Date	Saturday, 17 July 1999
Competition	FRIENDLY
Fixture/Score	Shetland 2:2 Ross County
Venue	Gilbertson Park
Attendance
Referee
Comments	Match Report Report from the Shetland Times. Shetland 2 Ross County 2 Manager Neale Cooper was generous in his praise for the opposition after Shetland deservedly drew with Ross County on Saturday. "They were as good as any top Highland League side." he said. "But we knew what to expect. I'd already spoken to SFA coach Ross Jack who was with Shetland at the recent Natwest Island Games and he told me about them." Cooper, who was guest speaker at local side Scalloway's centenary dinner the previous evening, said the two-day visit had been excellent both from a football point of view and a social one. "It's been fantastic." he said: "We had a great welcome from Scalloway and it was an honour to be invited to their centenary celebrations. I've never been to Shetland before and I only found out last week that my mother had been here 40 years ago." Ross County Found the Shetland Select a much harder nut to crack than Scalloway, who they had comfortably defeated 8-2 on Friday. The first opportunity in the match fell to Shetland's James Johnston, but he fired wide from inside the County box. To be fair to him though, it was not an easy chance. Paul Kinnaird had the first effort for Ross County, bringing off a fine save from Craig Dinwoodie in the Shetland goal. From the resultant corner a header was cleared with a little help from the crossbar. In the 21st minute County took the lead. A cross found the head of Franck Escalon and Dinwoodie saved superbly. However, Derek McGill followed up to nod into an empty net. At this stage Shetland, although a goal down, were coping well and more than matching their opponents in midfield, where David Clubb was outstanding. The defence was also comfortable and restricted County to sporadic attempts. Shetland won their first corner in the 36th minute. Michael Johnson's cross was headed across goal by Paul Spence but Michael Williamson just couldn't stretch enough to connect properly. Then came the home side's best chance so far. Following a quick break Peter Peterson cut the ball back from the left and Johnson shot over the bar. Shetland played in a confident manner up to the break and when the teams cane out again they continued where they left off. A tremendous dipping shot from substitute Grant Gilfillan was brilliantly tipped over the bar by ex-international keeper Nicky Walker. Stuart Hay, who appeared to be limping slightly, looked a likely candidate to be replaced. Therefore it was somewhat surprising to onlookers when Spence was pulled off instead and Hay moved up to the striking position. Whether it be a touch of genius by coach Derrick Bradley or a complete stroke of lick, the move certainly paid off. A long ball from Keith Leslie was played into a perfect position for Hay and his firts-time shot beat the keeper. With about a quarter of an hour remaining Michael Gerraghty put County ahead again, finishing off a highly efficient move. At this stage the visitors were starting to get a grip wiyh Clubb's influence being missed in the middle of the park. But full credit to Shetland however, they dragged themselves back into it and with 11 minutes left scored another deserved equaliser. Duncan Bray took the ball across from left to right, Ian Irvine took over and drifted back towards the left side. And when he laid the ball back to Whalsay team mate John Simpson, he unleased a screamer of a first-time shot from 25 yards which had a goal written all over it. In the closing minutes County skipper Brian Irvine saw a header go narrowly wide and Duncan Bray did likewise with a low shot for Shetland. Coach Bradley said after the match: "The character of the team was superb. They were apprehensive but then started to believe in themselves. They have a total belief in their own play nowadays. Without a doubt it was the best performance in my time in charge." The Shetland goal-scorers were equally delighted. Stuart Hay said: "It was a great experience. It was a long ball from Keith Leslie and I just stuck my foot out." John Simpson said: "it was maybe not the best goal I've scored but definitely the most important."
Ross County
Manager	Neale Cooper
Starting 11
Bench
Shetland
Manager
Starting 11
Bench