Date	Tuesday, 01 July 2025
Competition	FRIENDLY
Fixture/Score	Strathspey Thistle 0:5 Ross County
Venue	Seafield Park
Attendance
Referee	Harry Bruce
Comments	26 Greg Ferguson, 27 Lewis MacKay. Match Report Report by Paul Chalk for the Press & Journal. Strathspey Thistle 0 Ross County 5 Ross County boss Don Cowie praised star Ronan Hale, whose lethal hat-trick was a main talking point in the 5-0 friendly win at Strathspey Thistle. All of the Staggies’ six new signings featured at some stage of this warm-up match against their Highland League hosts. A header from Kieran Phillips, a second half Hale treble and a Calum Brown strike eased County to victory. The Dingwall club are adjusting to being relegated by Livingston in the Premiership play-off final in May, meaning they are back in the Championship for the first time in six years when they got back up in one season. That’s the aim again, this time under the guidance of manager Cowie alongside assistant John Robertson. Hale, recently capped for the first time by Northern Ireland, scored 18 goals for County last term in his debut top-flight term, sparking speculation he might move on now the club have been relegated. Hale wanted to feature in Grantown However, the 26-year-old is under contract at County until 2027 and Cowie is thrilled to have him on board, showing his lethal touch in just half a game. He said: “I gave Ronan an extra week off compared to everyone else because he was on international duty. “He only rejoined the group yesterday. I was a bit reluctant for him to be involved tonight, but he was adamant he wanted to be part of it, which is great for me that he is so keen to continue what he did last season. “You saw in that 45-minutes – he scored three fantastic goals. He will be a very valuable player for us this season.” From the team which lost the second leg of that play-off final to Livi, Jordan White and Akil Wright were the survivors. In the starting 11, right-back Ben Crompton, midfielders Ross Docherty and Dean Cornelius and winger Gary Mackay-Steven all made debuts. With 13 County substitutes named, summer arrivals, centre-half Declan Gallagher and midfielder Arron Lyle were amongst the many players who got on in the second half. New arrivals impressing boss Cowie Cowie says the early business has helped the new faces settle in straight away. He said: “It was important for us to get the new players in early, which hasn’t always been the case given the short window we have had. “We got a good number in from day one in pre-season. We’re looking to add more, with (goalkeeper) Jordan Amissah and (left-back) George Harmon moving on the past two days. That leaves two big holes within our group. “I wanted everyone to get on the pitch and get game-time. “There has been a big turnaround in the personnel since last season. The young boys during these first eight days since we’ve been back have been a big part of our training group, so it was also a good opportunity to reward them for the past week when they came on in the second half. “It was a very good exercise and we’re really grateful to Strathspey for agreeing to the game, which was organised a bit last-minute.” Strathspey boss Ryan Esson is on the hunt for fresh additions to his squad before the Highland League starts later this month as they seek to finish well above their 17th place slot from last term. There were several occasions when they asked questions of their higher ranked team and the Jags will be happy with their effort overall, given the opposition’s class. Henderson shines after Ayr loan The breakthrough came on 16 minutes when, from a Henderson cross, striker Phillips pounced to head home to give County the lead. Early in the second half, Hale crashed home County’s second goal – a searing right-footed volley to connect with Henderson’s delivery. Hale made it 3-0 when, from a George Robesten corner, he swerved a curling effort high into the net. And he lashed home another goal moments later with 15 minutes to go from a neat Robesten cut-back to show he’s forever got an eye for goals. There was time for 18-year-old forward Brown, who was on loan with Invergordon last term, to keep calm in the box and guide a drive home with style from 12 yards.
Ross County
Manager	Don Cowie
Starting 11	1: Ross Laidlaw, 2: Ben Crompton, 4: Akil Wright, 5: Dylan Smith, 6: Dean Cornelius, 7: Jay Henderson, 8: Connor Randall, 10: Jordan White, 11: Gary MacKay-Steven, 19: Kieran Phillips 1, 23: Ross Docherty
Bench	21: Jayden Reid, 3: Rio Hastings, 9: Ronan Hale 3, 12: Jamie Williamson, 14: George Robesten, 15: Declan Gallagher, 17: Calum Brown 1, 20: Arron Lyall, 22: Eamonn Brophy, 24: Copeland Thain, 27: Oliver Lamont
Strathspey Thistle
Manager	Ryan Esson
Starting 11	Ethan Rae, Zach MacPhee, Filip Franczak, Jamie Calder, James McShane, Conor MacPhee, Aaron Doran, Liam Shewan, Shaun Morrison, Dylan Lawrence, Josh Race
Bench	Danar Farag, Cameron Lisie, Kieran Duffty, Daniel Whitehorn, James Fraser, Bailey Black, Jordon Laidlaw, Lewis Mackie, Adrian Voigt