Date	Saturday, 08 August 2026
Competition	Scottish League Division 1
Fixture/Score	Ross County 2:1 Montrose
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Referee	Sean Murdoch
Ross County
Manager	Stuart (Ketts) Kettlewell
Starting 11	1: Bradley Foster, 3: Lewis Strapp 1 1, 4: Akil Wright, 5: Lewis Reid, 9: Brian Graham 1 1, 10: Jamie Lindsay 1, 15: Dylan Smith, 19: Luke McCarvel, 20: Jack Turner, 22: Adam Emslie, 23: Ross Docherty
Bench	31: Bradley Wade, 2: Adam Forrester, 6: Connor Randall, 7: Richard Chin, 11: Kieran Phillips, 18: Andrew MacLeod, 24: Lewis Jamieson 1, 28: Jamie Williamson, 43: Josh Reid
Montrose
Manager	Stewart Petrie
Starting 11	Cammy Gill, Flynn Duffy, Aidan Quinn, Sean McGinty, Shaun Byrne, Graham Webster, Jamie Barjonas 1, Ewan Loudon, Blair Lyons, Keiran Freeman 1, Gary Oliver 1 (1 pen)
Bench	Campbell Millar, Ryan Williamson, Sean Dillon, Jake Sutherland, Keir Bertie 1, Harry Craig, Ross Clark
Attendance	2,389
Match Report	Ross County Goal Scorers: Lewis Strapp (37') Brian Graham (86') Ross County Substitutions: Richard Chin for Luke McCarvel (65') Adam Forrester for Dylan Smith (65') Kieran Phillips for Jamie Lindsay (70') Connor Randall for Jack Turner (70') Lewis Jamieson for Adam Emslie (85') Ross County Cautions: Brian Graham (45+1) Jamie Lindsay (52') Lewis Jamieson (90+3) Montrose Goal Scorer: Gary Oliver (45+3 Pen.) Montrose Substitutions: Jake Sutherland for Gary Oliver (70') Ryan Williamson for Ewan Loudon (70') Keir Bertie for Blair Lyons (82') Harry Craig for Shaun Byrne (82') Ross Clark for Jamie Barjonas (85') Montrose Cautions: Jamie Barjonas (66') Kieran Freeman (79') Keir Bertie (90+3) Report by Paul Chalk for the Press & Journal. Ross County 2 Montrose 1 The Staggies were made to work for their win as goals from Lewis Strapp and Brian Graham earned a hard-fought victory for Stuart Kettlewell's men. Ross County made it two wins from two games in League One as they edged to a tense 2-1 home victory against Montrose. Left-back Lewis Strapp’s first County goal since joining this summer gave the home team the lead, but Gary Oliver’s penalty late in the first half wiped it out. With the match in the balance until the final moments, home captain Brian Graham scored his seventh goal of the term to secure full points. Only County and Hamilton have won their opening two games, with Accies ahead on goal difference. County manager Stuart Kettlewell was delighted to take maximum points, but was not surprised to be pushed all the way by the Angus side. He said: “We expected the game that it was, for Montrose to sit in and make life difficult, defend their box when crosses came in and carry threats from set-plays as well as try and get the ball forward quickly on the counter-attack. “From our side, we had so many chances in the game to win it, but we didn’t capitalise on that. “But I loved the mentality from the players. We took a blow at half-time when we conceded a poor goal. We also took the blows of missing chances but we stuck at it and we deservedly won the game. “The little moment of tension came with the last touch of the ball when Sean McGinty’s header from a corner came off the crossbar. “I’ve had a look at it again and it’s a clear foul on Brian Graham. I would expect the referee to blow up for that, but all in all this was a big three points. We didn’t want to disappoint by coming away with a draw or losing the game. “One of the big things for me was the mentality. Last year, when we conceded a goal, that can snowball and become really negative. When you miss chances, that also becomes a big negative. “The mindset of the players is they know they will get another chance. They got their just rewards.” Kettlewell hailed the qualities of both his scorers, with their efforts going beyond hitting the net. He added: “It was a couple of big goals from Lewis and Brian. If it didn’t go in, I felt it was a clear foul on Brian for the second goal. He was hauled to the ground. “Lewis sets standards in everything he does. His body language, his approach in training and approach on and off the pitch has been a huge plus for us. “He had a contribution and a goal, which is great from a left-back. “Brian’s all-round play is so good. If we can get quality in and around the penalty box, we know we have someone who can put it into the back of the net. “He has been well aided by others, but his all-round performance and everything he has contributed to this point has been so positive. Long may it continue.” County, relegated from the Championship in May, got their league campaign off and running with a 1-0 win at Peterhead last week, while Stewart Petrie’s Montrose fell to a 5-0 home loss against Hamilton Academical. The Highlanders maintained the same starting XI for this one, while the visitors made one change with Blair Lyons coming in for Ryan Williamson. County were quick out of the traps and Jamie Lindsay was not far off target with a header which he flashed wide when meeting a cross from right-back Dylan Smith. Midfielder Ross Docherty then had two efforts which were off the mark, one from a shot, the other from a free-kick as the hosts kept the early heat on. Montrose goalkeeper Cammy Gill was called into action in the 20th minute as he pushed away a net-bound shot from Brian Graham after the big forward turned and fired the ball goalwards from the edge of the penalty box. At the other end, Jamie Barjonas drew a save from Brad Foster when he got on the end of a sharp passing move. On the left flank, Strapp had the space to go on the run and his delivery was met by Luke McCarvel’s header, which Gill was able to hold on to. The Gable Endies were keen to remind fans of their attacking potential though and Webster’s low effort on 34 minutes was gathered by Foster. However, a few minutes later, former Morton and Airdrieonians defender Strapp reacted the quickest to crash the ball into the net after Gill touched Graham’s header on to the crossbar to open his scoring account for the Staggies. Montrose heaped the pressure on in the final moments of the first half and were handed the chance to level when captain Aidan Quinn was taken down in the box by Jack Turner, leading to referee Sean Murdoch pointing to the spot. Oliver kept his cool and slammed the ball out of Foster’s reach to make it 1-1. This was his first Montrose goal since joining from Falkirk last month. That leveller came just moments after Foster had superbly saved on the goal-line from Sean McGinty. Kettlewell’s men looked to reply early in the second half and Lindsay drilled a low shot past the right post after he was picked out by the ever-alert Strapp, who got on the end of a pass from Graham. Only a superb goal-line clearance from Sean McGinty prevented Docherty’s shot in the box from flying into the net as County pressed again. There was a fair bit of tension on the pitch between the sides as the clock ticked on, with the game there for the taking. Kieran Freeman was a fraction away from hitting the target for Montrose with 20 minutes to go after a raft of substitutions from both camps were made to try and make a difference. And Strapp’s long-range shot had precision and power as he went for goal, but Gill pushed it clear just moments before the keeper made a point-blank stop from defender Lewis Reid. Just four minutes from time, skipper Graham came up with the big moment as he headed home from close range as he met a Strapp cross. It was the 38-year-old’s seventh goal of the season and it came at the ideal point to edge this close contest. McGinty almost sealed a stoppage-time point for Montrose when he crashed a header off the crossbar.