| Date | Saturday, 20 November 2004 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 1:2 Airdrie United |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 2,345 |
| Referee | Craig MacKay |
| Comments | Mach Report Published: Press & Journal 22/11/2004 Ross County 1 Airdrie United 2 County must work harder - manager Ross County manager Alex Smith wants his players to up their work rate in time for to-morrow nights now vital home First Division fixture with Raith Rovers following a lacklustre display against Airdrie United at Victoria Park on Saturday. The County manager praised the small band of volunteers, led by coaches Brian Irvine and Gardiner Spiers, who turned up at 6am to clear two inches of snow off the pitch. But their efforts failed to produce a home win as the visitors snatched the points thanks to a Paul Lovering goal four minutes from time. Martin Hardie gave Airdrie the lead in the 16th minute when he bundled the ball over the line. It took a slice of luck for County to draw level five minutes from the break when Airdrie's Stephen Docherty scooped the ball into his own net. Airdrie dominated the second period and their pressure finally paid off when a Willie McLaren corner was headed in at the near post by Lovering. Smith said: "Airdrie adapted to the conditions better then we did and they deserved to win. It was very disappointing. "I don't think we're working hard enough throughout the team at the moment. We need to win all the individual battles and we are just not doing that. "We need to take a real hard look at ourselves and get back to form in time for Tuesday." Airdrie created the first chance in the third minute when Maek Roberts swung in a cross from the right and Willie McLaren just failed to connect at the far post. County won the first corner of the game in the 12th minute, but Don Cowie's in-swinger was booted clear. Airdrie took the lead when Coyle appeared to control the ball with his arm inside the box and Hardie pounced on the assist to strike home from close range. Coyle then tested Stuart Garden with a fierce drive which the goalkeeper did well to smother as the Diamonds went for a scond. But County got back into the game against the run of play when a Winters cross intended for Sean Higgins caught Docherty in two minds and the full back ended up hooking the ball high into his own net for a spectacular own goal. Airdrie dominated the second half and just when County looked to have weathered the storm, McLaren's corner in the 86th minute - Airdrie's 14th of the game - was nodded home at near post by Lovering. Airdrie manager Sandy Stewart said: "We deserved to win, but I thought for a while it wasn't going to happen." |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Alexander (Alex) Smith |
| Starting 11 | 1: Stuart Garden, 2: Martin Canning, 3: John Robertson, 4: Stuart Malcolm, 5: John Rankin, 6: Mark McCulloch, 7: Don (JNR) Cowie, 8: Jamie McCunnie, 9: David Winters, 10: Sean Higgins, 11: Alexander Burke |
| Bench | 0: Colin Stewart, 0: Sean Kilgannon, 0: Steven MacKay, 0: Charles Adam, 0: Steven McGarry |
| Airdrie United | |
| Manager | Sandy Stewart |
| Starting 11 | Lee Hollis, Neil McGowan, Paul Lovering 1, Marvyn Wilson, Stevie Docherty 1, Alan Gow, Willie McLaren, Martin Hardie 1, Allan McManus, Mark Roberts, Owen Coyle |
| Bench | Mark McGeown, Jerome Vareille, William Wilson, David Dunn, Kevin Barkey |