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ROSS COUNTY 2; Hamilton Academicals 1 |
Hamilton manager Colin Miller almost looked dreamy-eyed as he pondered what a Brian Irvine type figure might add to his young, but promising Hamilton side.
It was an unexpected gentle reverie from such a hardened campaigner as Miller. Accies' Canadian international player manager opined that the difference between the two teams was the big defender County signed from Dundee in the close season.
This meeting of Accies and County offered a strange juxtaposition. The former are homeless - and virtually penniless - yet hopeful of returning to the First Division at the first time of asking.
The latter have just emerged from the basement of Scotland's football, yet they have a First Division quality ground and have been splashing out the sort of wages and signing-on fees that Miller can only dream about.
Irvine, one product of such profligacy, snatched the winner on County's Second Division debut and his influential role on proceedings was not lost on Miller.
He said: "I thought that Brian Irvine was tremendous. He was the difference between the two sides.
"Brian is an old war-horse, and he and I have clashed on the football field many times in the past and at many different levels.
"After I came off and made a few changes, we finished the game with eight players under twenty years of age and I think that this demonstrates the potential we have at Hamilton."
A big crowd of 2,312 - nearly double that of last week - turned out to see County's championship flag unfurled. It then took only three minutes for John McGlashan to fire in the opening goal and raise the roof at Victoria Park.
Roy McBain's cross from the left eventually broke to McGlashan and he moved like lightening to slice an eight-yard shot into the roof of the net.
Accies looked the more dangerous as the match progressed and they deservedly equalised in 67 minutes.
A long, through ball beat the County defence and substitute Steve McCormick - making his 100th appearance - was an inch quicker that 'keeper Nicky Walker and flicked the ball over his head into the empty net.
County's sizable investment in Irvine is already paying off, however, and he notched his second headed goal in as many games when in the 78th minute he met a McBain corner to finish strongly.
For County manager Neale Cooper, victory brought talk of his side being championship favourites.
However, he laughed off the tag that came back to haunt him several times in the Third Division. He was at paint to stress: "We are the new boys in this division and I don't go along with talk of us being favourites.
"In the past we have got down in the dumps when we lost a goal, but we always looked capable of coming back and winning this game."
Ross County: Walker; Escalon, McBain, Maxwell, Irvine, Gilbert, Shaw, McGlashan, Geraghty (Wood, 69), Finlayson (Fraser, 62) and Kinnaird. Unused Sub: Canning.
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Hamitlon Academicals 1; ROSS COUNTY 0 |
Hamilton deprived Ross County of the chance to go to the top of Division Two in a match of little skill and ferocious commitment. County manager Neale Cooper was utterly contrite at the end of the match and went so far as to apologise to the club's supporters, who had travelled such a long way to see their side capitulate so badly.
The tackling in this game was so chilling that no-one would have been surprised to see a UN peace-keeping force summoned to restore order.
Steven McCormack was the game's first casualty, taken off after he had the temerity to put his face in the way of Brian Irvine's elbow. But the incident turned out to be a blessing in disguise, for McCormack's exit beckoned David McFarlane onto the park, and 20 minutes later he notched the winning goal.
Surrounded by a phalanx of blue shirts on the six-yard line, he still found time and space to shoot past Nicky Walker with the outside of his right boot.
County struggled to create any chances, and the closest they came was an Irvine header which flicked off the crossbar four minutes into the second half. If their finishing was inaccurate, then their tackling was even more awry. It is testament to the leniency of the referee that only six players were booked.
But five of those were County players, who seemed to be competing with each other to earn bookings. Gary Wood, John Fraser, Kenny Gilbert, Brian Irvine and Craig Tully were all yellow-carded for wild lunges.
Hamilton almost increased their lead in the 70th minute when new-signing Ferguson had his shot parried and cleared by Walker.
Ross County: Walker; Tully, McBain, Maxwell, Irvine, Gilbert, Shaw, McGlashan (Gerraghty, 46), Wood (Ross, 57), Lennon and Fraser. Unused Sub: Kinnaird.
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ROSS COUNTY 0; Hamilton Academicals 1 |
Ross County's stressed out manager Neale Cooper must have been seething as he watched his side flop 0-1 at home to Hamilton Accies.
Before the match, a pitch inspection had to be undertaken to see if the game could go ahead as gale force winds lashed the exposed Victoria Park terraces. Officials warned that they might have to abandon the game if conditions deteriorated but it was Accies manager Ally Dawson who breathed a sigh of relief after collecting three points.
Hamilton played into the wind in the first half and such was its strength that their 'keeper just manged to get a bye kick into play. After this piece of farce the wind speed abated and the game was never in danger of being abandonned.
The only goal of the game came in the 33rd minute when Martin Bonnar scrambled home from close range.
In the second half, the wind held sway and there was little football to be seen. County did have a chance late on but substitute Davie Ross somehow managed to miss from very close range.
The defeat was a huge let down for Cooper who only last week warned his players that there would be major changes if they did not perform.
Ross County: Triallist; Duthie, Cormack (Ross, 75), Maxwell, Irvine, Gilbert, Shaw, Escalon, Holmes, S Ferguson and Triallist (Kinnaird, 50). Unused Sub: Tully.
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Hamilton Academicals 0; ROSS COUNTY 3 |
Ross County's promotion dream came true on Saturday when they beat Hamilton Accies in a most convincing manner by 3-0 at Firhill.
Two goals in an early six-minute spell set the Dingwall men on the right course and a late penalty from George Shaw set the promotion celebrations in motion.
Paul Kinnaird, so under-valued by the County fans, helped to create the opener with a left flank break before feeding Mark Duthie, whose cross was headed home by George Shaw.
That was followed eight minutes later by a close range finish by Alex Bone after a cross from Kinnaird was turned back across goal by John McGlashan.
County seldom looked in danger and finally finished off unhappy Hamilton when another cross from Kinnaird appeared to be handled in the box. The referee initially waved play on but after consulting his linesman he awarded the spot kick. George Shaw made no mistake and Ross County marched into the First Division next season.
Ross County: Walker; Gilbert, Maxwell, D McKay, Duthie, McGlashan, Fraser, Taggart, Kinnaird, Bone (Holmes, 64) and Shaw. Subs (not used): McBain and Canning.
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