| Date | Saturday, 17 August 2002 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Ayr United 2:1 Ross County |
| Venue | Somerset Park |
| Attendance | 1,692 |
| Referee | Kevin Toner |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Ayr United 2 Ross County 1 Neale Cooper hopes his Ross County players feel the pain of losing so intensely that they'll start winning again double-quick. The Dingwall men's unbeaten run (a massive 19 games) was finally blown away in a swirling wind at Somerset Park--but only after a grandstand finish. Cooper praised his players and immediately challenged them to go on another long winning run. He said: "We finished last season with a First Division record for unbeaten games and then started this campaign with four straight wins. That record has now gone and the players are all disappointed--but they've got to learn to lose as well as win. "Winning is a great feeling but a bad one when you lose. I thought we played well and finished the second half very strongly. We had a goal and showed a lot of battling qualities, but it just wasn't to be. "In the second half, I couldn't ask for more of the players. We have a great bunch of boys with a good blend and they are a pleasure to work with." Cooper reckoned Mark Perry's spectacular diving header into his own net--which gifted Ayr a 10th-minute lead--was a total accident that gave keeper Tony Bullock no chance. And he felt the difficult swirling wind played a key part in Ayr's second goal seven minutes later when James Grady's cross-cum-shot deceived the whole defence before slipping in at the post. A double switch in 41 minutes--with Steven MacKay and Conor Gethins replacing Paul Deas and Don Cowie--pepped up County for the second half. A Martin Wood cross was almost palmed into his own net by Craig Nelson while the same player forced a fine save from the keeper soon after. Alex Bone replaced Brian Irvine after 78 minutes and, within seven minutes, crossed for Gethins to head home and spark real hopes of a County fightback. However, back-to-the-wall Ayr held on to clinch their first points of the season and bring forth huge sighs of relief from the home support. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Anthony (Tony) Bullock, 2: Paul Deas, 3: Martin Canning, 4: Mark Perry 1, 5: Brian Irvine, 6: Steven Ferguson, 7: Don (JNR) Cowie, 8: Mark McCulloch, 9: Kenneth Gilbert, 10: Martin Wood, 11: Steven McGarry |
| Bench | 0: Leslie Fridge, 0: Sean Webb, 0: Steven MacKay, 0: Conor Gethins 1, 0: Alexander Bone |
| Ayr United | |
| Manager | Gordon Dalziel |
| Starting 11 | Craig Nelson, David Craig, Martin Campbell, Paul Lovering, Marc Smyth, Willie Lyle, Paul Sheerin, Iain Nicolson, Scott Chaplain 1, Eddie Annand, James Grady 1 |
| Bench | John Dodds, James Latta, Michael Dunlop, Stewart Kean, Alan McDermott |