| Date | Saturday, 13 September 2003 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Falkirk 0:2 Ross County |
| Venue | Brockville |
| Attendance | 2,970 |
| Referee | Willie Young |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Falkirk 0 Ross County 2 Ross County top the First Division following an excellent win against the championship but Alex Smith is talking down his side's title challenge. Goals from David Winters and John Rankin were just reward for County, who remain undefeated in the league this season. A delighted Smith said: "It is far too early to talk to about winning the league. "With the Highland Academy and cost-cutting in the game, it gives us the chance to sign quality players we previously couldn't. "However, we have hopes of SPL football. "I thought we played very well and deserved the win. We knew that if we got a positive result we could go top of the league, and we knew if we started the game well, got embedded and set the tempo, we could do well. "It was a case of playing in the same way have played since the start of the season, develop properly, pass the ball in the right areas and have players breaking off the ball to make the play." The strategy was more than the Bairns could contend with. The visiting defence was tidy and decisive throughout and despite retaining First Division status in only the last game of the previous term, this reconstructed County look capable of going all the way in 2003-4. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Alexander (Alex) Smith |
| Starting 11 | 1: Colin Stewart, 2: Hugh Robertson, 3: Stuart Malcolm, 4: Jordon Tait, 5: Jamie McCunnie, 6: John Rankin 1, 7: Mark McCulloch, 8: Steven MacKay, 9: David Hannah, 10: David Winters 1 (1 pen), 11: Sean Higgins |
| Bench | 0: Leslie Fridge, 0: Don (JNR) Cowie, 0: Stephen O'Donnell, 0: Steven McGarry 1, 0: Graham Bayne |
| Falkirk | |
| Manager | John Hughes |
| Starting 11 | Darren Hill, Eddie May 1, Kieran McAnespie 1, James Sharp, Andy Lawrie, Neil Scally, Davie Nicholls, Russell Latapy, John O'Neil, Jason Lee, Davide Xausa 1 |
| Bench | Allan Ferguson, John Henry, Philip Creaney, Andy Rodgers, Colin McMenamin |