Date	Monday, 24 January 2005
Competition	Scottish Cup
Fixture/Score	Ross County 4:1 Airdrie United
Venue	Victoria Park
Attendance	1,302
Referee	Matt Northcroft
Comments	Match Report Report by Paul Third for the Press & Journal. Ross County 4 Airdrie United 1 Ross County booked their place in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup with a resounding victory over Airdrie United at Victoria Park last night. It was a case of third-time lucky for County after two failed attempts to get the third-round tie played. Two goals from David Winters, an Alex Burke penalty and an horrendous own goal from Airdrie keeper Mark McGeown ensure it is County who progress to meet Clyde at Victoria Park on February 5. Martin Hardie's goal just before half-time proved to be no more than a consolation for the Diamonds. County almost made a dream start when Winters played Alex Burke through on the left in the second minute--but the forward's cutback was cleared by the Diamonds defence before Fergus Tiernan could make contact. Winters should have returned the favour when he broke down the right but his cross for the unmarked Burke was poor and again the visitors cleared. County manager Alex Smith must have feared the Diamonds would come back into the game but, following a spell in which both sides battled for possession in midfield, a well-worked move from County resulted in the opening goal in the 23rd minute. Burke drove into the box before playing a neat one-two with Fergus Tiernan, causing Airdrie midfielder David Dunn to bring him down. The former Queen of the South forward took the Penalty himself, beating Mark McGeown with a high shot past the keeper's outstretched left hand. Frustration was growing among the Diamonds players at having failed to make an impression and Martin Hardie was cautioned for disputing a throw in with the assistant referee. If the visitors were disappointed with their start, they must have they lost a second goal in the 32nd minute. Martin Canning challenged keeper McGeown for John Rankin's in-swinging free kick and the Diamonds keeper punched the ball into his own net. The goal prompted fury among the visiting support, who were watching their team offer a feeble performance, and Paul Lovering did well to stop County from adding a third, clearing Winters's curling shot off the line. Having been so poor in the opening 40 minutes, it was inevitable Sandy Stewart's side would come into the game at some stage and, when they did string three passes together, they scored a tremendous goal to haul themselves back into the game. Don Cowie was caught in possession and the ball broke to Mark Roberts on the right wing. He crossed for Owen Coyle, who failed to get any power with his header. However, with the County defence ball watching. Martin Hardie connected with an acrobatic overhead kick to blast the ball high past the helpless Colin Stewart. Having hauled themselves back into the game, the Diamonds started the second half well, forcing a series of corners, but County broke upfield in the 52nd minute to re-establish their two-goal lead. John Robertson broke clear on the right before whipping in a tremendous cross for Winters, who bulleted a header high past McGeown from eight yards. Winters put the game beyond the visitors three minutes later when he latched on to Rankin's long ball to round McGeown and score from 14 yards.
Ross County
Manager	Alexander (Alex) Smith
Starting 11	1: Colin Stewart, 2: John Robertson, 3: Mark McCulloch, 4: Fergus Tiernan, 5: Martin Canning, 6: James Lauchlan, 7: John Rankin 1, 8: Don (JNR) Cowie, 9: David Winters 2, 10: Jamie McCunnie, 11: Alexander Burke 1 (1 pen)
Bench	0: Stuart Garden, 0: Sean Kilgannon, 0: Sean Higgins, 0: Steven McGarry, 0: Stuart Malcolm
Airdrie United
Manager	Sandy Stewart
Starting 11	Mark McGeown 1, Neil McGowan, Paul Lovering, Marvyn Wilson, William Wilson, Willie McLaren 1, Martin Hardie 1 1, David Dunn, Allan McManus, Mark Roberts, Owen Coyle
Bench	Lee Hollis, Jerome Vareille, Stephen McKenna, Kevin Barkey, Steven McKeown