Date	Saturday, 27 January 2001
Competition	Scottish Cup
Fixture/Score	Ross County 2:1 Buckie Thistle
Venue	Victoria Park
Attendance	2,505
Referee	Steve Kaney
Comments	Match Report Report by Dave Edwards for the Press & Journal. Ross County 2 Buckie Thistle 1 Ross County made Scottish Cup progress, but battling Buckie walked off Victoria Park to loud cheers. Buckie did the Highland League proud. Charlie Rowley, who scored their 66th-minute equaliser, said: "I was astounded when it went in as it was probably against the run of play. But I thought against the run of play. But I thought we were right back in it and it was disappointing that they got the winning goal within four minutes." County struck with only four minutes on the clock when Frenchman Boukraa got in behind the Jags defence and fired the ball across for Daren Henderson to tuck it behind Michael Rae. The home crowd expected the flood-gates to open but it didn't happen and Rowley hit a deserved equaliser in the 66th minute when the the ball broke to Rowley on the penalty spot. He thunderous drive gave Walker no chance. Within four minutes. County were back in front when Eddie Cunnington grabbed the winner, although his angular drive took a deflection from Henderson's backside. Michael Rae, who made two great stops to keep Jags in the gams, said: "We set out our stall to try to frustrate County and it worked for the most part. Although we lost an early goal, we kept our shape and played to our strengths but the winning goal came from a deflection off Darren Henderson and that was disappointing as the ball was coming straight to me until it hit him. "I really enjoyed the banter with the fans and our own supporters were there in numbers and sang their hearts out all afternoon." Proud Buckie boss Alan Scott said: "I was very proud to be associated with the club on a day like this and anyone here today must have been impressed with both the commitment and fitness levels of my players. "I thought the effort we put in warranted a second bite at the cherry but it was not to be. Michael Rae was going to make the save when the winner was scored but the ball took a deflection and landed in the back of the net. "It was very disappointing to lose such an early goal but we came right back into things and I'm sure County will be glad to see the back of us. My prayers were answered when Charlie Rowley grabbed an equaliser. "The deflection was a cruel way to lose a goal but over the last two seasons we have managed to turn around the fortunes of the club and I'm glad that today we did give a performance that was worthy of the support of our fans." County manager Neale Cooper praised Buckie's fighting performance, while pointing out that this was his first taste of competitive action since January 2--and it showed. Cooper said: "The New Year game against Caley Thistle was the last game we played and that one came after a three week lay-off. We've been training indoors and all credit to my boys, who worked hard on a heavy surface."
Ross County
Manager	Neale Cooper
Starting 11	1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: Edward Cunnington 1, 3: Mark Perry, 4: Ian Maxwell, 5: Brian Irvine 1, 6: Darren Henderson 1, 7: Steven Ferguson, 8: John Fraser 1, 9: Karim Boukraa, 10: Owen Coyle, 11: Mark McCormick
Bench	0: Garry Hamilton, 0: Landy Zahani-Oni, 0: Kenneth Gilbert, 0: Alexander Bone, 0: Derek Holmes
Buckie Thistle
Manager	Alan Scott
Starting 11	Michael Rae, Graham Grant, Scott Anderson, Alan McPherson, Levi Stephen, Brian Thomson 1, Colin Craik, Paul Lamberton, Charles Rowley 1, Steven Rattray, Steve Bruce
Bench	Gordon Duncan, Neil Davidson, James Milne, Stuart Reid , Craig Stewart 1