| Date | Saturday, 11 November 2000 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Falkirk 2:3 Ross County |
| Venue | Brockville |
| Attendance | 2,898 |
| Referee | Tom Brown |
| Comments | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Falkirk 2 Ross County 3 Veteran Ross County defender Brian Irvine was back where it all began for him as he inspired the Highlanders to a shock 3-2 victory over his former club Falkirk at Brockville. The 35-year-old header the second goal as Neale Cooper's outfit ended a seven-match winning run for Alex Totten's First Division leaders. And the ex-Scotland and Aberdeen star admitted it was a nostalgic afternoon for him as the Dingwall outfit recorded their fifth league win of the season. Irvine said: "It's just about seventeen years to the day since I came here for a trial match with Falkirk and my career got started." County took a surprise lead in the 29th minute with a stunning left-foot drive from Stevie Ferguson. However, the Bairns levelled from spot six minutes after the restart through Mark Roberts after Eddie Cunnington had felled Steven Craig. The hosts were stunned just three minutes later when Irvine lost marker Greig Denham to head home a Ferguson corner. But the hosts continued to press and grabbed a deserved leveller in the 78th minute when Andy Lawrie swung in a cross from the right and skipper Davie Nicholls glided a header beyond Nicky Walker. However, County never wavered and grabbed the victory which their remarkable spirit alone deserved seven minutes from the end. Alex Bone's cross from the right found its way through to Derek Holmes at the back post and the striker's left-foot effort was deflected past Hogarth. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: Ian Maxwell, 3: Edward Cunnington, 4: Brian Irvine 1 1, 5: Kenneth Gilbert, 6: Darren Henderson, 7: Steven Ferguson 1, 8: Craig Taggart, 9: Derek Holmes 1, 10: John McQuade, 11: Alexander Bone |
| Bench | 0: Garry Hamilton, 0: David MacKay, 0: Allan Lees, 0: John Fraser, 0: A Trialist |
| Falkirk | |
| Manager | Alex Totten |
| Starting 11 | Myles Hogarth, Greig Denham, John Henry, Andy Lawrie, Jamie McQuilken, Mark Kerr, Steven Rennie, Davie Nicholls 1, Mark Roberts 1 (1 pen), Alex Burke, Steven Craig |
| Bench | Darren Hill, Andy Seaton, Garry McStay, Gareth Hutchison, Kevin McAllister |