| Date | Saturday, 11 September 1999 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 2 |
| Fixture/Score | Alloa Athletic 2:0 Ross County |
| Venue | Recreation Park |
| Attendance | 694 |
| Referee | George Clyde |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Matthew Leslie for the Daily Record. Alloa Athletic 2 Ross County 0 Alloa pushed their promotion case as Ross County tumbled to shock second defeat on the trot. Home boss Terry Christie was delighted with the win and admitted that promotion was his target. He said: "We are good enough to go up and we are going for it. Our passing was excellent against County and our composure grew as the match wore on." Alloa started in determined mood but they couldn't find a way past Nicky Walker. County threatened on the break and veteran striker Mark Hateley looked his old menacing self. The former Rangers star seemed certain to score when George Shaw sprang the offside trap but Davie Beaton intercepted his cross with Hateley waiting to score. Alloa won the game in an explosive 10-minute spell at the start of the second half. Willie Irvine beat the offside trap and was hauled down in the box by Kenny Gilbert after 48 minutes. The County defender was ordered off and Irvine picked himself up to give Alloa the lead. Six minutes later good build-up play tore County's defence apart and Ian Little produced a superb finish. Disappointed County boss Neale Cooper said: "I don't totally blame Gilbert for his sending-off. "Had he not been so badly exposed by his team-mates he would never have been put in that position. "We didn't look solid. There will be changes for next week." Hateley was more upbeat and he said: "It's the old confidence factor. If we keeps creating chances results will come our way." On life with county, Hateley added: "There are similarities with Rangers. Football is played with the same bag of wind the world over. "The level of commitment here is on a par with that displayed at Ibrox." |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: Craig Tully, 3: Ian Maxwell 1, 4: Brian Irvine, 5: Mark Hateley, 6: John Fraser 1, 7: Franck Escalon, 8: Roy McBain, 9: Kenneth Gilbert 1, 10: Steven Ferguson, 11: George Shaw |
| Bench | 0: Paul Kinnaird, 0: David Ross, 0: Kevin Finlayson |
| Alloa Athletic | |
| Manager | Terry Christie |
| Starting 11 | Mark Cairns, Mark Nelson, Craig Valentine, Davie Beaton, Ian Little 1, Jimmy Boyle, Derek Clark, Gary Clark, Mark Donaghy, William Irvine 1 (1 pen), Martin Cameron |
| Bench | Ray Sharp, Gregor McKechnie, Trialist |