retired_marcias

St. Mirren 1-2 Ross County
Scottish Division 1 League Match - Saturday 9th August

Playing with a much more defensive mentality this week, the team starts solidly, but Andy Morrison is forced to go off injured on 10 minutes after a rather crude challenge from St. Mirren's Eddie Annand - Brian Irvine comes on to replace him. A tightly contested first half comes to an end with the score still at 0-0. Success so far and 5 shots on goal, all on target so no need for immediate changes at half time. Just 5 minutes into the second half and a lucky escape as Martin McCulloch loses the ball allowing Kevin Twaddle to run clear, but Twaddle puts his shot wide. 3 minutes later and St. Mirren take the lead as Twaddle puts Barry Lavety through. It's beginning to look like another defeat as we head for the last 10 minutes and I consider some more substitutions, but suddenly Keith Robertson latches on to a Bobby Duncan cross and ends a mazy run with a strong finish past the floundering St. Mirren 'keeper. Another lucky escape though 5 minutes later as Ricky Gillies charges forward and flashes a shot narrowly wide. Just 2 minutes left and it's looking like we can hang on for the draw. Duncan picks it up and plays a neat ball forward, Gary Bowman latches on to it and gets his cross in and...YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!! It's there!!!! David Winters with a header past the outstretched hand of Craig Hinchcliffe. A great performance so far, we just need to hold onto it through injury time. Jubilation at the final whistle - my first competitive win as Ross County manager and the emotions are so different from the despair of last week. Suddenly the players have the confidence again, the fans start believing again, the doubters start to doubt their doubts. It's only 1 win, but it's an important one.

retired_marcias

Monday 1st September

With the season underway now, my diary entries have become a little less frequent and match reports condensed somewhat as the games come thick and fast. Only a small amount of news on the transfer front at the end of August. Shaun Kerr headed out on a 3 month loan deal to Dumbarton.

Falkirk centre-back Kevin Christie agrees to take a pay-cut to join Ross County in a record deal worth £8,000. He should add some depth to a slightly thread-bare defensive line.

In other matters, we lost defender Andy Morrison for 2 weeks with an army injury resulting from his clash with Eddie Annand of St. Mirren, but he's back now. Also Ross O' Donoghue was unfortunately injured in training and was ruled out for a projected 3 weeks with a damaged injury - we hope to have him back in a week or so.

The Challenge Cup second round came and went with County's conquerers Gretna getting thrashed away to second division Greenock Morton. Not sure what that says about us, but we're concentrating on the league for now. Speaking of which - we had 3 more matches in August:

Ross County vs Queen of the South
Scottish Division 1 League Match - Saturday 16th August:

6 mins: Mark McCulloch heads in at the near post from a David Winters corner.
Ross County 1-0 Queen of the South

HT: Not a great deal of action, but County playing well and looking good value for their 1-0 lead so far.

61 mins: Queen of the South midfielder Sean O'Connor is sent off for a second yellow card.
79 mins: Steven McGarry goes clean through, but fires a good chance wide for County.
84 mins: Excellent double save from the Queen of the South 'keeper to deny Steven McGarry.

FT: Ross County 1-0 Queen of the South (3020 attendance)
A satisfactory performance and another 3 points in the bag to keep us level with Ayr on maximum points.


Brechin vs Ross County
Scottish Division 1 League Match - Saturday 23rd August

1 min: A superb long pass from Gary Bowman puts Steven McGarry clear, but the striker blazes over the bar.
6 mins: A strong run down the left from David McGuire, cuts infield and blasts into the back of the net.
Brechin 0-1 Ross County
18 mins: An excellent saved by Andy Goram from a Stephen Hampshire shot for Brechin
28 mins: Bobby Duncan throw-in finds David McGuire who runs into the box and squares for David Winters to tap in at the far post.
Brechin 0-2 Ross County

HT: A good first half away from home for Ross County as we go in 0-2 up having rode our luck a little

66 mins: Brechin's Chris Templeman follows a great dribbling run with a superb shot from the angle to beat Andy Goram.
Brechin 1-2 Ross County
72 mins: Keith Robertson receives the ball from a David Winters' right wing run and cross, swivels in the box and puts the shot away for a well taken goal that should give County all 3 points.
Brechin 1-3 Ross County
82 mins: Steven Hampshire cuts in from the left wing and hits the post for Brechin.

