Date	Saturday, 19 November 1988
Competition	Highland League
Fixture/Score	Ross County 2:3 Keith
Venue	Victoria Park
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: Don Cowie (SNR) 1 (1 pen), 7: Keith (Billy) Ferries 1, 8: David MacRae, 9: Alex (Nero) McDonald, 10: Gordon Connelly, 11: Albert Allan
Bench	0: Barry Wilson, 0: Alan Gair
Attendance
Match Report	Report from the Ross-shire Journal. Ross County 2 Keith 3 BY THE 35th minute of their Highland League match with Keith, at Dingwall, on Saturday, Ross County seemed well and truly out of contention. They had been caught cold in a fourteen-minute spell midway through the first half, and had been sent reeling with three goals in the 21st, 30th, and 35th minutes. Enough to knock the stuffing out of any team, one would have thought. On occasions, however, they had been as good as their opponents, but then the speed and directness of Keith were such that they were the slicker of the two teams. Keith gained its inspiration and urge from their Number 10, who was a commanding presence at right midfield. Numbers mean little these days, but be it Wisely or Mathieson, his performance could well have earned him Man of the Match, if there was such an award. It was an inspired performance. However, County’s first-half display left much to be desired, and had one wondering if the lack of a competitive game the previous Saturday had blunted their edge somewhat. It could be, for the longer the game went on, the stronger, and more progressive and confident, County became, and probably the halftime pep-talk from Bobby Wilson provided the necessary fillip to grab the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half, and take it to Keith. There was a tremendous transformation in the County ranks, for during the second period they played with greater confidence, more abandon, and with a greater appetite for the game. There were a series of scintillating runs from Bobby Ferries, whose role later became that of striker through the middle, a role in which he showed a new dimension and even more purpose. All over, the team’s performance was more purposeful and cohesive, and fans who had been looking to a humiliating defeat stayed on in the cold, with snow falling fitfully, and cheered their team on warmly. It was not for the want of trying that the equalising goal eluded County, for much effort was put into snatching the equaliser, very deserved on play, especially after overcoming a 0-3 deficit. At the beginning, after a spell of end-to-end play in which both sides had their chances — Keith with a shot from Brebner, which deflected off a County player into the hands of the keeper; and County with a Scott Lemmon header from a corner kick which went just past the post — Keith took the lead in the 21st minute when an unmarked Cowie took a ball from the right in centre field, and slammed it past Suttar. In the 30th minute, Chris Somerville seemed to have saved a goal on the line, when he scrambled clear a powerful header from Garner. However, the referee adjudged he had handled the ball and accordingly awarded a penalty kick, which Barbour converted. Down two goals, worse was to follow five minutes later, when Cowie scored his second with a brilliantly placed header from a Yeats cross, the ball lodging high up at the junction of crossbar and upright, to Suttar’s left. In the 40th minute, the referee awarded County a penalty, when “Nero” Macdonald, moving upfield to a ball, seemed to have been taken down from the rear by an opponent. Don Cowie scored from the spot, with a goal which probably signalled the County revival. The pace of the game in the second half was increased, especially as far as County was concerned. Their performance was more inspiring, confident and entertaining, but all they had to show for it was one goal in the 75th minute from Billy Ferries, who had come in from the left to meet a perfectly placed far-post cross from Cammie Robertson, with a powerful header, which directed the ball well away from keeper Thain. Time ran out for an eager County, who introduced young Barry Wilson for the last quarter of the game. Barry had been on trial with Dunfermline Athletic, and certainly added some spice to the front row.