Date	Tuesday, 27 October 1987
Competition	Inverness Cup
Fixture/Score	Caledonian FC 3:2 Ross County
Venue	Telford Street
Referee
Ross County
Manager	Robert (Bobby) Wilson
Starting 11	1: John Sutter, 2: Christopher (Chris) Somerville, 3: Scott Lemmon, 4: Cameron Robertson, 5: Dave Bellshaw, 6: Donald MacKay 1, 7: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 8: James MacKay, 9: Davie Jackson 1, 10: Gordon Connelly, 11: Alan Gair
Bench	0: David Kitching
Attendance
Match Report	Report from the Ross-shire Journal. Caledonian 3 Ross County 2 ROSS COUNTY gained a moral victory from their 3-2 defeat at the hands of Caley in the first round of the Inverness Cup at Telford Street Park, Inverness, on Tuesday evening on a rain-saturated pitch. Honours over the piece went to Bobby Wilson and his team of doughty warriors, who have struck a purple patch and are producing the goods with entertaining, enterprising and exciting football. Praise too to Gordon Connolly, for what Bobby is doing off the field, Gordon is assisting in putting into practice on the field. His presence and natural ability have done much to lift flagging spirits, put more vim into tired limbs and bring the best out of his colleagues. He had a marvellous game on Tuesday as a midfield general par excellence, finding space, making space and all the time being just where he was wanted to take a ball or give a word of encouragement. Gordon was part of a team, for it was team effort and confidence in themselves that produced from the County players performances which were rated highly by their supporters, among them the writer, who was making his first appearance at Telford Street Park in over twenty years—the last occasion was an ill-fated North of Scotland Cup Final against Forres in 1967! Thanks County—and Caley too, sprinkled as they were with a former County player or two—for a most entertaining tussle on a cold, dreich night, conditions which one tended to ignore in the heat generated from a pulsating cup-tie! County lost, but who cared, their performance was out of the top bracket, as they played out of themselves, challenging for every ball, winning it usually, and taking decisions as they came. To County fans, Caley's opening goal could be queried on a question of offside but immediately back came County and Donald Mackay crashed home the equaliser into the top left-hand corner of Hamish Morrison’s goal from all of twenty yards. Morrison had difficulty with high balls and twice he fumbled but there was no one handy to take advantage of his slip. Level-pegging at half-time, but then came disaster for County as Scott Lemmon nodded a ball back to where he assumed Suttar was standing, and Caley were in the lead! And they consolidated minutes later during a flurry of sustained attacks. County were not finished. Back they came, continuing to play fast, open football, everyone of their players a hero with the defence nullifying all the Caley pressure and Suttar’s handling outstanding. They were rewarded with a goal which was set up by right back Somerville who sent Billy Ferries away, and Billy's far post cross was fairly blasted home by David Jackson. Repeated attempts to secure the equaliser failed, but it was very close. On the night, it was a moral victory for the Dingwall club. The County team as listed was—Suttar, Somerville, Lemmon, Robertson, Bellshaw, D. Mackay, Ferries, J. Mackay (D. Kitching), Jackson, Connolly and Gair, but on the field “numbers” seemed of little consequence in the scheme of things, with Lemmon acting as sweeper, Gair and Bellshaw very much in midfield and the others falling into what seemed a well-rehearsed pattern of closing down raids and taking the offensive on cue almost.