Date	Saturday, 14 October 2000
Competition	Scottish League Division 1
Fixture/Score	Ross County 1:1 Ayr United
Venue	Victoria Park
Attendance	2,567
Referee	Ian Fyfe
Comments	Match Report Report by Alasdair Fraser for the Scotsman. Ross County 1 Ayr United 1 If grit counts for anything in this unpredictable division, and most agree it is worth its weight in gold, Ross County's Derek Holmes must be of the 24-carat variety. The former Hearts youngster, genuinely coveted by Jim Jefferies before his reluctant release to the Highland club for a five-figure sum, threw himself fearlessly at the ball in the 81st minute, smacking the post hard for his trouble. More importantly, from County's viewpoint, the selfless act clinched an improbable draw with their only real attempt on target all afternoon. Minnows at their new-found, heady First Division status, the Dingwall side clearly intend scratching and clawing their way to safety from relegation, particularly when faced by more illustrious opposition such as Ayr. The visitors underlined their relative affluence by fielding new addition Steve Boyack, the former Rangers and Dundee players, alongside a list of others with similarly-lofty experience. For long enough, it seemed like the Honest Men would overcome County's honest toil, particularly when Pat McGinlay drilled in a cracking 25-yard strike in 56 minutes which evoked memories of his Celtic and Hibs heyday. County manager Neale Cooper changed things around, though, with Holmes's arrival off the bench proving the catalyst for a late revival in fortunes. Alex Bone's snap-shot forced a superb save from Craig Nelson, but he could do little as the striker lunged in to net at the far post, crashing against the upright in the process. "I had to go for the ball, because I knew what an equaliser would mean to us," said Holmes. "I knew the danger and, ironically, it was the danger and, it was the knee I injured against Airdrie which took the force of the blow. Still it was worth it to get the goal." Ayr manager Gordon Dalziel had mixed feelings about losing two points so late in the game. "It was disappointing, given that we had enjoyed the better of the game and gone ahead through a fine goal," he said. "But to be fair, County fought hard, and maybe deserved something."
Ross County
Manager	Neale Cooper
Starting 11	1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: Ian Maxwell, 3: Brian Irvine, 4: David MacKay, 5: Darren Henderson, 6: Franck Escalon, 7: Mark Millar, 8: Kenneth Gilbert, 9: Paul Kinnaird, 10: Andrew Smith, 11: Alexander Bone
Bench	0: Stefan Gonet, 0: John Fraser, 0: Steven Ferguson, 0: Derek Holmes 1, 0: John McQuade
Ayr United
Manager	Gordon Dalziel
Starting 11	Neil Duffy, Craig Nelson, David Craig, Mark Campbell, Craig McEwan, Paul Lovering 1, Marvyn Wilson, Pat McGinlay 1, Steven Boyack, Eddie Annand, Glynn Hurst
Bench	Marius Rovde, Neil Scally, Scott Chaplain, Mark Crilly, Gareth Armstrong