FT: Brechin 1-3 Ross County (3124 attendance)
Very scrappy passing from Ross County with > 50% of our passes going astray, but a solid performance, especially defensively. Passing should improve when Ross O'Donoghue returns from injury.


Ross County vs Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Scottish Division 1 League Match - Saturday 30th August

Local pride at stake today in the first Highland derby of the season with Ross County sitting 2nd and Inverness down in 6th place after 1 win, 1 draw and 1 defeat so far.

2 mins: Ross County break upfield quickly after an Inverness freekick and David McGuire smashes a vicious shot against the crossbar with Caley Thistle defenders scrambling to clear the rebound.
12 mins: An excellent cross from David Winters and the fans go wild as David McGuire gives County an early lead.
Ross County 1-0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle
22 mins: Young inverness right-back John Barclay shown a straight red card for pushing Gary Bowman in the chest.

HT: Ross County looking confident, but putting too many shots wide and over the bar. Inverness Caley Thistle now down to 10 men and still yet to get a sight of goal.

52 mins: A well-taken freekick from Steven McGarry strikes the near post and rebounds into the grateful arms of Thistle 'keeper Mark Brown.
57 mins: Inverness defenders scramble the ball away as far as Brian Irvine who flicks it forward to Mark McCulloch. McCulloch turns and curls the ball superbly past a despairing Mark Brown from 30 yards out to put County in an unassailable looking lead.
Ross County 2-0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle
69 mins: McCulloch hits the post from a Hugh Robertson ball forward.
81 mins: Brian Irvine secures the 3 points for County with an easy header in from a pinpoint David Winters corner.
Ross County 3-0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle
89 mins: County centre-back Andy Morrison receives his second yellow card of the match and it's 10 vs 10 for the dying minutes.

FT: Ross County 3-0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle (3751 attendance)
A very dominant performance from Inverness with far better passing than against Brechin (72% pass completion) and 15 shots on goal to none from Inverness. Only 5 of those on target though so there might be some call for shooting practice next week.

Elsewhere Ayr United concede two second half goals to go down 1-2 at home to Raith Rovers, leaving Ross County 3 points clear at the top after 4 games of the league season. Still areas to improve, but 12 points from 3 games so far and I'm not complaining

Chairman Archie told the assembled press that he was absolutely delighted with the 3-0 win over our local rivals and that his decision to go for an untested and unheard of manager was paying dividends so far.

As August ticks over into September the player and manager of the month awards are handed out with County's Keith Robertson winning Player of the Month, Ayr's prolific striker Stewart Kean wins Young Player of the Month and much to my delight: Ross County's Adam Eckersley has won the Scottish First Division Manager of the Month award.

It's been a rollercoaster ride since I took over at the start of July, but now things are starting to fall into place and I'm really starting to believe Ross County have the squad to make a determined push for the SPL this season.

[This message was edited by glamdring on 06 February 2004 at 21:54.]

retired_marcias

Friday 19th September

All is quiet now on the transfer front and luckily we are having very few new injury problems - currently just Bobby Duncan out with a short-term injury.

2 games since the last update and not a good couple of weeks at all for the County faithful.


Airdrie United vs Ross County
Scottish League Cup R1 - Tuesday 2nd September

HT: The teams go in still locked together at 0-0 with the side-netting seeing most of the goal scoring action as finishing from both sides is slightly wayward. County so far playing with a defensive mentality, but might attack more in the second half to avoid extra time.

