| Date | Tuesday, 02 September 2003 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Cup |
| Fixture/Score | East Stirlingshire 1:2 Ross County |
| Venue | Firs Park |
| Attendance | 208 |
| Referee | Andrew Hunter |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. East Stirlingshire 1 Ross County 2 Ross County failed to live up to their pre-match billing against lowly East Stirling, despite almost the entire Scottish Football League separating the teams. There was very little to choose between the teams, but First Division County secured their place in the second round thanks to late goals from Don Cowie and Stephen McKay--although Paul Rodden made them sweat with an even later consolation. Despite their recent sparkling league form, County found this game a bit of a struggle as Shire, bottom of the Third Division and without a win since January, were defending as though their lives depended on it. In 31 minutes, County really should have taken the lead, but striker Graham Bayne could only find the side-netting after racing clear from a long ball. The First Division men were running out of ideas as half-time approached and that was summed up by two long-range efforts from David Hannah and Hugh Robertson which flew well wide. At the interval, Ross County manager Alex Smith rang the changes, bringing off the ineffective Jim Hamilton and replacing him with David Winters in the hope of changing their fortunes. The substitution did little immediate good and it was lowly Shire who created the best of the early openings in the second half, with David Ormiston and Stuart Kelly both going close to providing a shock opener. But with 20 minutes to go, County eventually found the target when substitute Cowie scrambled the ball home after Shire keeper John Connelly had failed to hold a cross from Jamie McCunnie. With the home team's resistance finally broken, the Dingwall men found things a bit easier and, in 73 minutes, McKay raced through a static-looking home defence to shoot high into the roof of the net from just inside the penalty area. Shire never gave up and their efforts were rewarded when they pulled back a goal in 81 minutes through Rodden. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Alexander (Alex) Smith |
| Starting 11 | 1: Colin Stewart, 2: Jordon Tait, 3: Hugh Robertson, 4: Stuart Malcolm, 5: David Hannah, 6: John Rankin, 7: Mark McCulloch, 8: Steven MacKay, 9: Jamie McCunnie, 10: Graham Bayne, 11: James Hamilton |
| Bench | 0: Leslie Fridge, 0: Don (JNR) Cowie 1, 0: Stephen O'Donnell, 0: Steven McGarry 1, 0: David Winters |
| East Stirlingshire | |
| Manager | Steve Morrison |
| Starting 11 | Jon Connolly, Roddy Maughan, Graham McLaren, Dougie Polwart, Kevin McCann, Graham McGhee, Scott Livingstone, Sean McAuley, David Ormiston, Stuart Kelly, Chris Baldwin |
| Bench | Craig Reid, Chris Todd, Gary McCulloch, Paul Rodden 1, Gerry Boyle |