| Date | Saturday, 29 October 1994 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 3 |
| Fixture/Score | Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0:0 Ross County |
| Venue | Caledonian Stadium |
| Attendance | 3,440 |
| Referee | Les Mottram |
| Comments | Match Report Report by Bill McAllister for the Press & Journal. Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0 Ross County 0 Ross County striker Brian Grant will Remember the first Highland New Firm derby against Caley Thistle in Inverness for a long time to come. Brian and his wife drove up to Inverness from Laurencekirk and it was after his wife had gone shopping that the former Dons and Dundee player realised she had his contact lenses with her in the car. He and his teammates searched the town's main shopping venues in vain but ultimately had to rush to Telford Street. But a teammate's sister eventually tracked down Mrs Grant--and she rushed to the ground. The 3,400 fans were baffled as to why Grant left the field after 12 minutes with no sigh of injury and the reason was that he was putting in the lenses. "It was a nightmare to be without them for our biggest game," said Brian. "J cannot express the relief i felt when the signal came from the bench that the lenses had arrived." Earlier in the season Brian had his lenses stolen in Perth en route to a match and his adventures with them are certainly becoming quite a spectacle. West Ham scout were at Telford Street to see a rip-roaring tussle which neither side deserved to lose. The crowd was the seventh largest in Scotland on the day--only the four Premier Division and the Dundee-St Johnstone and Raith-Dunfermline derbies pulled in more fans, further proof that both clubs are making a genuine contribution to the Scottish League. Indeed, the Telford Street attendance was nearly double the combined attendance of the rest of the Third Division programme. The fans certainly got value for money in a thrilling contest full of pace, action and commitment. Actually, the silky soccer was in short supply as both teams cancelled each other out tactically. But for tension and excitement it was the place to be and the outcome leaves Caledonian Thistle only three points off a promotion spot, with County only seven behind leaders Forfar. The Inverness men recovered well and powerfully from the blow of losing comeback man Wilson Robertson, who never looked fit and didn't come out for the second half. Willie Furphy is shaping as the bargain of the season at £6,500 from Elgin and the County pivot won the man of the match award. The nearest to a goal came when County won a Penalty in 60 minutes after impeded Connelly. But MacLeod's spot kick rebounded off the inside of the post into the keeper's grateful arms. Both sides had their chances and let-offs in a great advertisement for North soccer. |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Robert (Bobby) Wilson |
| Starting 11 | 1: Donald (Don) MacMillan, 2: William Furphy, 3: Christopher (Chris) Somerville, 4: Gary Campbell, 5: Robert (Robbie) Williamson, 6: Craig Reid, 7: Cameron Robertson, 8: Gordon Connelly, 9: Andrew (Andy) MacLeod, 10: Brian Grant, 11: Alan Duff |
| Bench | 0: Stephen Hutchison, 0: David MacKay, 0: Russell McFee |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | |
| Manager | Sergei Baltacha |
| Starting 11 | Mark McRitchie, Dave Brennan, Mark McAllister, Sergei Baltacha, Mike Andrew, Mike Noble, Colin Mitchell, Martin Lisle, Bruce McCraw, Charlie Christie, Wilson Robertson |
| Bench | Morman McMillan, Steven MacDonald, Jim Calder |