| Date | Wednesday, 13 July 2005 |
|---|---|
| Competition | FRIENDLY |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 2:1 Blackpool |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 850 |
| Referee | Jason Hanson |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Ross County 2 Blackpool 1 John Robertson savoured a promising victory over Colin Hendry's Blackpool in his first home match as Ross County manager last night. The former Hearts and Caley Thistle boss saw his side make it three pre-season wins after Martin Canning's second-half winner. Former Scotland skipper Hendry had claimed his English League One Team could comforably inhabit the SPL and match Aberdeen. But last night they found First Division opponents too strong, even with tree trialist- ex-County Players Sean Webb and Fergus Tiernan and former Livingston Keeper Ian McCaldon-in the County side. County's Steven McGarry twice cut open Blackpool in the first few minutes. His knockdown first saw David Winters shoot just over before a fine through pass set-up Higgins for a strike just wide. Higgins looked in the mood when he whistled a shot just wide from 20 yards, but it was Colin Hendry's side who scored in 17 minutes. John Doolan's well-weighted through ball found Keith Southern, who fired just inside McCaldon's right-hand post. County had to wait just 11 minutes for the leveller. Keeper Lee Jones fumbled a corner and Fergus Tiernan Hooked the ball over his head to find Higgins, who scored with the faintest of touches close in. A few Minutes before the break, Tiernan saw his blast at goal turned over the bar by keeper Jones. Blackpool substituted their entire team at half-time, while County were more restrained. After 55 Minutes, County's replacement keeper Stuart Garden impressed with a point-blank block from Matt Shaw's close-range snapshot. County had better luck on the hour mark. From a short corner, John Rankin beat a man and cut the ball in from the left for Martin Canning to stoop to head over the line at close range and give John Robertson another good pre-season win. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | John Robertson |
| Starting 11 | 1: Ian McCaldon, 2: James Lauchlan, 3: Martin Canning 1, 4: Sean Webb, 5: John Rankin, 6: Mark McCulloch, 7: Fergus Tiernan, 8: Alexander Burke, 9: David Winters, 10: Steven McGarry, 11: Sean Higgins 1 |
| Bench | 0: Stuart Garden |
| Blackpool | |
| Manager | Colin Hendry |
| Starting 11 | Jones, McGregor, Burnes, Southern, Grayson, Doughty, Baldry, Doolan, Murphy, Parker, Prendegast |
| Bench | |