Date	Saturday, 19 October 1929
Competition	Highland League
Fixture/Score	Ross County 0:3 Huntly
Venue	Victoria Park
Referee
Ross County
Manager	Thomas (Tom) Pirie
Starting 11	1: R. Campbell, 2: R Johnstone, 3: Robert Munro, 4: Murdo Cameron, 5: Thomas Pirie, 6: ??? MacLeman, 7: ??? Robertson, 8: Murdo Cameron, 9: A Morrison, 10: Dave MacKenzie, 11: Tom Young
Bench
Attendance
Match Report	Report from the Ross-shire Journal. Ross County 0 Huntly 3 Ross County faced the unbeaten Huntly at Victoria Park, Dingwall, on Saturday, under a severe handicap. Cameron, the new inside right of the team, suffered a head injury at the start and ten men remained to do battle. In the last fifteen minutes of the game, Munro, the brilliant County right back, injured his ankle and he too had to be carried off. Huntly won by 3 goals to nil. On its merits it might have won even if the Ross County team had played as planned. Still, on the actual run of play, Ross County were not unworthy of at least a couple of goals, and, on a similar hypothesis, Huntly may have been worth at least another goal. What the result would have been if Ross County had been a complete team throughout remains an intriguing subject of speculation. A draw possibly; a win improbable. No better team than that which came from the home of the Gordons has appeared on Victoria Park since it was opened. “They’ll soon qualify for the Old Age Pension,” piped a youthful and facetious Ross County fan, referring to the Huntly team. By no means old, on the contrary, they were only less youthful than Ross County. Heftiness and stamina the side possessed; agility and dexterity characterised their actions; positional play was the strong suit in their movements. All in all, it is easy to account for the fact that in the Highland League this year “The Gordons hae the guidin’ o’d!” And yet, no one can say that the side plays pretty football. Effective and purposeful, yes; pretty, no. Thrustful always and inspired by positional play and team work, it lacks daintiness. What of Ross County? Criticism would be unfair; indeed it were unmerited. The missing link inevitably disorganised things. The defence stood up to a virile attack for at least seventy-five per cent of the time. It was inevitable. Not that Pirie was playing his men defensively all the time. His half-back line forced not infrequent openings, and, although a quartette is weaker than a quintette, the four forwards, splendidly led by Mackenzie, at times shook the opposing defence, and, as indicated, were not unworthy of a goal. Lobban, the veteran of the field, however, remained unbeaten. Huntly won the toss and elected to defend the South goal. Ross County kicked off. Mackenzie gave the ball to Robertson, who crossed to the right. Murdo Cameron got it and raced goalwards. In the penalty box he was tackled by Munro. Cameron fell on the ball and in a second half-a-dozen players were round him. Twenty-five yards away, the referee stood looking on at the melee. As the ball did not get clear, he blew his whistle. Then it was discovered that Cameron was lying on the field in a semi-conscious condition. Play had lasted just over sixty seconds. Cameron was taken to the Pavilion and attended by Dr. Brodie, Dingwall, and Dr. Mackenzie, Tain. It was found that he had a very severe cut on the right temple, and was bleeding profusely. Ultimately it was found necessary to stitch the wound. Shortly after half-time Cameron was able to proceed to his home. Such is the tale of Ross County's disastrous start in this their most important League match of the season. Meantime, the game had been resumed to the encouraging shouts of “Play up the ten men,” and they responded gallantly. A beautiful cross by C. Cameron was blocked by Mackenzie, whose parting shot just passed outside the post. Play was quickly transferred to the other end and Campbell was heartily cheered for two splendid saves in rapid succession from Ewan. Another raid by the County was stopped by an offside infringement. Back came Huntly only to be met by a very stubborn defence who had to give of their best to arrest the rapid and methodically moving Huntly men. Time and again they were sent back empty-handed. Pirie, realising the critical position of the team, was putting in two men's work. Young also worked hard, while no one could cavil at the demonstration of the backs. Indeed Johnstone was giving his best exhibition of the season. Then Huntly got a big fright; some fine combination between Morrison, Mackenzie and Cameron saw the ball carried well up the field. Cameron had the last shot. Lobban placed himself to save, but Munro intervened, and, miskicking, his shot passed the outside of the post at a great rate. The lecture he got from Lobban could not be heard, but it was well demonstrated. The corner kick failed. The want of the eleventh man was badly felt in the forward line, and it was only Pirie’s racing to the wings that permitted attacks by the County. And curiously enough they were always dangerous. Morrison had some fine crosses, and Dave Mackenzie narrowly missed converting one with his head. At the other end, Huntly had bad luck when a ball struck the cross bar, came out and was sent against the upright. It travelled right across the goalmouth and Johnstone cleared. What a sigh of relief. But the inevitable was bound to happen, and it was a well-placed ball, into the top corner of the net by W. Munro, that counted. Campbell jumped too late to effect a save. Ross County had held out for twenty-five minutes and if for that alone they deserved credit. Pirie again came into prominence with a long kick from the centre, which Lobban gathered but dropped. The ball went to Cameron, who, however, unaccountably failed. Then came the most spectacular goal of the match. Speedy Ewan got the ball on the left and shot diagonally across the goal. Donald rushed in and although the ball had not touched the ground, his first time kick went past Campbell like lightning. The effort was grandly cheered. After this, Lobban had to be active in saving shots from Pirie, Robertson and Munro. Half-time arrived, however, without addition to the scoring. Ross County on resuming made a great spurt and D. Mackenzie's luck was badly out when he sent a header over the top from a Morrison centre. For a time, even play ruled and the only difference between the teams was that the Huntly five forwards were more penetrative than Ross County’s four. They had some exciting rallies round Campbell, but he was not beaten till Donald sent in a high ball, similar to that of Munro's in the first half. Three goals down, Ross County never gave in. Though visibly tiring, they kept pegging away. But it was not their day on, and Lobban dealt with any ball that came his way. The County’s Munro was seen to fall after tackling Huntly's Munro. Both seemed to get the ball simultaneously. The back lay on the ground in great pain. He was carried off the field with a badly damaged ankle. The County’s cup of sorrow was now full to the brim. The nine men played gamely to the end, which came in semi-darkness with the score unchanged. Huntly deserved their win. They played the finest football. The defence was sound, with Lobban outstanding; the halves fed their forwards splendidly and the forwards themselves were a virile company and all of them could shoot as Campbell well knows. The two extreme men were outstanding. Pirie was the County’s strong man; he was the mastermind both as a defensive player or as an attacking force. Next came Munro, Johnstone and Campbell. Young and Macleman gave of their best, but the latter should be rested till his shoulder has recovered. Naturally the forward line was disjointed, and the absence of Cameron nullified combined work. Morrison was the outstanding man in the line and Cameron stood up well to his bigger opponents. There is no timidity about his play. Mackenzie, in centre, worked hard throughout, but the ball did not come to him well, and he had not a single atom of luck. Robertson was forceful but ineffective. Murdo Cameron was indeed missed.