chance. "I reckon these players are among the best paid in the division, but if they are not producing it I've got to get rid of them. "If I don't, they might just get rid of me. I love my job--and I'm not prepared to allow that to happen." Fiercely ambitious Caley chairman Doug McGilvray is in a hurry for promotion and has so far allowed Paterson to spend close to £100,000 on players. And with a new £4.5 million stadium on the way, McGilvray is anxious to keep momentum going. He rates Paterson as good as any young managers anywhere, and will give him more transfer cash to build the team he wants. Paterson said: "I've lost confidence in the team. If I could've used seven subs on Saturday I would have. "But I've got three quality players lined up in the summer. "When I was with Elgin and Huntly, it's been the second season when things have happened, I'd love to do that with Caley Thistle." County were far hungrier for the result and stuffed their rivals with goals in either half from Andy MacLeod and sub Brian Grant. Mark McAllister hit a late consolation, but County deserved their win. Boss Bobby Wilson said: "My players looked as if they wanted it more. "With four of our final games at home we're in with a real shout of promotion." |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Robert (Bobby) Wilson |
| Starting 11 | 1: Stephen Hutchison, 2: Stuart Golabek, 3: William Furphy, 4: Paul Bradshaw, 5: Christopher (Chris) Somerville, 6: William (Billy) Herd, 7: David MacKay, 8: Johnston Bellshaw, 9: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 10: Colin Milne 1, 11: Andrew (Andy) MacLeod 1 |
| Bench | 0: William Watt, 0: Russell McFee, 0: Brian Grant 1 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | |
| Manager | Steve Paterson |
| Starting 11 | Jim Calder, Iain McArthur 1, Richard Hastings, Graeme Bennett, Mike Noble, Dave Ross, Mike Teasdale, John Scott, Iain Stewart, Charlie Christie, Alan Hercher |
| Bench | Brian Thomson, Dave McGinlay, Mark McAllister 1 |