Date	Saturday, 26 March 1988
Competition	North of Scotland Cup
Fixture/Score	Ross County 1:4 Inverness Thistle
Venue	Telford Street
Referee
Ross County
Manager	Robert (Bobby) Wilson
Starting 11	1: John Sutter, 2: Christopher (Chris) Somerville, 3: Alan Gair, 4: Cameron Robertson, 5: Scott Lemmon, 6: Don Cowie (SNR), 7: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 8: Albert Allan, 9: James MacKay, 10: Gordon Connelly, 11: Donald MacKay 1
Bench	0: Gary Robertson, 0: David MacRae
Attendance	1,700
Match Report	Report from the Ross-shire Journal. Inverness Thistle 4 Ross County 1 ROSS COUNTY were caught cold in a fatal two-minute spell twelve minutes into their McEwan’s Lager North of Scotland Cup Final against Inverness Thistle at Caley Park, Inverness on Saturday, before a crowd of over 1,700. Against the wind and seemingly struggling to come to grips with the surface—heavy, gluelike and cloying—County were holding their own against a strong-moving Thistle side, which moved the ball well and with confidence. A drier, firmer surface would have suited their football, but on this occasion, they tended to bog down as they took the ball out of defence, the advantage lying with an opponent coming forward to meet the challenge—as often as not successfully. The big punt upfield to a player in position would have paid better dividends, as Thistle showed with their long, hard-driven passes. Some players were more comfortable than others on the surface, and for a time County were in as full a flow as they could be, but then came the telling spell of Thistle pressure, when they forced four corners in succession, and from the fourth, Fraser Taylor (a former County player from Munlochy) headed home a well-taken goal. John Suttar had been having difficulty with the cross balls and had been glad to see them cleared even if it was for a corner, but then one felt that with four in succession, Thistle were bound to benefit, and they did with Taylor's goal in the 10th minute. However, spare a thought for John, for he had what one might term a sleepless night, for his wife had given birth to a daughter early that morning. No doubt his reflexes were not all they should have been after the trauma of the birth and the motor journey from Thurso. However, a minute later, a further set-piece brought Thistle their second goal. A free kick by Robert Christie, another former County player, was nodded on by Noble, and Bain, running in from the right, headed home an excellent goal. Stoically, County fans accepted the situation—no recriminations! It has been a good season with a return of entertaining football to Victoria Park, and the prospect of more to come next season. Que sera sera! County continued to take the game to Thistle and were opening up their defence easily, but nothing was coming of their efforts, though there were several near things and tempers were fraying slightly as some aggressive tackles were taking their toll. The absence of the injured Dave Bellshaw from central defence was being exploited by Thistle, not only in their first two goals, but in the third which followed in the 40th minute, when Robert Christie rose magnificently above a static County defence to brilliantly head home a goal which should have demoralised any run-of-the-mill team. The game seemed finished as a contest as the players trooped off at half-time, but whatever Bobby Wilson said to his charges in the dressing room, it had its desired effect, for County came out for the second half and completely dominated play. Their domination was only broken by a minor incursion by Thistle over the half-way line, although Thistle’s final goal in the 89th minute was purely academic, the result of a breakaway as the County defence were upfield pressing for goals. Their display during this half was outstanding, and even with the taking out of Gordon Connolly with a vicious tackle, County still found the strength, determination and skill to take Thistle apart. Full honours must go to them for providing the fans with as fast-moving and exciting an entertainment as one could have wished. Donald Mackay took over Gordon’s role as playmaker. In this, he was ably backed by his colleagues, with none more superb than Billy Ferries, who was forever taking his opponent to the cleaners, with support from Chris Somerville. While Connolly was on the field, one felt County had a chance, but even with his removal to hospital, one had the feeling that the day was not yet lost. The Thistle goal bore a charmed life as the County horde poured down on it, and with a modicum of luck, the day might yet have been theirs. But no, shots raged narrowly past and the keeper made one particularly brilliant save from Donald Mackay, when he was in the right spot at the right time. Donald scored County's only goal in the 51st minute, when Somerville picked up a ball inside the penalty area and slipped it into the oncoming Mackay, who lashed it home. County had a lifeline, but then Connolly was taken out of the game in a tackle that did not merit a warning from the referee, who earlier had yellow-carded a Thistle player for kicking the ball away! Gordon is a marked player, and this has not been the first time this season that he has been “removed” from the scene. He crumpled in a heap after receiving treatment on the field from trainer Chic Ogilvie and was carried off and later taken to hospital for examination. Fortunately, the injury is not as serious as first thought. A break was ruled out and it is understood the doctors felt he may have a trapped nerve. However, he joined the team later, and this week is recovering at home in Fife, his leg stiff and painful. It is the talented players such as Connolly who deserve protection from officials, for in most of his games he has been receiving considerable attention from his opponents. Fraser Taylor scored the fourth Thistle goal in the closing minutes. Donald Mackay was selected as the Man of the Match — a deserved honour.