| Date | Saturday, 28 January 2006 |
|---|---|
| Competition | Scottish League Division 1 |
| Fixture/Score | Saint Mirren 0:1 Ross County |
| Venue | Love Street |
| Referee | John Underhill |
| Ross County | |
| Manager | Gardner Spiers |
| Starting 11 | 1: Stuart Garden, 2: David Cowan, 3: James Lauchlan, 4: Lionel Djebi-Zadi, 5: Sean Webb, 6: Kevin McKinlay, 7: Don (JNR) Cowie, 8: John Rankin, 9: Mark McCulloch, 10: Alexander Burke, 11: Sean Higgins 1 |
| Bench | 0: Joseph Malin, 0: Neil McDonald, 0: Fergus Tiernan, 0: David Winters, 0: Gary McSwegan |
| Saint Mirren | |
| Manager | Gus MacPherson |
| Starting 11 | Tony Bullock, Kevin McGowne, Ian Maxwell, David van Zanten, Andy Millen, John-Paul Potter, Simon Lappin, Mark Corcoran, Charlie Adam, John Sutton, Stewart Kean |
| Bench | Christopher Smith, Hugh Murray, Mark Reilly, Iain Anderson, Alan Reid |
| Attendance | 3,659 |
| Match Report | Match Report Report from the Press & Journal. Saint Mirren 0 Ross County 1 Ross County breathed new life into the First Division title race with their first win at Love Street. The win was all the sweeter for County caretaker Gardner Speirs, a former St Mirren player. The chasing clubs have been given new hope of catching the Paisley side at the top of the table thanks to County's win and Speirs said: "Perhaps this result will put a wee doubt in St Mirren's minds. "Victory closes the gap and keeps us believing." And even Saints manager Gus MacPherson said: "This is a reminder to anyone who thought the league was done and dusted." The important goal came in 78 minutes when David Winters found Sean Higgins and he sent a low shot behind former County goalkeeper Tony Bullock who was making his debut for Saints. Higgins said: "The three points are absolutely vital for us and thank goodness we got a victory. "This is a hard place to come, but we have a game in hand on St Mirren and if we can win it we will have cut the gap to five points. "That is a big incentive." County started aggressively and Higgins and Alex Burke combined after five minutes to find Kevin McKinlay on the left. His cross was snapped up by John Rankin and it looked odds-on the opener until his shot came back off a post. As County went on the attack Don Cowie had a shot deflected just wide and then McKinlay also went close. And there were 25 minutes on the clock before County goalkeeper Stuart Garden was in serious action as he touched over a dangerous Charlie Adam free kick. But despite all the Ross County efforts is was their turn for a spot of luck in the second period with a Stewart Kean drive coming back off a post as Saints stepped up their efforts and began to dominate. However, all that changed in 78 minutes when Higgins drove in the winner for the three points. Speirs added: "We were a bit fortunate in the second half because they had a lot of pressure but we had dominated the first period." |