| Date | Saturday, 14 January 1995 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 3 |
| Fixture/Score | Cowdenbeath 0:3 Ross County |
| Venue | Central Park |
| Attendance | 396 |
| Referee | Ian Taylor |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Jock Mackay for the North Star Cowdenbeath 0 Ross County 3 En Route to Cowdenbeath I reflected on the difficult three-match run facing County on the back of a magnificent six match 'roll' which had seen them gather 16 out of the last 18 points available. Now they face East Stirling this week, perhaps the best team County have encountered this season, Obviously the optimistic target of nine points would be perfect but may be asking too much with manager Wilson possibly happy with five points from draws with East Stirling and Montrose, ensuring that they too, as promotion candidates, would be dropping points. Cowdenbeath, yet to score against County, would ostensibly be the 'easy touch' of the trio. Target therefore was three points from Central Park, setting County up for the more difficult two league matches to follow. After a first half when ordinary as an adjective would have been classed as a superlative, County looked much more composed as a unit and with-out firing on all cylinders ran out comfortable winners. Naturally, manager Wilson was 'chuffed' with the result although conceding it was not one of County's vintage showings, "A great result to come away from Cowdenbeath unscathed." he enthused. He admitted they were fortunate to be one up at the interval but added, "in the second half we did improve and showed emphatically that we had the better quality players." The destiny of the points, in the end, revolved almost entirely around an outstanding contribution from the fans' favourite, speedy winger Billy Ferries. Two excellent goals and 'winner' of a penalty--there's not much more a player can do in 90 minutes! it should not be forgotten, however, that in a sloppy, untidy first half, it was mainly some superb defending from Billy Herd that kept County on level terms. The work rate of this scribe was not high in the first half with notes on constructive play few and far between, the highlight being the injury time goal which put County into an undeserved and unexpected lead. Billy Ferries it was who lit the torch with a run up the right, a step inside a defender and a left foot shot which entered the net via a post. The goal did wonders for County's confidence and the second half brought a much more composed performance despite Jamie Macpherson limping off with a hamstring injury after only two minutes. Willie Furphy came close with a fierce drive from an Andy Macleod pass and then Andy was unlucky when he slipped when clear through and Brian Grant was also unlucky when he was adjudged off-side after a neat one-two with Connelly. The crucial second goal, however, arrived in 68 minutes putting County firmly in the driving seat. Ferries was upended on a pace run into the box, the referee adjudged the tackle illegal and Brian Grant blasted the spot kick home. Then the icing on the cake when the Beath defence were caught out trying to work the off-side trap and Billy Herd whipped through a superb ball to Ferries and the other Billy did the rest. The end result from an indifferent performance sent everyone home happy. To be fair to the team, they had reached successive peaks of standard against Caley Thistle, Alloa and Forfar. To expect another was probably asking to much. Individual performances were mostly average with, surprisingly, John Bellshaw below that, but he is a crucial component to the pattern of play and it is no coincidence that the recent successful run coincided with his return from injury. Two performances shone through the mist of mediocrity, however, with Billy Ferries having a foot in all three goals and making him an obvious candidate for Man of the Match. He certainly looked really sharp. But, for me, the out-standing player was Billy Herd. His conversion to sweeper has seen him emerge as an outstanding defender with a priceless gift for making the right choice of pass, the measured stroke of the good old-fashioned 'big hoof'. He's quick on his feet, reads situations quickly and despite being no giant can handle himself physically. I was not convinced about his value early on but, like so many other Ross fans, am now converted, A final word of praise for young David Mackay who, once again, did well when he came on and is proving a useful and versatile member of the pool. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Robert (Bobby) Wilson |
| Starting 11 | 1: Stephen Hutchison, 2: William Furphy, 3: Christopher (Chris) Somerville, 4: William (Billy) Herd, 5: Craig Reid, 6: Johnston Bellshaw, 9: Gordon Connelly, 10: Keith (Billy) Ferries 2, 9: Andrew (Andy) MacLeod, 10: Brian Grant 1 (1 pen), 11: Jamie MacPherson |
| Bench | 0: Donald (Don) MacMillan, 0: Alexander (Sandy) MacLeod, 0: David MacKay |
| Cowdenbeath | |
| Manager | Pat Dolan |
| Starting 11 | James Maloney, Martin Humphreys, Scott Murdoch, Brian Malloy 1, Collins, Paul Weatherston, Gary Wood, David Fellinger, Graeme Souter, Willie Callaghan, Ian Black |
| Bench | Dom Maratea, Barry McMahon |