Date	Saturday, 11 November 1989
Competition	Highland League
Fixture/Score	Ross County 1:2 Fraserburgh
Venue	Victoria Park
Referee
Ross County
Manager	Robert (Bobby) Wilson
Starting 11	1: Derek Rudkin, 2: Christopher (Chris) Somerville, 3: Alan Gair, 4: Robert (Robbie) Williamson, 5: Johnston Bellshaw, 6: Lee O'Brien, 7: Barry Wilson, 8: Cameron Robertson, 9: Brian Grant, 10: Gordon Connelly, 11: Alex (Nero) McDonald 1
Bench	0: Alan Robertson
Attendance
Match Report	Report from the Ross-shire Journal. Ross County 1 Fraserburgh 2 ROSS COUNTY'’S present run of defeats began on the ill-fated day they gifted their Scottish Qualifying Cup semi-final tie to Elgin City at Dingwall and Elgin certainly did not look a gift-horse in the mouth, warmly welcoming their Cup final place and the added bonus of winning the trophy itself. Ross County could well have been in that situation if their efforts had but a little luck. Elgin had been there for the beating, as were their recent Highland League opponents, Cove, the defeated finalists the previous week. Saturday’s League match with Fraserburgh was another case of luck deserting County. On pressure and chances Ross County should have been handsomely in the lead by half-time, but despite continuous pressure County were sharing two goals. They pressed from the opening whistle, and were playing some entertaining football as they took their opponents apart. Frustration soon crept into the Broch ranks, and from an early stage the referee was having recourse to name-taking, as some over-keen tackles were being thrown-in and there was a deal of back-chat. Name-taking was to continue throughout the game, with six or seven Broch men getting their names in the book, so much so that the regulation 90 minutes came and went, and the game went on for another six minutes! Some fans say he played overtime in the first half as well! Be that as it may, spectators like to see a clean flowing game without unnecessary stoppages, for the “extra-time” was certainly not created by time allowed for the treatment of injuries. For the second week in succession, Ross County were involved in a game, which went over the regulation time! Playing into the strong wind in the first half, County were able to harness it effectively to their own use, and keeping close control were tearing gaps in the Broch defence. Chris Somerville -and Cammie Robertson forward the time, and bringing their colleagues into the scheme of things. Up front, Gordon Connolly marshalled his forces well, but took some hard tackles in the process. Nero Macdonald was full of running and was taking a lively interest in the scheme of things. In midfield, Lee O’Brien was seen to better advantage, and was more confident in his efforts. Barry Wilson is at his best when chasing after a pass placed behind an opponent, when he has an opportunity to run on to the ball and cross it. He lacks the confidence of Billy Ferries of taking on an opponent, and cutting inside, but that could come. As it was, it was Wilson’s corner kick in the 35th minute, which gave County the lead. His cross was taken by Jonathan Bellshaw, and placed at the feet of Nero Macdonald, who with his back to the goal, controlled the ball, wheeled and struck it sharply into the net. Young Brian Grant was shaping up well although he had a quiet game. Brian, who is a former pupil of Invergordon Academy, is one of the players, who came through schools’ and the Ross-shire Under-18 and 16 Leagues. He went on to Dundee F.C. under a Y.O.P. scheme, and from there joined Forfar Athletic, County have him on loan. One supporter recalls seeing Brian scoring two great goals for Dundee in a televised match. Brian is a son of the former Kildary forward of Ross-shire Welfare League days, George Grant. Two minutes from the interval, quite against the run of play, Fraserburgh equalised. Smith evaded a tackle by Williamson and cut in on goal with only Rudkin to beat. The keeper kept his line, but misjudged his opponent’s intention as he was caught flat-footed moving to his right, as the ball entered the net low down to his left. The strength of the wind down the field towards the canal, was such that the Fraserburgh keeper was dropping his clearances on the County 18-yard line, at times to the consternation of the home defence and to the benefit of his own forwards as they harassed defenders into making anything but sure clearances of the dropping ball. County continued to dominate the second half, and should have knocked the stuffing out of Fraserburgh had Macdonald scored, when he broke through the middle and with only the keeper to beat, directed a not-very-strong shot to the keeper’s right. The latter was able to finger-tip it along the ground for a corner. On another occasion a looping header from the same player from a far post Wilson cross was pushed over the bar. In the 65th minute, Fraserburgh scored the goal that gave them victory. A corner from the Fraserburgh right carried right across goal, and as Rudkin rose to grasp it, he seemed to be impeded, lost the ball, and before he could retrieve it, an opponent had bundled it into the net. Attack after attack was launched by County in a desperate bid to retrieve the situation. James Mackay came on for Barry Wilson and struck the upright with a great shot. Nero directed a header from a Robertson cross into goal, but the counter was ruled out, when a linesman signalled an infringement, which a County supporter in line with play, declared was right — Nero was offside! There could not have been much in it.