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| vs Aberdeen (H) | ||
| vs Brora Rangers (A) | ||
| vs Raith Rovers (H) | ||
| vs St Johnstone (H) | ||
| vs Nairn County (A) | ||
But County Still Look Good | ||
| vs Coventry City (H) | ||
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Ross County welcomed Aberdeen from the premier division for their first home match of the season and the Dons paid County a compliment by sending north their strongest possible side. Perhaps they remember last year's game?
The game saw the return of Billy Ferries to the team when he came on as substitute in the secon half. He and County new boys Barry Thompson, Ian Maxwel and Murray Hunter all showed up well.
The Dons played well at the back and they will look to build on this over the coming season.
Early exchanges were dominated by the visitors with Buchan and Dow coming close. However, the opening goal was not far away and a slick move involving Jess and Dow saw Newell score with a powerful header.
Kiriakov was posing problems for County down the flank and Gillies (twice) and Newell came close to stretching the Dons' lead further.
Late in the first half, County enjoyed their best spell. A Kenny Gilbert drive was deflected over the bar as County enjoyed the luxury of several corners in succession.
County's best chance came in the second half when Neil Tarrant headed a corner goalwards and Stillie scrambled to clear the ball off the line.
In the 70th minute Aberdeen made it 0-2 when Rowson scored a simple goal from 12 metres.
Keny Gilbert again came close in the latter stages of the game when Stillie held a powerful drive from the County mid-fielder.
After the match, manager Neale Cooper was delighted with his team's performance.
Ross County: Thompson; McKay, McBain, Furphy (Herd, 58), Maxwell, Gilbert, Ferguson (Ferries, 58), Ross, Hunter (Campbell, 62), Escalon (Adams, 70) and Tarrant (Hart, 70).
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When County played in the Highland League, Dudgeon Park was never a happy hunting ground for them. However, in this pre-season friendly, County won in spite of a battling display by the home team.
This match saw the return of Robbie Williamson who missed the whole of last season after an horrific leg break last September.
County took the lead in the second minute when Jamie McPherson crossed the ball and the waiting Connor Campbell turned the ball past Suttar.
Six minutes later, County went two ahead when a quickly taken free kick by Steve Ferguson caught the Brora defence on the hop and the ball flew straight into the net.
The only other significant moment was when Neale Cooper brought himself on to replace Billy Ferries for the last quarter.
Ross County: Stewart; Morrison (McKay), Mathieson, Williamson, Wood, Hart, Ferries (Cooper), Ferguson, McPherson, Campbell and Tarrant.
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In the first half of this game, County gave as good as they got and the game appeared to be heading for towards a goalless draw when in the 82nd minute Cameron slipped the ball home from a free kick to earn the visitors an undeserved win.
Early in the game, County had almost taken the lead when Connor Campbell headed the ball past the post. Derek Adams missed another chance when he headed the ball into the arms of Van de Kamp.
Billy Ferries caught the visiting goalkeeper off his line. The 'keeper had come out of his box to clear the ball which landed at Ferries' feet and he returned the ball goalwards immediately. However, the ball went narrowly past the post.
County boss Neale Cooper said, "Furphy and Maxwell were superb at the back and Kenny Gilbert ran the show in the middle of the park."
Ross County: Thompson; McKay (Morrison, 70), Malone (Mathieson, 45), Furphy, Maxwell, Gilbert (Escalon, 82), Ferries, Adams, Hunter, Campbell (Hart, 57) and McBain.
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St Johnstone manager Paul Sturrock got a shock ay Victoria Park on Saturday as he watched his side struggle against a determined performance by the home side. The visitors were at the end of a week long training schedule in the Highlands and they looked jaded throughout.
Over the 90 minutes there was little to choose between the teams and apart from two excellent goals by George O'Boyle, County felt hard done by looking at the final score line.
Throughout the game Frank Escalon and Ian Taylor kept the game flowing and Neil Tarrant came close to scoring for County.
In the second half, County produced the more fluent football with winger Billy Ferries frequently getting to the bye-line only to find he had no support for his crosses in the box.
County were stung in the 75th and 89th minutes by goals from the Northern Ireland internationalist to give the Saints a rather flattering scoreline.
Ross County: Walker; McKay (ferries, 45), Mathieson (Ross, 65), Furphy, Maxwell, Gilbert, Escalon, Adams (Hart, 72), Tarrant (Hunter, 65), Taylor and McBain.
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Last Monday evening, Ross County played their last pre-season match at Station Park against Nairn County.
The Wee County opened the scoring in the 20th minute but thereafter it was all Ross County.
Goals were scored at regular intervals as the game developed into a one-sided affar. County's scorers, for the record, were David Ross (3), Murray Hunter, Connor Campbell, Graham Munro and Jamie McPherson.