46 mins: Just 16 seconds into the second half Airdrie Utd's Mark Roberts fires in a powerful shot from a tight angle to beat Andy Goram in the County goal.
Airdrie United 1-0 Ross County
56 mins: Mark Roberts sets up Jerome Vareille to put Airdrie 2-0 up.
Airdrie United 2-0 Ross County
60 mins: Alan Gow receives the ball on Airdrie's left wing and plays the ball forward quickly into space for Mark Roberts to run onto and shoot past Goram. No chance for a County comeback now.
Airdrie United 3-0 Ross County
79 mins: A stromash in the Ross County penalty area leaves the ball at the feet of Stephen Docherty who turns and fires the ball into the back of the County net. It seems this season isn't going to be a cup season for County!
Airdrie United 4-0 Ross County

FT: Airdrie Ubited 4-0 Ross County (1540 Attendance).
Not a lot to say about that really - a pitiful performance against another lower divsion side and out of another cup competition having conceded 9 and scored 0 in cup competitions so far this season. Even Arbroath only conceded 3 this time, and they scored!


St. Johnstone vs Ross County
Scottish Division 1 League Match - Saturday 13th September

Aiming to bounce back quickly from another humiliating cup defeat, Ross County head South (well, all matches are South for County!) to Perth to face former SPL side St. Johnstone in what should be a tough test of County's promotion credentials.

16 minutes: Mark Robertson attacks down the St. Johnstone left wing, putting a lovely cross in for Kiegan Parker to run onto in acres of space and a player of Parker's ability wasn't going to mess up that chance.
St. Johnstone 1-0 Ross County
24 mins: Mixu Paataleinen adds a second for the home side after good work from Kiegan Parker to set him up.
St. Johnstone 2-0 Ross County
37 mins: Simon Donnelly finds Mixu Paataleinen with a delicious cross and Paataleinen duly finds the onion bag. St. Johnstone are absolutely ripping County apart here.
St. Johnstone 3-0 Ross County

HT: The score speaks for itself really. All St. Johnstone with Ross County's defensive playing style unravelling horribly.

55 mins: Into the second half and Greg Shields receives the ball in space and lets fly from 30 yards into the top corner of the County net.
St. Johnstone 4-0 Ross County
65 mins: St. Johnstone players seemingly queueing up to score as Paul Bernard this time collects the ball outside the area and smashes an unstopable shot into the Ross County goal.
St. Johnstone 5-0 Ross County

FT: St. Johnstone 5-0 Ross County (3495 Attendance).
A strange season so far for County. The 100% record in the league heads West in spectacular fashion leaving County now having been thrashed away from home 3 times this season. The defensive mentality didn't work at all so we might try a new formation next match. Perhaps time for me to spend more time pondering tactics and less time writing these diaries!

Elsewhere, a 4-1 win for Ayr United over Falkirk sends them back to the top of the table on goal difference with Ross County dropping to second.

retired_marcias

Match report from the Dingwall Times on Saturday September 20th 2003

Eckersley wins fans round as Classy County demolish hapless Raith

Hamish Brodie reports:

A truly outstanding performance from Ross County today against 3rd placed Raith Rovers seems to have won around those fans still wavering over Eckersley's appointment as Ross County manager. The last two matches have been painful for the County faithful, seeing 9 goals head into their own net and none into their opponents, but when County turn on the style and play like this they look unstopable. Cries of "It's better than watching Brazil" went up in wave after wave in the first half as seemingly every County move resulted in a neatly finished off goal. If new boss Adam Eckersley can just find the consistency that seems a little lacking currently, County are surely in the frame for a promotion push this season.

