| Date | Saturday, 30 November 2002 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Alloa Athletic 1:1 Ross County |
| Venue | Recreation Park |
| Attendance | 445 |
| Referee | Craig Thomson |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Alloa Athletic 1 Ross County 1 Ross County's new manager Alex Smith had his first glimpse of the challenge ahead after watching his side throw away a valuable lead at Recreation Park. The former Dundee United and Aberdeen boss felt a victory could easily have been achieved, he said: "It was a hard game in boggy conditions, but after taking the lead, we missed a great chance to add a second goal. "If Graham Bayne had scored when his header struck the post I feel we could have gone on to win the game. "But we played good football and the lads gave everything. Our centre-backs Mark Perry and Brian Irvine were outstanding to keep out the Alloa threat." Looking to the future, Smith said: "There seems to be a good set-up at Victoria Park, but if I feel there is a need for any fresh players then I will bring them in when the transfer window is opened in January." Unfortunately for Alloa, despite showing an improvement on recent games, they were still unable to record their first home victory this season. However, manager Terry Christie was looking happier after the game. He said: "We lost a terrible goal before half time, but then were lucky when County struck the post. "We then worked hard on the sticky pitch to score a good goal, but is was a real slog after that. "It was great to win a point and, hopefully, it will stop the rot." With former Rangers midfielder Derek Ferguson back in the Alloa midfield following a hamstring injury, Alloa made a bright start, with Ross Hamilton and Gareth Evans prominent. When the Dingwall lads settled Graham Bayne set up Steven Mackay with a fine cross from the left, but the youngster failed to connact six yards from goal. County tried again in 31 minutes, but Alloa goalkeeper Myles Hogarth pulled off a lovely save, turning away a shot from Steven Ferguson as Hugh Robertson tried in vain to force the ball in from the rebound. The visitors broke the deadlock seven minutes before the interval. Brian Irvine rose to meet a corner from Robertson and although the ball was hooked clear, Irvine pounced to drive into the net from six yards. An early burst in the second half almost gave County a second goal. Don Cowie's effort was smartly saved by Hogarth then in 58 minutes Bayne rose for a Steven McGarry cross but his header rebounded from the right post. Alloa battled on to score their equaliser in 63 minutes. Andy Seaton crossed perfectly to the back post for Ian Little to beat goalkeeper Tony Bullock with a well-placed header to the left corner. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Alexander (Alex) Smith |
| Starting 11 | 1: Anthony (Tony) Bullock, 2: Martin Canning, 3: Mark Perry, 4: Hugh Robertson, 5: Brian Irvine 1, 6: Steven MacKay, 7: Steven Ferguson 1, 8: Mark McCulloch, 9: Don (JNR) Cowie, 10: Steven McGarry, 11: Graham Bayne |
| Bench | 0: Leslie Fridge, 0: Paul Deas, 0: Sean Webb, 0: Alexander Bone, 0: Steven Hislop |
| Alloa Athletic | |
| Manager | Allan Maitland |
| Starting 11 | Myles Hogarth, Craig Valentine, Andy Seaton, Stevie Thompson, Jimmy Fisher, Ian Little 1, Derek Ferguson, Max Christie, Gareth Hutchison, Ross Hamilton, Richard Walker |
| Bench | Jim Evans, Keith Knox, James Stevenson, Scott Crabbe, Mark Cowan |