| Date | Tuesday, 08 August 2000 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Cup |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 1:0 Albion Rovers |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 778 |
| Referee | Garry Mitchell |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Ross County 1 Albion Rovers 0 Former Hearst striker Derek Holmes bailed out Ross County last night as the First Division newcomers struggled to kill off unfancied Albion Rovers. The club record signing blasted back at his critics with a superb display and goal after being thrown into the fray at half-time by County manager Neale Cooper. But his 64th-minute winner did little to ease apprehension among County followers regarding the tough league contest ahead. County were sharing Third Division football with Albion just two years back, but their rapid rise since had them billed as clear favourites. Cooper's men, like the visitors, slipped to a 1-0 defeat in their opening league tie and were anxious to find winning form. But, despite County's first-half dominance, Rovers made it extremely difficult. County came close in five minutes when Darren Henderson's header from a few yards flew over after a well worked move and pinpoint Paul Kinnaird cross. Saturday's red-card villain Brian Irvine then sent a long ball over the Albion defensive line, but Bone's skidding cross was shepherded out by keeper Chris Fahey. The Coatbridge men had their first opportunity in 25 minutes, with James MacKenzie's ambitious 30-yard effort skidding dangerously in front of keeper Nicky Walker before defender Kenny Gilbert hooked clear. There were some heated exchanges between Irvine and Yannis Begue after the Albion attacker had tested the referee's patience with a foul on Kinnaird. There was further frustration for County when another Kinnaird cross and Bone header set up Henderson for a second near miss just before the break. Holmes replaced Henderson at half-time and the £50,000 striker came close to opening the scoring in 50 minutes when keeper Fahey had to palm the ball from his head after Kinnaird's cross. County's Craig Taggart then shot over from 20 yards, but teammate Kenny Gilbert was lucky to escape with a yellow card after a last-man foul on Begue. Holmes finally broke the deadlock in 64 minutes. A foul on sub Franck Escalon 12 yards inside Albion's half allowed a quickly taken free-kick and George Shaw smacked the ball goalward From the resulting scramble, Holmes was in position to lash in a six yard shot. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: Edward Cunnington, 3: Ian Maxwell, 4: Brian Irvine 1, 5: Kenneth Gilbert, 6: Craig Taggart, 7: Mark Millar, 8: Paul Kinnaird, 9: Darren Henderson, 10: Alexander Bone, 11: George Shaw |
| Bench | 0: Garry Hamilton, 0: David MacKay, 0: Franck Escalon, 0: David Ross, 0: Derek Holmes 1 |
| Albion Rovers | |
| Manager | John McVeigh |
| Starting 11 | Chris Fahey, Jordan Smith, Bobby Clyde, Todd Lumsden, Sean Clark, Mark Booth, Yannis Begue, Chris Silvestro, Colin Waldie 1, Jamie McKenzie, Ian Rankin |
| Bench | Scott Shearer, Alex Martin, Martin Harty, Ian Diack |