| Date | Monday, 25 April 1994 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Highland League |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 6:1 Forres Mechanics |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 350 |
| Referee | G. Wilson |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Mike Tremlett for the Press & Journal. Ross County 6 Forres Mechanics 1 Ross County cantered into third place in the Press and Journal Highland League table last night when they handed Forres Mechanics something of a football lesson at Victoria Park. All square at half-time, the first 45 minutes gave no hint of the way County would eventually crush Forres with a goal burst in the second half which must have had the Can-Cans' heads spinning. Early on, Forres showed few signs of sapped confidence after Saturday's 4-1 mauling by Cove Rangers and they almost matched County in an entertaining opening 20 minutes. The Can-Cans could have gone in front as early as the seventh minute when a quick free kick from Gary Leiper caught County napping. He picked out Brian Minty and when his cross arrived Finlay Shearer sent his header into the side netting when it was easier to score. But from then on it was downhill all the way for Forres with Alan Duff sounding a warning note when he sent a near-post header whistling inches wide in 10 minutes. Five minutes later, Gary ROSS made absolutely no mistake when he took down a Somerville chip and rifled an unstoppable shot past Forres trialist keeper Alex Millar, who had a fraught night. Within a minute however Forres had levelled. Minty fired in a cross from the left and SHEARER managed what he should have done earlier in the game--he put the ball in the net. That was it as far as chances went in the first half but County started the second half like an absolute whirlwind and Forres simply had no answers. Four minutes after the restart DUFF turned and rammed a Billy Ferries cross past the Forres keeper and a minute later Duff laid on goal No. 3 for Andy MACLEOD, who had just replaced the injured Ross. On the hour County went further ahead when Ferries laid on the easiest of finishes for DUFF and the roof looking ready to fall in on Forres. Twice, just after the hour mark, it almost did when Andy MacLeod hammered in a 18 yard rocket which cannoned back off the bar and then Connelly, who was to hit the woodwork twice with headers later, side-footed just wide. Goal No. 5 came in 67 minutes, birthday boy Robbie Williamson cleverly turning provider for sub Barry WILSON, who struck his first touch of the ball into the Forres net from six yards out. Four minutes later County notched up half-a-dozen, Connelly hitting the woodwork yet again with a header before BELLSHAW showed him how to do it properly by gliding a lovely header home from a Cammy Robertson cross. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Robert (Bobby) Wilson |
| Starting 11 | 1: Stephen Hutchison, 2: Christopher (Chris) Somerville, 3: Craig Reid, 4: Robert (Robbie) Williamson, 5: Johnston Bellshaw 1, 6: Alexander (Sandy) MacLeod, 7: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 8: Gary Ross 1, 9: Alan Duff 2, 10: Gordon Connelly, 11: Cameron Robertson |
| Bench | 0: Andrew (Andy) MacLeod 1, 0: Barry Wilson 1 |