Date	Saturday, 13 February 1988
Competition	North of Scotland Cup
Fixture/Score	Ross County 4:2 Nairn County
Venue	Victoria Park
Referee	W. Murray
Ross County
Manager	Robert (Bobby) Wilson
Starting 11	1: John Sutter, 2: Christopher (Chris) Somerville, 3: Scott Lemmon, 4: Cameron Robertson 1, 5: Dave Bellshaw 1, 6: Don Cowie (SNR), 7: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 8: Donald MacKay 1, 9: Davie Jackson 1, 10: Gordon Connelly, 11: James MacKay
Bench	0: Alan Gair, 0: Gary Robertson
Attendance	188
Match Report	Report from the Ross-shire Journal. Ross County 4 Nairn County 2 “SMOKE stopped play” — yes, but only for three minutes! Such was the case on Saturday afternoon at Victoria Park, Dingwall, fifteen minutes into the second half of the Ross County-Nairn County MacEwan's Lager North Cup second-round tie. A wisp of smoke curled over the park, and within seconds that wisp had turned into a thick, murky cloud of soot-laden smoke, as it billowed from a nearby block of houses and completely enveloped the park. In no time at all, visibility was brought down to a matter of feet, and Referee Billy Murray, of Evanton, had no recourse but to abandon the game to allow the smoke to disperse. The players sought the sanctuary of the dressing rooms, away from the acrid fumes, for they, more than anyone else, were in the frontline! The chimney fire, for such it was, soon died down, and though the Fire Brigade came on the scene within minutes, there was no danger to property. The attendance at Saturday's game was officially given as 188, considerably down on previous numbers this season, but no doubt accounted for by the changeability of weather and ground conditions over the previous week. The pitch did take a great deal of punishment, especially in the centre field, but such is the care that has been lavished on it over the years, it took the “hammering” it received well. However, a decision to postpone a cup-tie to be played the next day was a wise one. On such a pitch, it was not a day for fancy work, but for strength and determination on a heavy, cloying, glue-like surface, where all the action was down the middle of the park, which soon became something of a quagmire. In no way could it be compared with those pitches shown on television screens that evening, and the week previously, in England—they were paddy fields! Victoria Park was firm on the wings, and Ross County made full use of this factor, with some of the most thrilling and exciting moments coming from the quicksilver dashes of Billy Ferries, as he took on and beat opponents, outstripping them in his run for goal, and parting with perfectly-placed passes. Yes, it was a hard game in which only the fittest could survive, and this Ross County did in no uncertain terms. No one doubted that victory would eventually come, although one or two supporters had a feeling that perhaps Nairn would make a fight of it and earn a draw. It was not until the 75th minute that Ross County scored the goal that probably knocked the stuffing out of their opponents, and Man-of-the-Match Dave Bellshaw inflicted the coup de grâce in the 79th minute, when 35 yards out, he volleyed a ball into the net. It was a sweetly struck shot, in the conditions, and gave young Billy Neilson in the Nairn goal no chance. Ross County were early on the attack, but it was Neilson who prevented a score in one of their first raids, as he brilliantly turned away a scoring shot from Dave Jackson. However, County’s leading scorer was not to be denied, and in the 10th minute, he got his name on the scoresheet. Neilson had taken a high ball from a corner kick, but in falling he had lost possession, and Jackson was quick to take advantage of the situation, turning the ball into the net. Nairn County equalised in the 21st minute as Wilson was impeded as he cut inside the box. Wright scored from the spot. Neilson made a great save from a Connolly header from a Ferries cross, clutching at a ball which was going away from him. However, in the 34th minute, Cammie Robertson broke through on the left wing and, cutting in, fired home a low shot between the near post and an unsighted keeper. With half-time approaching, Macleod was brought down on the edge of the penalty box, the referee decreeing the tackle had been made inches inside the dreaded area. He pointed to the spot, and in the 40th minute, Wright scored with his second penalty kick. For a time in the second half, frustration seemed to creep into Ross County's play as they were denied opportunities of scoring. Their best chance came from a Donald Mackay cross with two takers and an open goal—more or less—but the two attempts were not on target, the second going over for a goal-kick. Came the 75th minute, and a Somerville-Ferries move saw the winger speeding into the Nairn goal area and pushing the ball to the far post, where Donald Mackay had the simplest of tasks, slipping his shot into the net. On another occasion, Mackay outstripped the defence and with the keeper coming out to meet him, he hit the ball towards the untenanted net — unfortunately, it rolled to a stop in the mud, and was cleared. Dave Bellshaw completed the scoring in the 79th minute with the goal which wrapped up the Man-of-the-Match award for him. As the game closed, substitute Gary Robertson had a strong run on goal before slipping a pass to James Mackay, whose shot was blocked.