Fans throughout the town of Dingwall had been shocked and appalled when Eckersley was installed as manager in July and a 5-0 defeat to 3rd division Gretna in his first match in charge seemed to back up the opinion that his appointment was the most ridiculous in the club's history, but with 4 wins in a row in the league following that defeat many fans were beginning to warm to Eckersley's style of play. A 4-0 defeat in the league cup again against lower division opposition again raised questions about Eckersley's lack of experience in managing at this level and these fears seemed to be confirmed as St. Johnstone ripped County apart last week scoring 5 without reply, but today the fans saw a performance that caused them to fall in love with their new manager even with a few heavy defeats thrown in. County fans can't remember ever having seen such free flowing football from a home side at Victoria Park before and with an electric atmosphere expected at the ground for upcoming matches, Eckersley's side will be looking for maximum points at home. Then there's just the small matter of the away form to sort out, but that's for another day...today, watching Ross County was as good as watching Brazil and a lot cheaper and the fans loved it.

The key moments of the match are listed below:

Ross County vs Raith Rovers
Scottish Division 1 League Match - Saturday 20th September

1 min: With many of the fans still finding their seats, Kevin McCallion, making his home debut on the left wing plays the ball infield to Ross O'Donoghue who controls it instantly and lays it forward for Steven McGarry to flick on for Kevin Robertson to latch onto and slide home.
Ross County 1-0 Raith Rovers
10 mins: Mark McCulloch plays the ball back to Kevin McCallion who fires it forward into the area where Steven McGarry collects and blasts it into the top corner for his long awaited first goal of the season.
Ross County 2-0 Raith Rovers
16 mins: McGarry picks out [b]Robertson with a great cross and the tall striker heads in County's 3rd goal.
Ross County 3-0 Raith Rovers
19 mins: With the dust having hardly settled from County's 3rd goal, the two strikers again combine to great effect with McGarry claiming his 3rd assist of the game and Keith Robertson claiming his first ever hat-trick with an audacious lob over the Raith Rovers 'keeper.
Ross County 4-0 Raith Rovers
23 mins: Freekick to Ross County, taken by Steven McGarry across the penalty area to David Winters who manages to turn and fire in a shot which deflects cruelly away from the 'keeper and in off the post. Quite a performance from Ross County - off the back of conceding 5 at St. Johnstone they're now 5 goals to the good here with only a quarter of the match gone!
Ross County 5-0 Raith Rovers
45 mins: Steven McGarry hits the near post with a 30-yard freekick.

[i]HT: A truly stunning performance from County in the first half. With a few changes in personnel from the last match, County look a totally different side. Keith Robertson returning in place of Jim Hamilton seems to have fired up strike partner McGarry who has been at the centre of everything so far.

46 mins: With just 27 seconds on the clock, Raith defender Paquito totally misjudges a tackle on David Winters as a teasing cross comes in from McCallion and County have a penalty which David Winters coolly slots into the bottom left corner of the Raith net.
Ross County 6-0 Raith Rovers
56 mins: Gavin Skelton completely misses a Hugh Robertson cross, leaving Keith Robertson free to measure his shot and beat Gonzalez in the Raith goal for the 4th time today!
Ross County 7-0 Raith Rovers
68 minutes: A neat cross from Martin Hugo Prest finds John Sutton in the area for an easy goal for Raith Rovers - a bit late in the day though perhaps.
Ross County 7-1 Raith Rovers
87 mins: Richard Brittain pulls wide right for Raith Rovers and delivers an exquisite cross into the box for youngster Craig Malcolm to score his first ever senior goal.
Ross County 7-2 Raith Rovers

FT: Ross County 7-2 Raith Rovers (4273 Attendance).
A thoroughly entertaining match for the home fans as County set a new goalscoring record with a performance very pleasing on the eye and a 4-goal haul for Peterhead reject Keith Robertson who is fast becoming a fan's favourite at Victoria Park. Special mention should also go to Steven McGarry who worked tirelessly up front all day claiming an amazing 5 assists as well as finding time to score one for himself.

retired_marcias

Match report from the Dingwall Times on Saturday September 27th 2003

County go 5 points clear with late flurry as Ayr lose again

Hamish Brodie reports:

After the performance against Raith Rovers last week it was always likely to be difficult to live up to expectations at Victoria Park today and indeed County looked a little slugish in an entertaining first half as John Fraser scored from a tight angle with a lovely volley for Clyde to send the Cumbernauld side in 0-1 up at half time.

