| Date | Saturday, 18 July 1998 |
|---|---|
| Competition | FRIENDLY |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 0:2 Aberdeen |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | |
| Referee | Kevin Bisset |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Dave Edwards for the Press & Journal. Ross County 0 Aberdeen 2 Neale Cooper reckons the Pittodrie fitness regime over the last few weeks has paid handsome dividends as the dons cruised past his Ross County side without moving out of second gear. Cooper said: "That was a super-fit Aberdeen team and certainly a better side than the one which played us in a friendly here last season." Dons assistant boss Paul Hegarty said: "We worked really hard and our level of fitness was excellent." Alex Miller returned from holiday yesterday and Hegarty can report that in seven friendly matches to date, the Dons have yet to concede a goal. Two pieces of clinical finishing emphasised Aberdeen's superiority. After only nine minutes, £80,000 signing from Hibs Andy Dow ran on to an Eoin Jess pass to send a perfect cross into the path of the inrushing Mike Newell, whose powerful downward header gave Barry Thompson in the County goal no chance. In the 69th minute the County keeper, standing in for former Dons and Scotland keeper Nicky Walker, had to pick the ball out of the net again when substitute David Rowson scored with his first touch, drilling the ball low into the far corner. Hegarty revealed that veteran goalkeeper Jim Leighton has been training for the last couple of days on returning from holiday, but prefers to have three or four sessions under his belt before making a reappearance. Jess was fairly upbeat about the Dons performance. He said: "We did quite well in what was obviously a more difficult game for us than our previous ones against Highland League opposition." Jess played in a midfield role against County. He has developed an understanding with new buy Craig Hignett, who was side-lined with a thigh knock. Cooper was pleased with the form of his new signings--central defender Ian Maxwell and forwards Murray Hunter and Davie Ross. He said: "Hunter is a little bit short on fitness and he'll have to work a wee bit harder in training. Maxwell did okay at the back although he also needs to sharpen up a little bit. Ferries was delighted to be back in harness for the first time after a year out with ligament trouble. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Barry Thompson, 2: David MacKay, 3: Ian Maxwell, 4: William Furphy, 5: Franck Escalon, 6: Roy McBain, 7: Kenneth Gilbert, 8: Steven Ferguson, 9: Murray Hunter, 10: David Ross, 11: Neil Tarrant |
| Bench | 0: William (Billy) Herd, 0: Richard Hart, 0: Derek Adams, 0: Connor Campbell, 0: Keith (Billy) Ferries |
| Aberdeen | |
| Manager | |
| Starting 11 | Stillie, Smith, Kiriskov, Buchan, inglis, Whyte, Gillies, Jess, Newell 1, Dodds, Dow |
| Bench | Perry, Rowson 1, Anderson, Young |