Ross County: Walker; Wood, McLean (Ewing), McPherson, Williamson, Hart (McLeod), Ferries, Campbell (Munro), Ferguson, Hunter and Ross.
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This is the summary of Ross County's pre-season matches that appeared in the Ross-shire Journal on Friday 31st July.
In the space of a week, Ross County played five friendlies against senior and Higland League opposition, and though losing all three of the senior fixtures, a semblance of the coming season's regular line-up was obvious.
Nicky Walker's return from holidays for the third match was marked by his appointment as captain. In command of his goal area he keeps his team-mates well advised in countering particular moves. He initiates counter-attacks in his throw-outs or kicks. He often acts as the "sweeper" behind his defensive trio.
Saturday's game against St Johnstone emphasised the improving strength and power of the defence, whose invincibility will be to their credit in the coming weeks. Their solidity against Raith Rovers and St Johnstone was impressive with Ian Maxwell and Willie Furphy solid in dealing with dangerous crosses - crosses that in the past would have caused problems.
The defenders were alive to every situation, their tackling was precise and sure and the ball was cleared coolly and accurately. Ian Maxwell impresses as a Queen's Park player and looks set to carry on the good work for County. Willie Furphy appears to be recapturing the form that saw him being signed from Elgin City.
David McKay comes into the defensive line-up and he worked tirelessly in three of the matches. He tackled surely and strongly and cleared his lines well. In the Raith match he was replaced by Brian Morrison (ex-Celtic).
Against Raith, another trialist Malone was introduced but he was substituted by David Mathieson at half-time. On Saturday (St Johnstone), he took a knock and was replaced by David Ross who fitted in efficiently to this wing-back position.
County created a few chances in their games against Raith Rovers and St Johnstone and their crispness of passing from defence was impressive. In both these matches draws would not have brought surprise to any neutrals watching the games.
Kenny Gilbert, Frank Escalon and Alex Taylor could prove the basis of County's midfield for the coming season. Gilbert is a strong, forceful player. Escalon has seldom had the chance as he had on Saturday to show his ability over 90 minutes. He proved he was not wanting in any quarter, holding on to the ball and distributing well.
Alex Taylor, who has just completed a SFA Coaching course, was outstanding in the manner in which he held up the ball and took on opponents with the ball at his feet.
The front runners were more ambitious and more threatening than they were last season and were creating chances by beating opponents or by slipping the ball into space.
In conclusion, Tom Hendry, manager of last season's champions Alloa Athletic, has offered this advice to Neale Cooper:
"County have the potential to make it a one-horse race. But they need a more settled side. "Neale Cooper's problem last year was that he chopped and changed too much. He'd have players in for a couple of matches and then put them out of the side again. "He has to decide on his best side and go for it - or they may miss out again."
Hendry reckons that Derek Adams will be the key man in County's make-or-break promotion bid.
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Coventry City, managed by Gordon Strachan, brought a strong side north to honour Billy Williamson. Only two recognised players - Magnus Hadman and Deon Dublin - were missing on international duty and the game saw the return to fist team football for Gary McAllister who capped a fine performance by scoring from the penalty spot.
Ross County fielded a full pool of 16 players and they played an open attacking game against their English opponents.
The visitors were caught on the hop in the seventh minute when a long throw from Mark Haro was turned into his own net by Shaw. Four minutes later County went two up when Ian Maxwell headed home a Neil Tarrant lob after some excellent work by Frank Escalon.
In the midst of this excitement, Robbie Williamson was giving an assured display at the heart of the County defence.
In the twentieth minute Solvedt pulled a goal back for Coventry when he reacted quickest to a rebound off the post following a Hall drive.
Coventry thought they scored an equaliser in the thirty-seventh minute but the goal was disallowed for off-side.
In a competitive first half both Billy Ferries and club captain Nicky Walker were in outstanding form in front of a large crowd of 1,100.
In the second half County continued where they had left off in the first. They went 3-1 ahead in the sixtieth minute when Steve Ferguson ran on to a perfect through ball from Escalon to drive the ball past Ogrizovic.
In the seventy-fifth minute Gary Wood scored County's fourth goal when he ran on to a ball after Roy McBain had his drive deflected by a defender.
In the seventy-seventh minute Robbie Williamson was substituted by youngster Graham Munro and the veteran defender deserved the plaudits from the vociferous crowd.
In the closing minutes County conceded a soft penalty which allowed Gary McAllister to complete a good afternoon's entertainment.
Ross County: Walker; Matheson, Golabek, Williamson (Munro, 77), Maxwell, Haro (Furphy, 52), Ferries (Wood, 52), Ferguson (Taylor, 65), Tarrant (Higgins, 65), Escalon and McBain.
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