ROSS COUNTY FOOTBALL CLUB

Ross County match reports Season 1998-99: East Stirlingshire

INDEX

1. 4/8: McBain is County's Hero (1-0)
2. 12/12: McGlashan Scores On His Debut (2-2)
3. 2/3: County Get Back To Winning Ways (4-2)
4. 8/5: County End The Season With A Win (2-1)

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A second half goal from transfer-listed Roy McBain was enough to earn Ross County three points in a hard-earned victory over East Stirlingshire at Victoria Park.

The strong wind made it difficult for both sides and County did not look as confident as they had against Montrose last Saturday.

East Stirling played with the wind at their backs in the first half and they had their first chance after two minutes when McNeill came close.

Derek Adams had two opportunities to build on last Saturday's hat-trick. First he inches away from connecting with a pass across goal from David Ross and then he could not finish a good one-two with Neil Tarrant firing the ball wide of the target.

Alex Taylor came close with a screaming free kick which skimmed the top of the Stirlingshire cross bar.
The game came to life in the 67th minute when Frank Escalon sent over a low cross from the right which everyone missed except Roy McBain. He picked the ball up and hammered a low shot past the visitor's 'keeper McDougall.

County replaced Tarrant with Murray Hunter in the 71st minute but it was Stilingshire that came close to the equaliser when Walker hit a volley over the top from 20 yards.

In the last ten minutes County hit the woodwork twice through Hunter and Gilbert to complete a satisfactory start to the 1998-99 campaign.

Ross County: Walker; McKay, McBain, Furphy, Maxwell, Gilbert, Escalon, Adams, Tarrant (Hunter, 71), Taylor and Ross.

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Ross County fought their way back from 2-0 down against a spirited Shire outfit, with a 52nd minute strike from new signing John McGlashan sparking the remarkable comeback.

County boss Neale Cooper felt McGlashan's performance proved how important an addition he'll be to his squad in the push for promotion.

"John scored a great goal and his all-round play was superb. I'm sure he'll be a big asset to the club and he's already settled in as one of the boys," he said.

"East Stirling made us work hard. They played very well on a sticky surface which didn't really suit our natural style of play."

Shire got off to a flier when Kenneth Kennedy headed in a 13th-minute opener after Golabek's sliced clearance came back off the bar.

When Scott Walker added a second in the 51st minute, the home side must have felt they were home and dry.

But County struck within 60 seconds when McGlashan ran onto a Taylor pass to reduce the deficit.

Nicky Walker then saved a Paul Paterson penalty to give Ross County the boost they needed, and when Stuart Golabek thundered in a 30-yard free kick for the equaliser, it was no more than the visitors deserved.

Steve Ferguson was sent off for handling the ball on the line, but it was the team reduced to 10 men who were spurred on to greater efforts.

In one goalmouth melee County saw the ball rebound from the crossbar and hit the post before running along the line only to be booted clear by a Shire defender.

East Stirling boss Hugh McCann was disappointed not to take all three points.

He said: "Although we did well, we had a couple of chances to kill them off and we didn't take them.

"The game was a terrific advert for Third Division football and it was encouraging to see almost 400 fans turn up to see it."

Former County keeper Barry Thompson, making his debut between the sticks for East Stirling, enjoyed playing against his former club.

"It was great to play against the County lads. I knew I would have a busy afternoon and that's the way it turned out," he said.

ROSS COUNTY : Walker, Haro, McBain, McGlashan, Maxwell, Gilbert, Ferries (Mackay 64), Ferguson, Tarrant (Campbell 89), Taylor (Ross 64), Golabek.

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Runaway Third Division leaders Ross County opened up a 12-point gap over second-placed Stenhousemuir at Victoria Park, Dingwall, last night when they reeled off their 16th game unbeaten.

County, showing three changes from the side which drew 3-3 with Albion Rovers on Saturday, were 2-0 up and in the driving seat inside 20 minutes before Shire, who were unchanged after beating Brechin City 4-1 at the weekend, grabbed a half-time lifeline with a 36th-minute penalty from Dave Muirhead.

But County finished the first half 3-1 in front and extended their lead early in the second half before slack defending allowed the visitors to pull back another goal.

Shire arrived in Dingwall on the back of four straight wins but found themselves a goal down in the ninth minute.

Roy McBain's quick thinking at a free kick saw Neil Tarrant released down the left and he picked out Steve Ferguson, who lashed a 25-yard screamer past Shire keeper Barry Thompson for his 15th goal of the season.

In the 20th minute County underlined their grip on the game when John McGlashan clipped in a beautifully-weighted chip for Gary Wood to bury a powerful six-yard header past Thompson at the near post.

Shell-shocked Shire made a tactical switch to a flat back four which caught County on the hop for five minutes and during that time they launched a rare attack which saw Paul Patterson's snap-shot hit Ferguson and referee Kaney pointed to the spot. Muirhead hammered the penalty into the top left-hand corner with County's loan keeper Colin Meldrum going the wrong way.

But eight minutes before the break Neil Tarrant, watched by St Johnstone management duo Sandy Clark and Billy Kirkwood, pounced to stroke in his 19th goal of the season when Shire's Andrew Storrar was short with a pass back to keeper Thompson.

Nine minutes into the second half County went 4-1 up and had the points effectively in the bag when McBain's pace down the left pulled the Shire defence apart to leave Ferguson with a six-yard tap-in for his second goal of the game.

On the hour County handed Shire their second goal of the match when the Dingwall defence, which had been under little pressure all night, dithered and substitute Billy McNeill smacked the ball home from eight yards out with Mark Haro on the line unable to keep it out.

Seven minutes from time County boss Neale Cooper gave former Manchester United, Kilmarnock and Falkirk free agent Colin McKee, listed as "trialist", a brief run, but nowhere near enough time to make much of an impression on proceedings.

Ross County: Meldrum; Tully, McBain, Haro Maxwell, Ferguson, Ross, McGlashan, Tarrant, Taylor (Golabek, 75) and Wood (Trialist, 83). Sub Not Used: McKay

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Ross County recorded another landmark in this historic championship-winning season as their goals tally hit the 100-mark during the victory over East Stirling at Firs Park on Saturday.

Neale Cooper's men secured the championship weeks ago, but despite turning in a lacklustre performance in Falkirk, their competitive goals for the season went into three figures when Davie Ross hit the opener against Hugh McCann's side.

County assistant-boss Jim Kelly said: "It was a typical end of season game, but it was good to end the season on a high note.

"It's been difficult in the last five matches because we played three of them without a 'keeper and since the Brechin match, momentum has dropped a bit."

The Dingwall side now reap the benefits of their title-winning achievement as the squad jets off to Magaluf for a week in the Spanish sun as reward for making the Second Division next term.

Ross' opener came in the 25th minute when he headed home a Paul Kinnaird cross.

Gary Wood then made it 2-0 for the visitors with a fine finish in the 38th minute. Shire dominated after the re-start against the champions, but only pulled one back through Paul Patterson seven minutes after the interval.

Shire boss McCann said: "In terms of ability and technical awareness, this side is capable of competing with anyone in the league and have been doing so all season.

"Where we fall down is that we just don't have that ruthlessness in front of goal and ability to take full advantage when we're on top in matches like County have.

"We're still a young squad, though, and hopefully that will come with time next season."

Ross County: Walker; Mackay, D, McBain, Tully, Maxwell, Munro (Ewing, 45), Ross, McGlashan (Furphy, 61), Wood (McKay, S, 79), Taylor and Kinnaird.

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