| Date | Saturday, 21 August 1999 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 2 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 0:0 Stenhousemuir |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 1,856 |
| Referee | Mike Ritchie |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Alasdair Fraser for the Daily Record. Ross County 0 Stenhousemuir 0 Ian Maxwell thought he knew a thing or two about defending before he teamed up with Brian Irvine. Now the former Queen's Park centre half is learning a whole new dimension to the art. A key man in last season's title triumph, Maxwell is forging one of the most formidable defensive partnerships outside the SPL with Irvine and his ex-Dundee team-mate Craig Tully. Yet county's defensive solidity is providing no guarantee of goals at the other end. Maxwell said: "I'm really enjoying playing with Brian and Craig. We already have a good understanding and Brian is a joy to work with. He is a great organiser and motivator and I'm learning from all the time. "There is a lot of responsibility and expectation on his shoulders but he copes with that fine. "If we can keep playing as well together as a unit at the back then I don't think we will lose a lot of goals. "But obviously it was disappointing not to convert all our dominance and pressure into goals against Stenhousemuir. "Brian has scored a few since moving to Victoria Park and they've been important goals but I don't think we can rely on him all the time." That was a message echoed by County boss Neale Cooper after a second scoreless draw of the season. County have invested in their attack by bringing in the industrious George Shaw from Dunfermline and seasoned goal-scorer Michael Geraghty from Hamilton. But cooper, who paired Shaw with young Gary Wood against Stenny, is aware he may have to fork out again. He said: "It was very frustrating not to capitalise. We hit the bar and a post, so maybe that little bit of luck wasn't with us. "The one criticism I would level at the players was they seemed to sit back and wait for things to happen. "At set pieces, they were letting Brian Irvine go for everything but he is never going to win every ball. "If there is one weakness about my strike-force it is that they are all a bit similar. We could maybe do with a big, strong target man." Stenny boss Graeme Armstrong said: "We defended very well considering the amount of pressure we had to soak up. County have a good side so to come away with a point was pleasing." |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: Craig Tully, 3: Ian Maxwell, 4: Brian Irvine, 5: Roy McBain, 6: John McGlashan, 7: Kenneth Gilbert, 8: Steven Ferguson, 9: Garry Wood, 10: Kevin Finlayson, 11: George Shaw |
| Bench | 0: Steven MacKay, 0: John Fraser, 0: Michael Geraghty |
| Stenhousemuir | |
| Manager | Graeme Armstrong |
| Starting 11 | Lindsay Hamilton, Alan Lawrence, Alan Banks, Graeme Armstrong, Tom Graham, Graeme Davidson, Ross Hamilton, Colin McKinnon, Willie Watters, Jimmy Fisher, John Gibson 1 |
| Bench | Martin Mooney, David Wood, Aaron Cummings |