| Date | Tuesday, 14 September 1999 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish Challenge Cup |
| Fixture/Score | Ross County 1:2 Alloa Athletic |
| Venue | Victoria Park |
| Attendance | 1,202 |
| Referee | George Simpson |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Stuart Darroch for the Press & Journal. Ross County 1 Alloa Athletic 2 Loss After Extra Time Ross County's quest for Bell's League Challenge Cup silverware came to an end last night as they fell to Division 2 rivals Alloa in Dingwall. An extra time own goal by Brian Irvine in 112 minutes proved rough justice on County, who dominated the opening proceedings. Despite County going a goal in front through George Shaw, it was the Wasps who went into the semi-finals thanks to a late strike from Mark Donaghy in normal time and Irvine's late own goal. County manager Neale Cooper's decision to release ex-England striker Mark Hateley after only two games proved a fruitful one with both Garry Wood and Shaw playing their part. And it was the ex-Dunfermline striker Shaw who gave County the opener after 41 minutes. Paul Kinnaird's corner bounced about in box and Wood's flick-on was met by Shaw, who pounced from close in. Alloa beat County in the league on Saturday and their persistence and pressure in the second half paid dividends when, with only eight minutes remaining, ex-Celtic midfielder Donaghy fired a glorious drive into home keeper Nicky Walker's top right hand corner from 25 yards. In extra time, just when it looked set for a penalty shoot-out, Cameron's clever through ball was met by Willie Irvine and, as he was challenged by his County namesake Brian, the ball landed in the net. County's Steve Ferguson, Kenny Gilbert, John Fraser and Shaw were yellow-carded as were Alloa's Donaghy and Derek Clark. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Neale Cooper |
| Starting 11 | 1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: Martin Canning, 3: Ian Maxwell, 4: Brian Irvine, 5: John Fraser 1, 6: Franck Escalon, 7: Paul Kinnaird, 8: Kenneth Gilbert 1, 9: Steven Ferguson 1, 10: Garry Wood, 11: George Shaw 1 1 |
| Bench | 0: Roy McBain, 0: David Ross, 0: Kevin Finlayson |
| Alloa Athletic | |
| Manager | Terry Christie |
| Starting 11 | Mark Cairns, Mark Nelson, Craig Valentine, Ray Sharp, Davie Beaton, Derek Clark 1, Mark Donaghy 1 1, Max Christie, Gregor McKechnie, Martin Cameron, David Menelows |
| Bench | Jimmy Boyle, Gary Clark, William Irvine 1 |