Date	Saturday, 18 April 1936
Competition	Stuart Cup
Fixture/Score	Ross County 3:0 Inverness Thistle
Venue	Victoria Park
Referee
Ross County
Manager	The Management Committee
Starting 11	1: ??? Gillanders, 2: J.A MacKay, 3: Ackie Urquhart, 4: Paulo Grant, 5: Albert MacRae, 6: J MacIntosh, 7: J Black 2, 8: J.A Ross, 9: ??? Finlay 1, 10: J MacMillan, 11: Colin Cameron
Bench
Attendance
Match Report	Report from the North Star. Ross County 3 Inverness Thistle 0 There was no end-of-season atmosphere about this cup-tie at Victoria Park, Dingwall, on Saturday. It was a fast and exciting game, full of hard knocks, which at times led to over-robustness. The Highland League champions, Inverness Thistle, provided the flourishes, but the County did the scoring, which resulted in a convincing win. The Thistle opened as if they were to carry the day easily, but once the hosts took the lead, the visitors' early promise faded out, and instead of displaying the form which won them the championship, they played football of an ordinary standard. Against the County’s rock-like defence, the Thistle could make no impression. When their forwards did get past Mackay and Urquhart, which was rare, the brilliance of Gillanders’ goalkeeping defied their efforts to the extent of even stopping Clunas’s penalty kick. In front of these sound defenders, there were three hard-working halves—Grant, Macrae, and Mackintosh. An old favourite, Grant, showed that he still retains his craft, and throughout the game, he gave some sparkling touches. Equally outstanding was Macrae. Strong in defence, he was equally as forceful in attack. The last-minute choice, Black, outside right, was the star performer. His two goals were well-taken, and his thrust was always a worry to his opponents. On the other wing, Cameron was successful to a degree, but he did not receive from Macmillan the support he deserved. Cameron’s snap-shot, which gave Black the opportunity to head into the net, revealed that he still has the snappiness of an ideal winger, while he also demonstrated a strong shot in forcing Sherlaw to bring off a great save. The County’s hardest worker, Ross, was incapacitated for most of the game, having to be carried off the field after receiving a kick above the heart. He resumed, however, but had to take up the outside left position. As leader, Findlay did well and with more senior experience should develop into a worthy successor to Aird. He is fast, tireless, and of the bustling type. The visitors did not move with their usual ease. They seemed to lack tactics to counteract the quick tackling of their opponents. In fact, they gave a disappointing show and were lucky to escape a heavier defeat. At the outset, Thistle attacked. Both teams, however, had little control of the light ball with which the wind played many tricks. Within a few minutes, the visitors had a rude awakening. Grant put Black in possession and the winger forced a corner. Fastening on to the rebound off his own flag-kick, Black drove through a crowd of players into the net. The Thistle replied strongly and Gillanders saved brilliantly from Urquhart. Clunas then tested the home custodian with a low grounder. End-to-end play followed, but both keepers had little to do. Urquhart (Thistle) went nearest the mark with a first-timer. An exciting melee occurred in the home goalmouth, every visiting forward failing to seize a “gilt-edged” chance. The danger was ultimately cleared by Gillanders scrambling the ball away. At the other end, Cameron brought Sherlaw to his knees with a fast drive. The snap-shooting of Urquhart almost brought disaster to the hosts, his shot going narrowly over. Again, Grant was instrumental in bringing the County success. His cross went to Black, who sent it into the centre. Findlay met the ball in his stride and drove into the net with terrific force. For a bad foul on Ross, who had to retire, County were awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area. Macrae scored direct, but the goal was disallowed for Finlay being off-side. A few minutes later, the County added the third. Cameron dribbled past the defence and lobbed the ball into the goalmouth. Finlay’s shot struck the cross-bar and before Sherlaw could clear, Black raced in and headed a goal. Resuming with only ten men, the County defence had to undergo a severe test. The Thistle hovered round the goal, raining in all manner of shots, but Gillanders and his backs gave nothing away, while Macrae headed clear a likely shot from Clunas. For fully twenty minutes, the home backs were hard pressed, but they did not waver one inch. In fact, the more work they got to do, the more confident they became. This applied also to Gillanders, who fielded two excellent shots from Johnstone and Urquhart. At this time, Ross resumed. On his way through to goal, Kay was tripped. Clunas drove hard from the spot, but Gillanders brought off a magnificent save. Eluding the visitors’ defence, Black got through but was pulled down unceremoniously inside the penalty box. The referee, however, made no award. For some time, the hosts appeared likely to increase their total, being always dangerous in the goalmouth. In a final rally, the Thistle made desperate efforts to retrieve their position, but they met with no success.