| Date | Saturday, 23 September 2000 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 0:2 Falkirk |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 3,161 |
| Referee | Michael McCurry |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Graeme Kirkwood for the Scotland on Sunday. Ross County 0 Falkirk 2 Falkirk ended Ross County's recent revival with their two-goal victory but the Highlanders' manager, Neale Cooper, can feel a little aggrieved that his charges didn't secure at least a point. That they went in at the break without a goal was little short of miraculous after they had pummelled their guests for a frantic ten minutes late in the half and, as it transpired, the referee's whistle came at precisely the wrong time for them as they never regained their rhythm. Falkirk sank County with Goals from Gareth Hutchison and Andy Lawrie but will testify that few teams will leave Dingwall happy without the mightiest of scraps. Though only Kenny Gilbert and Mark Roberts had their names taken, there was ample opportunity for the referee to air his card as the game featured some ferocious challenges, especially in the packed midfield. Ross County gave Falkirk a few scares in the early stages and only Kevin Christie's perfect-timed challenge to deny Darren Henderson ended a superb move. The referee then sparked fury in the home ranks by refusing to award a penalty after a challenge by Steven Rennie. As if Falkirk were not having difficulty enough, they often looked likely to help their hosts' quest for the opener. Just before the half hour, Rennie and goalkeeper Myles Hogarth got into all sorts of trouble dealing with a speculative ball that resulted in an indirect free kick deep in the penalty box. Though Hogarth eventually held Henderson's shot on the line, it was indicative of the lack of communication that dogged Alex Totten's outfit for spells and the Falkirk manager must have looked skywards as Hutchison appeared to handle John McQuade's shot only for the referee to wave play on again. County squandered a hatful of chances as the half ended and Hogarth kept the scoresheet blank with a brilliant instinctive stop from Alex Bone's point-blank header. As the home side toiled to pick up the pace again after the break, Falkirk began to dominate for the first time in the afternoon and the opener duly came on the hour mark. Nicky Walker had done well to block John Henry's shot but after David McMahon had bounced a chip off the bar, Hutchison stole in at the far post to side-foot home. County's failings in front of goal were in evidence again as both Bone and Henderson allowed Hogarth to stop efforts that should have given the goalkeeper no hope at all and they paid the penalty five minutes from time when Lawrie got up at the far post to help David Nicholls' header over the line and tie up the points for Falkirk. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: Ian Maxwell, 3: David MacKay, 4: Mark Millar, 5: Paul Kinnaird, 6: Kenneth Gilbert, 7: Franck Escalon, 8: Darren Henderson, 9: Steven Ferguson, 10: Alexander Bone, 11: John McQuade |
| Bench | 0: Stefan Gonet, 0: Brian Irvine, 0: John Fraser, 0: David Ross, 0: George Shaw |
| Falkirk | |
| Manager | Alex Totten |
| Starting 11 | Myles Hogarth, Kevin Christie, John Henry, Andy Lawrie 1, Jamie McQuilken, Mark Kerr, Steven Rennie, Davie Nicholls, Gareth Hutchison 1, Mark Roberts, David McMahon |
| Bench | Darren Hill, Greig Denham, Andy Seaton, Garry McStay, Ian Morris |