Date	Saturday, 26 December 1987
Competition	Highland League
Fixture/Score	Ross County 4:0 Brora Rangers
Venue	Victoria Park
Referee
Ross County
Manager	Robert (Bobby) Wilson
Starting 11	1: John Sutter, 2: Christopher (Chris) Somerville 1, 3: Scott Lemmon, 4: Cameron Robertson, 5: Dave Bellshaw, 6: Don Cowie (SNR), 7: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 8: Donald MacKay, 9: Davie Jackson 1, 10: Gordon Connelly, 11: James MacKay
Bench	0: Gary Robertson 2, 0: Alan Gair
Attendance	343
Match Report	Report from the Ross-shire Journal. Ross County 4 Brora Rangers 0 WHEN Gary Robertson came on as a substitute for James Mackay in the final quarter of Saturday’s Highland League match at Dingwall, it was as though a whirlwind hit the game. Strong, bustling Gary was quickly into the action, although he muffed a chance of a break with his first pass. The ball was cleared, but it was obvious he was going to rattle his opponents, and he sure did! In the 80th minute, Connolly made a swift break through the middle, but keeper Graham Stewart was able to parry his shot to the feet of Robertson, who was following up, and with his second kick of the match, he scored. A minute later, Don Cowie sent the Alness lad through the middle, and when his strongly-struck shot crashed off the upright with the defence in disarray and caught out of position, Gary—with his fourth shot in as many minutes of his presence on the field—scored his second goal and firmly ensured a County victory. Despite playing into a strong wind in the second half, Ross County always looked good, as their well-endowed defensive power, directness in the tackle, and speed in breaking forward with the attack had everything covered in their territory; the forwards were always in the thick of things, prompted by an outstanding midfield in which Gordon Connolly maintained his playmaker role, inspiring and encouraging, and one noted, taking two opponents out of the action as they gave him their undivided attention, leaving gaps and a “spare” County man in space. Gordon certainly received full attention, for though he might elude one tackle, there was always another crunching challenge to ride. The forwards were always inventive and incisive. In the closing half-hour, there were many occasions when Graham Stewart stood between his team and a heavier defeat as he performed heroically, making superlative saves from Billy Ferries, Donald Mackay, and Dave Jackson. His positioning, his clutching, his reflexes, and natural ability were tested to the full, and despite the loss of four goals, he came out of the game unbowed. His counterpart, John Suttar, had some anxious moments in the second half, but he too rose to the occasion magnificently, making one particularly good save when a goal for Brora might have made a difference. After a first half, which seemed a case of testing out the opposition, Ross County went into the lead just on half-time. For Chris Somerville, it was his first competitive goal for the Club. It came as he was following up an attack and a shot from Connolly broke off the full-back, and he first-timed the dropping ball with his left foot low into the goal to the keeper's left. Chris jumped into the air with delight! The second goal in the 65th minute was the result of a brilliant move, one of several in which all “branches” of the team played their part. Don Cowie swept a ball out to Ferries on the right wing: he took on the defence before slipping a pass to James Mackay, whose far-post cross was taken by Dave Jackson, and he whipped the ball home. This counter settled the game, before “Whirlwind” Robertson provided the coup de grace.