Date	Friday, 05 October 2012
Competition	Scottish Premier League
Fixture/Score	Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3:1 Ross County
Venue	Caledonian Stadium
Attendance	6,766
Referee	Iain Brines
Comments	Match Report Report by Stevie Miller for the BBC. Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3 Ross County 1 Inverness took the bragging rights from the first-ever top-flight Highland derby as Ross County slumped to a third successive defeat. The hosts took the lead when Ross Draper connected with Graeme Shinnie's corner after strong early pressure. And Terry Butcher's side doubled their lead when Andrew Shinnie finished after being set up by Richie Foran. Iain Vigurs' free-kick gave County the chance of a comeback, but Aaron Doran's late strike secured the points. The Caley Jags almost took the lead after only 25 seconds when Doran curled in a cross from the right which, inexplicably, Ross Tokely headed towards his own goal. Luckily for the former Inverness defender the ball cannoned back off the bar to spare his blushes. Less than a minute later Inverness could have been ahead again as Owain Tudor-Jones picked up on a one-two at the edge of the box. However, his deft right-footed flick was cleared from under the crossbar by Grant Munro as County looked nervous at the back. The home side took a deserved lead when Draper forced Graeme Shinnie's corner over the line with what looked like his shoulder after eight minutes. At this point the ball had barely been in the Inverness half. However, out of nowhere, a curling long-range effort from new County signing Mark Fotheringham beat Antonio Reguero in the home goal, but came back off the bar. County were settling into the game as the first half wore on, and captain Richard Brittain went close with a 30-yard free-kick which flew narrowly over. But, just as it seemed the visitors were coming back into the game, they found themselves two down. Foran broke free of the County rearguard on the right and fed a delightful low pass across goal for Andrew Shinnie to sidefoot home. As the visitors pressed for a way back into the game as half time neared they left gaps at the back, and Michael Fraser had to save smartly with his legs when Doran was played through one-on-one with the keeper. The Dingwall side had clearly had half-time words from manager Derek Adams, and carved out the first chance of the second half when a free-kick was awarded at the edge of the box. And Vigurs curled the ball up and over the wall and into the top corner of the net to give his side a lifeline. The game raged from end to end in a real derby style, with set-piece opportunities arising from the all-too-frequent blasts of Iain Brines' whistle. Crosses peppered both goal areas, but defenders had the measure of forwards and chances dried up, although County were having the lion's share of the ball. County were desperately chasing a leveller, and Rocco Quinn passed up a chance when he shot straight at the keeper from the angle of the six-yard box. But, for the second match in a row, County conceded late on as Conor Pepper headed a long ball into the path of Doran, who lashed a low volley past Fraser at the near post. Derek Adams believes defensive mistakes proved expensive in the Highland derby defeat by Inverness CT. County trailed 2-0 before finding their feet at the Caledonian Stadium and reduced the deficit courtesy of Iain Vigurs's spectacular free kick. But Aaron Doran added to goals from Andrew Shinnie and Ross Draper as the hosts secured victory. "We've been let down by individual errors tonight," Adams said. County, who recently boasted a record of 40 league matches unbeaten, have lost three on the bounce and have not won any of their last five in the SPL. The County boss said his side dominated the second half and paid for not taking their opportunities when in the ascendancy. "Maybe we didn't have enough players who wanted to get into the box at the right time," he told BBC Scotland. "Inverness started well and we didn't cope well with that and they raced into a two-goal lead. "It's obviously disappointing to lose to your rivals and we need to do better. "It's going to be a good league and we have to take the positives tonight. I thought it was a good spectacle."
Ross County
Manager	Derek Adams
Starting 11	1: Michael Fraser, 3: Marc Fitzpatrick, 4: Grant Munro, 5: Scott Boyd, 6: Ross Tokely, 9: Colin McMenamin, 10: Richard Brittain 1, 11: Iain Vigurs 1, 12: Rocco Quinn, 14: Martin Scott 1, 29: Mark Fotheringham 1
Bench	25: Mark Brown, 7: Stuart Kettlewell, 20: Gary Glen, 22: Mihael Kovacevic, 23: Archie Macphee, 24: Steven Ross, 26: Tony Dingwall
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Manager	Terry Butcher
Starting 11	Antonio Reguero, David Raven 1, Josh Meekings, Gary Warren, Graeme Shinnie, Aaron Doran 1 1, Owain Tudor Jones, Ross Draper 1 1, Philip Roberts, Richie Foran, Andrew Shinnie 1
Bench	Scott Mathieson, Billy McKay, Jason Oswell, Gavin Morrison, Liam Polworth, Conor Pepper 1, Matthew Cooper