Whatever County manager Adam Eckersley said to the players at half time, it worked though as County roared back in the second half, equalising on 49 minutes as Steven McGarry tapped in from close range after Keith Robertson had used his strength to win the ball in the air from Goram's long goalkick and square it across the box for McGarry. With substitute Jim Hamilton firing over the bar a couple of times it looked like County's second half domination would be in vain, but with 89 minutes on the clock, Bobby Duncan found Steven McGarry with a throw-in deep in the Clyde half. The striker turned deftly and knocked the ball into space for Ross O'Donoghue to run onto and blast at Clyde 'keeper Mark Peat who failed to hold the ball and could only watch in agony as Hamilton was on hand to tuck away the rebound.

County still weren't finished though and in the 94th minute, a Jamie McCunnie throw-in picked out Jim Hamilton who headed the ball on for David McGuire to squeeze the ball in from a narrow angle.

All in all a deserved win for Ross County who had 18 shots on goal (with 12 on target) in the match compared to Clyde's 10 (with just 3 on target), but they left it late as the fans began to think it just wasn't their day.

This defeat drops Clyde to the bottom of the table, whilst elsewhere Falkirk move into 3rd with a 2-0 win over County's arch-rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ayr United slip up, crumbling to a 2-1 defeat away to St. Mirren who move off the bottom with that result.

retired_marcias

Match report from the Dingwall Times on Saturday October 4th 2003

Away form continues to haunt County as Falkirk pile on the pressure

Hamish Brodie reports:

With 2 good home wins behind them in recent weeks, County travelled to Falkirk hoping to put their dodgy recent away form behind them and cement their place at the top of the Scottish First Division.

All was looking good when Keith Robertson headed in a David Winters corner on 19 minutes and Ross County defended stoutly to go in 0-1 up at half time. With news from Somerset Park that Ayr United were a goal down at home to Queen of the South, County suddenly found themselves with a chance to go an amazing 8 points clear with just 8 games played.

Falkirk were clearly in no mood for defeat though after a rousing half time talk from manager John Hughes and piled on the pressure in the second half. With just 10 minutes gone, former Hibernian midfielder John O'Neill slid in to take the ball away from Andy Morrison to run forward and score. Morrison certainly won't be wanting to see any videos of that as he was caught ball napping after receiving from Bobby Duncan. Such defensive errors will have to be stamped out if County are to recover their away form.

Falkirk wrapped up the points on 70 minutes as young Colin Boylan tapped in from a McMenamin knock down to score his first ever goal for Falkirk. County had chances, but too few and Falkirk ran out deserved winners, creating far more chances on the day and finishing off more of them in the end.

This result sees Falkirk close the gap on league leaders County to just 4 points with Ayr United grabbing a late equaliser at home to Queen of the South to stay 2nd on goal difference, also 4 points behind County. If County can keep their impressive home form going they still have a chance of promotion, but the away form is becoming a serious problem for young manager Adam Eckersley to sort out.

Rumours around the club suggest Eckersley is considering a switch to a 3-1-4-2 formation for the next away match, but we'll have to see what he decides when the time comes.

retired_marcias

Coming next:

Can Ross County stop the rot with an away win at closest rivals Ayr or will the division close back up? And can struggling St. Mirren stop Ross County's rampant home form or will the Victoria Park bandwagon roll on?

