Date	Saturday, 05 April 1997
Competition	Scottish League Division 3
Fixture/Score	Albion Rovers 1:2 Ross County
Venue	Cliftonhill
Referee	Ian Taylor
Ross County
Manager	Neale Cooper
Starting 11	1: Kevin Morgan, 2: Stuart Golabek 1, 3: William Furphy, 4: Robert (Robbie) Williamson, 5: William (Billy) Herd, 6: Roy McBain, 7: Gerard Farrell, 8: Kenneth Gilbert, 9: Garry Wood 1 1, 10: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 11: Derek Adams
Bench	0: Steven Ferguson, 0: Andrew (Andy) MacLeod, 0: John Hewitt
Albion Rovers
Manager	Vinnie Moore
Starting 11	Stephen Ross, Neil McKilligan, Mark Pickering 1, David Byrne 2 1, Paul Martin, Tony Shepherd 1, Brian Boal, Lee Gardner 1, Willie Watters, Vincent Moore 1, David McKenzie
Bench	John Dickson, Thomas Walker, Gerard Kelly
Attendance	704
Match Report	Ross County Goal Scorers: Garry Wood (40') Stuart Golabek (48') Ross County Substitutions: John Hewitt for Garry Wood (?) Andy MacLeod for Roy McBain (?) Ross County Caution: Garry Wood (?) Albion Rovers Goal Scorer: Lee Gardner (?) Albion Rovers Substitutions: John Dickson for unknown (?) Thomas Walker for unknown (?) Albion Rovers Cautions: Mark Pickering (?) David Byrne (? 57') Tony Shepherd (?) Vincent Moore (?) Albion Rovers Red Card: David Byrne (57') Report by Fiona Hill for the Daily Record. Albion Rovers 1 Ross County 2 David Byrne reckons ref Ian Taylor robbed him of a chance to end his career in a blaze of glory. The 36-year-old's 57 minute red card completed a miserable day for Rovers whose promotion bid now looks all but over--along with Byrne's playing career. He walked after a second yellow card but claimed: "The referee was very poor. I thought the second booking was a very bad decision. "Realistically, we're now out of the promotion chase." Byrne is hanging up his boots at the end of the season and said: "It would have been nice to retire after we won promotion, but I am too tired to continue another season." Gary Wood struck first for County after a goalmouth scramble just before the break. Their second came from a stunning Stuart Golabek 20-yard free kick a couple of minutes into the second half. Lee Gardiner's last minute penalty was little consolation for Rovers. Gaffer Vinnie Moore said: "To say that I am extremely disappointed is an understatement." County boss Neale Cooper said: "We have beaten Rovers in the last three matches so I thought they would have been really up for it. It was a difficult match and the pitch was terrible." Goal hero Wood agreed and claimed: "It is the worst pitch I have ever seen."