| Date | Monday, 02 January 1995 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 3 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 3:1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 2,749 |
| Referee | George Simpson |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Bill McAllister for the Press & Journal. Ross County 3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 Snow-Fringed Victoria Park proved a winter wonderland for Ross County as they surged to an emphatic success in the Highland derby to put them in excellent heart for Saturday's Scottish Cup tie at Alloa. The Dingwall club's enterprise in clearing the snow was matched by the team's performance in the last hour of an entertaining affair. County reeled off their fourth straight Third Division victory to go ahead of their Inverness neighbours for the first time since late August. Brian Grant, scorer of only three Scottish League goals so far, clicked back into lethal mode with two goals in two minutes to set Caley Jags slumping to their first Third Division defeat at the hands of their local rivals. On what became a skating rink surface, Willie Furphy and Billy Ferries were the Torvill and Dean, using their clever control to outstanding advantage. The Inverness men had the best of the first half hour but County gradually started to make their tackles and in the second half their midfield ran the show, turning the screw on the visiting defence. Though treacherous underfoot at times, the pitch was clearly playable--testimony to the effort of County's army of 40 volunteers who had laboured to scrape tons of snow to beyond the touchlines. Caley Thistle started encouragingly as far as the visiting fans in the 2,749 crowd were concerned, with Paul Mackenzie twice firing narrowly past as the Ross rear guard endured anxious moments. The visitors deservedly took the lead in 20 minutes when Alan Hercher was Baulked at the post and Mike Andrew converted his third successive Scottish League penalty kick. Caley Thistle should have built on this but their early midfield ascendancy evaporated as Robbie Williamson and Co started to win possession. The Inverness cause was not helped when Mike Noble had to limp off with a hamstring injury. County's big push at the start of the second half paid off in 52 minutes when Gordon Connelly flighted a free kick to the far post and Jamie Macpherson glanced a header just inside the upright. This spurred on County and the action was mostly at McRitchie's end before, in 69 minutes, Williamson won the ball and his pass to Somerville was laid out to Billy Ferries, who crossed it along the 18-yard line and there was Grant racing clear of Andrew's despairing tackle to fire the home side into the lead. Two minutes later ferries took a Furphy pass and his cross flicked off Grant and into the net to make it 3-1. The Visitors kept fighting, with Hercher, working desperately for a goal, but County were composed and confident and there was no way they were going to surrender their advantage. Noble, Brennan and McAllister of Caley Thistle and County's Macpherson were booked. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Robert (Bobby) Wilson |
| Starting 11 | 1: Stephen Hutchison, 2: William Furphy, 3: Christopher (Chris) Somerville, 4: Robert (Robbie) Williamson, 5: William (Billy) Herd, 6: Craig Reid, 7: Johnston Bellshaw, 8: Gordon Connelly, 9: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 10: Brian Grant 2, 11: Jamie MacPherson 1 1 |
| Bench | 0: Donald (Don) MacMillan, 0: David MacKay, 0: Alan Duff |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | |
| Manager | Sergei Baltacha |
| Starting 11 | Mark McRitchie, Dave Brennan 1, Mark McAllister 1, Mike Andrew 1 (1 pen), Mike Noble 1, Sergei Baltacha, Charlie Christie, Alan Hercher, Paul McKenzie, Wilson Robertson, Colin Mitchell |
| Bench | Jim Calder, Richard Hastings, Gary Watt |