| Date | Wednesday, 01 February 1995 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish Cup |
| Fixture/Score | East Fife 1:0 Ross County |
| Venue | Bayview |
| Attendance | 2,126 |
| Referee | Eric Martindale |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Mike Tremlett from the Press & Journal. East Fife 1 Ross County 0 Ten-man Ross County were handed a cruel Scottish Cup exit at Bayview last night which robbed them of a glamour trip to Kilmarnock in the last 16. Twelve minutes from the end of the tie. Dingwall defender Chris Somerville was sent off for deliberate hand ball--his second Scottish cup red card in two seasons--and the Fifers grabbed the crucial goal from the penalty spot. The home side also finished a man short after defender Mark Donaghy was shown a second yellow card just three minutes after the Fifers grabbed the all-important counter. County manager Bobby Wilson immediately pitched top scorer Jamie Macpherson--held back on the bench because of doubts over his fitness-- into the action in a desperate bid to earn his side a lifeline. But it was not to be, despite a great second-half show from the Third Division side from the Highlands. County had survived every-thing East Fife could throw at them for most of an extremely competitive encounter. County's best, and possibly only, chance fell to Brian Grant, who saw his flick cleared off the line by Alex Hamill, with East Fife keeper Robertson beaten. County's frustration was evident in three first-half bookings handed out to Billy Herd, Robbie Williamson and Andy MacLeod. The second halt was a different story. County emerged looking much more like serious competition for their Second Division opponents--more disciplined at the back, more committed in midfield and sharper up front. But disaster struck in 78 minute when Somerville was shown a red card after a Robert Scott header hit the net and the referee signalled a hand-ball offence and pointed to the spot. With County's travelling support covering their eyes. Gilbert Allan made no mistake from the penalty spot and County were down and out. "We're very disappointed to he going home out of the Scottish Cup after showing a lot of character in a game where we struggled to play to anything like our normal form," said Wilson' I can honestly say I've never seen a Ross County side put under so much pressure over 90 minutes. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Robert (Bobby) Wilson |
| Starting 11 | 1: Stephen Hutchison, 2: William Furphy, 3: Christopher (Chris) Somerville 1, 4: Robert (Robbie) Williamson 1, 5: William (Billy) Herd 1, 6: Craig Reid, 7: Johnston Bellshaw, 8: Gordon Connelly, 9: Keith (Billy) Ferries, 10: Andrew (Andy) MacLeod 1, 11: Brian Grant |
| Bench | 0: Donald (Don) MacMillan, 0: David MacKay, 0: Jamie MacPherson |
| East Fife | |
| Manager | Steve Archibald |
| Starting 11 | D Robertson, G Bell, Alex Hamill, Alan Sneddon, John Cusick, Mark Donaghy 2 1, Gilbert Allan 1 (1 pen), Ronnie Hidersley, Robert Scott, Paul Hunter, Dougie Hope |
| Bench | S Hutchison |