Hamish Brodie returns tomorrow!

retired_destiny1124

Pretty solid club overall glamdring I think the oddsmaker are a wee bit off

retired_marcias

Match report from the Dingwall Times on Wednesday October 15th 2003

County travelling woe continues as the pack close in

Hamish Brodie reports:

Ross County manager Adam Eckersley was today left pondering his club's 4th consecutive away defeat as they crashed 2-1 at 2nd placed Ayr United. With wins for St. Johnstone and Raith Rovers, the pack are now closing in on league leaders County who's lead is down to just 1 point now over Ayr United. At half time at Falkirk last week, County were in position to go 8 points clear at the top - now they find themselves with 7 teams within 8 points of them.

In a free-flowing match, Ayr were always in control thanks to a Stewart Kean tap in and a neat Stuart McGrady finish sending them in 2-0 up at half time. Ross County came out strongly in the second half and when the division's top scorer Keith Robertson diverted an Andy Morrison shot into the Falkirk net a comeback looked on, but despite the sending off of Ayr right-back Willie Lyle, County were unable to break the 10 men down.

FT: Ayr United 2-1 Ross County (3111 Attendance)

[This message was edited by glamdring on 07 February 2004 at 12:33.]

retired_marcias

Match report from the Dingwall Times on Saturday October 18th 2003

Jekyll and Hyde County bounce back to trounce struggling St. Mirren

Hamish Brodie reports:

After narrow defeats away to two of their main promotion rivals, County were undoubtably happy to be back at Victoria Park and facing relegation threatened St. Mirren today. With Ayr and St. Johnstone both closing in at the top, County needed 3 points today to stop the rot and stay top of the Scottish First Division.

A quiet first half saw David McGuire's close-range effort tipped over the bar by St. Mirren 'keeper Steven Woods and David Hannah blast a long range effort over the bar. With 25 minutes on the clock, Keith Robertson found the back of the net, but was ruled out for offside as the home fans cheered their side on in search of the opening goal. St. Mirren's only noteworthy effort was a shot from John O'Neill fired straight at County 'keeper Andy Goram. County finally made the break-through on 33 minutes as Jamie McCunnie sent Keith Robertson clear down the right and Robertson sqaured for Steven McGarry to tap in at the far post with the St. Mirren 'keeper stranded in no mans land. Heading in 1-0 up at the break, County would be looking to capitalise on their domination in the second half.

Approching the hour mark, with the score still at 1-0, David McGuire broke down the left, crossing into the box towards Keith Robertson who managed to turn, evading 3 St. Mirren defenders to fire past Steven Woods. With St. Mirren struggling towards the bottom of the table and County still having a 100% home record, it seemed the points were now in the bag. As County turned up the pressure, David Winters intercepted a wayward St. Mirren pass 40 yards out and ran unimpeded towards the away goal to slot past the 'keeper for 3-0 and just 2 minutes later, Winters was again on hand to fire in as David McGuire went on a superb run down the left wing, cut in field and sqaured across the box to Winters at the far post. McGuire was again instrumental in setting up Ross O'Donoghue on 87 minutes to open his goal scoring account for Ross County.

Fans left Victoria Park feeling thoroughly satisfied, but slightly perplexed as to the massive variation in their team's home and away form with 15 goals scored in their last 3 home matches countered by 4 straight defeats away from home. Victories for Ayr and St. Johnstone keep the pressure up at the top with Raith Rovers aiming to stay in touch with the top 3.

FT: Ross County 5-0 St. Mirren (4142 Attendance)

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Falkirk| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Ross County | | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 26 | 14 | +12 | 21 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Ayr | | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 16 | +10 | 20 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | St. Johnstone | | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 7 | +9 | 19 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Raith Rovers | | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 18 | -3 | 15 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Falkirk | | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 14 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Clyde | | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 19 | -1 | 14 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Brechin | | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 22 | 18 | +4 | 13 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Queen of Sth. | | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 10 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Inverness C. Thistle | | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 21 | -10 | 9 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | St. Mirren | | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 27 | -17 | 6 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre>

[This message was edited by glamdring on 07 February 2004 at 13:01.]