Date	Wednesday, 22 May 1940
Competition	North of Scotland Cup
Fixture/Score	Ross County 3:1 Inverness Thistle
Venue	Victoria Park
Referee	Mr. A. Clyne
Ross County
Manager	The Management Committee
Starting 11	1: ??? Selwyn, 2: Adam Forsyth, 3: ??? Hazle, 4: A. MacDonald, 5: ??? Coulthart, 6: D Urquhart 1, 7: Frankie MacBeath, 8: ??? Nicol 1, 9: ??? Moffat, 10: ??? Ferguson, 11: ??? Henderson 1
Bench
Attendance
Match Report	Report from the Ross-shire Journal. Ross County 3 Inverness Thistle 1 These great rivals did not provide the usual thrills and frills associated with their matches. For such an important tie as the blue riband of northern football, Wednesday evening's game at Victoria Park was a disappointment. The result was pleasing, but the play lacked cup-tie fighting spirit. A stiff breeze and a bad pitch did not help the players, who all seemed to have a pronounced failing for miskicking the ball. The visitors' attack seemed quicker and they covered the ground much more speedily than their opponents, but they were not so effective at goalmouth as the homesters. The deciding factor, however, was the superiority of the County defence. Under pressure, the home backs remained calm and resolute. Sometimes they appeared to be too cool, but on the other hand, their easy-going style brought them successfully out of some very precarious situations. Forsyth and Hazle were relentless in their work, the latter being a forceful tackler. The County halves, Macdonald, Coulthart and Urquhart, were a strong trio, who repeatedly broke up the Thistle's vain efforts to win the day. In a match that was not conspicuous for good constructive movements or combined football, Nicol, Moffat and Henderson managed to bring off some praiseworthy touches, which helped to brighten a somewhat dull and listless contest. Thistle had their periods of clever and elusive dribbling and precise passing, but at goalmouth their attack was featureless, even the famous Kay being faulty in his shooting—a most unusual thing. In five minutes County were on the lead, Urquhart, left-half, sent in a 25 yards drive, and the flight of the ball completely deceived Macneil. Then Ferguson had a good effort, while at the other end Gillies shot wide when well placed. The Thistle's equalizer was equally lucky, Selwyn driving the ball against the approaching Gillies, and the leather entered the tenantless goal. With a smart header, Moffat made Macneil bring off a good save, and County's goal underwent an escape when Dennis missed badly from close in. Ultimately the homesters regained the ascendency, Moffat making the opening for Nicol. With the stiff breeze behind them, Thistle redoubled their efforts to get on level terms, Gillies forcing Selwyn to move smartly to clear his lines, and Milligan also severely tested the keeper. After Selwyn had made a full length save from Kay, two Thistle attackers struck the woodwork with hard shots, but the ball was scrambled clear. A deceptive shot from Milne almost caught Selwyn unawares and the resultant corner proved fruitless. In a raid on the Thistle's goal, Henderson made victory secure by finding the net with a brilliant over-head kick. This further reverse damped the visitors' vigour and although they did a considerable amount of attacking, their efforts lacked thrust. Selwyn, however, was kept busy dealing with very fine tries by Milligan and Kay. The keeper made an exceptionally clever clearance when he rushed out and picked the ball off Gillies' toe. The homesters attack had their share of visits to the Thistle's end, and Moffat, Nicol and Henderson almost succeeded in augmenting the total.