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ROSS COUNTY 1; Queen of the South 1 |
Queen of the South left Victoria Park with a well-earned draw today and on any other day they might easily have won all three points.
Some poor defensive work was County's undoing and after the match manager Neale Cooper expressed his disappointment with his defenders saying: "They are playing for their place in this side."
County's shaky defence was exposed on more than one occasion in the first half and they were lucky to only concede one goal.
Queens opened the scoring in the 17th minute when an Adams shot was blocked by Nicky Walker and the rebound fell to Boyle who netted from close range. Boyle should have made it 0-2 a minute later but his weak shot was held comfortably by Walker.
Six minutes from the interval, Gary Wood hit County's equaliser when he swept the ball home after some good work by Martin Canning wide on the right.
In the second half, County struggled to find any rhythm and it was the visitors who came closest to winning the game when the woodwork was struck by Boyle.
Ross County: Walker; Canning (D McKay, 45), Irvine, Maxwell, Kinnaird (Geraghty, 68), Gilbert, McGlashan (Fraser, 73), Lennon, McBain, Shaw and Wood.
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Queen of the South 0; ROSS COUNTY 2 |
Queens opened brightly with Dickson creating a scare for the visitors with a good free kick. County fought back and Ian Maxwell saw a header just clear the cross bar.
Nicky Walker had to look sharp when a Scott McLean shot looked like hitting the target. The experienced 'keeper had to look lively shortly afterwards when he stop a tremendous 35-yard shot again from McLean.
County started to dominate thereafter and Shaw was next to test Hillcoat with a snapshot which went wide for a corner.
Ross County then had their best spell. The midfield dominated to create a chance for Maxwell which was cleared off the line by Boyle with the 'keeper beaten.
In the second half County made a superb start and the breakthrough came in the 48th minute. A high ball into the area was met by Paul Kinnaird who headed home strongly to give County the lead.
Kinnaird might have had a second shortly after but Hillcoat pulled off an excellent save. Derek Holmes also came close but his shot was cleared off the line by Howe.
Finally County put the game beyond doubt in the 65th minute when Steve Ferguson was felled 25 yards from goal. Paul Kinnaird stepped forward to curl the ball around the wall and into the net.
John Fraser who had an impressive game had a great effort turned over the bar but this was to be his last contribution in the match. When Ferguson was challenged, Fraser who had already been booked, foolishly got involved with Boyle and thetwo players were dismissed.
ROSS COUNTY : Walker; Duthie, McBain, Maxwell, McKay, D, Gilbert, Shaw, Fraser, Holmes, Ferguson and Kinnaird. Unused Subs: Wood, Ross and Canning.
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ROSS COUNTY 2; Queen of the South 0 |
Ross County had not won a point throughout January, but February has brough a change of fortune for the Dingwall men.
Manager Neale Cooper had forced his men to watch a "horror video" which was their last home match against Hamilton Academicals and the players responded with some sparkling play, especially in the second half.
Veteran Paul Kinnaird was at the heart of the County revival, scoring the opening goal himself before setting up defender Brian Irvine for the second.
County should have settled their nerves as early as the tenth minute of the match. Irvine met a Kinnaird cross and his header was met by Davie Ross who was dispossessed before he could finish.
Five minutes later Kenny Gilbert came close when his 15-yard drive was well saved by Hillcoat in the visitors' goal.
In the 30th minute, Queens came close to opening their account when Thomson, deputising for the injured Walker misread a back pass but fortunately this error did not prove costly as the ball squeezed past the post for a corner.
However, the 'keeper did have opportunities to make amends for this lapse when he turned a Mallan saved a strong Mallan shot and then was called upon to turn another good effort past for a corner.
After the interval, Roy McBain had a golden opportunity within a minute of the restart, but he was caught off-side when he pounced on a rebound from a shot by Kinnaird. Transfer-listed McBain had replaced Ross at half time.
County finally secured a deserved lead in the 60th minute. Following on from Quenton Jacobs at Firhill last week, Paul Kinnaird by-passed everyone when he scored directly from a corner kick.
Seven minutes later, the same player provided the perfect cross for Brian Irvine to rise above everyone to head home County's second and thus secure the three points for the Highlanders.
Ross County: Trialist; Duthie, Cormack, Maxwell, Irvine, Gilbert, Ross (McBain, 46), S Ferguson, Holmes, D Ferguson and Kinnaird. Unused Subs: Tully and Finlayson.
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Queen of the South 0; ROSS COUNTY 3 |
Brian Irvine celebrated like a teenager as he nodded Ross County closer towards the first division after this well-merited victory.
The former Scotland international centre back has seen it and done it all before in his glittering career with Aberdeen and Dundee, but that did not stop him smiling after putting his side ahead at Palmerston. He may have propelled his team towards victory, but, sadly, he was stretchered off after a sickening clash of heads with Kenny Gilbert in the second half.
Until then, Irvine, who was replaced by John Fraser, went about his business with the fierce hunger of a novice and the smile on his face in the 38th minute when he put Neale Cooper's side ahead told its own story.
Fellow veteran Paul Kinnaird fired over an inviting cross from the left and Irvine, bold and brave, threw himself at the ball and sent a header thumping into the back of the net past the helpless goalkeeper.
County were understandably nervous at the start and yet another golden oldie Nicky Walker was outstanding in goal for the Dingwall men. He made an important save from Warren Hawke and the former Sunderland and Morton striker missed two further opportunities while the scoreline was still 0-0.
Walker was given a scare when the ball fell nicely for Mark Weir after a corner kick was not properly cleared. However, the Dumfries star snatched at his effort and fired into the side netting. That was to prove extremely costly for the home side as Irvine opened the scoring seven minutes from the interval.
Alex Bone got the second in the 61st minute after Matheson had parried a shot from Craig Taggart.
It was all over ten minutes later when Paul Kinnaird thundered an angled drive home for the third.
Ross County: Walker; McGlashan, Duthie, Maxwell, Irvine (Fraser, 52), Gilbert, Shaw, D McKay, Bone (Holmes, 67), Taggart and Kinnaird. Unused Sub: McBain.
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