Mountains, lochs, moors...back to The Highlands (The Lisbon Lions Challenge)

[glamdring]

CM crashed so some things are different this time round, but I can't be bothered re-writing that post because it's not that different: scorelines are different and we beat Falkirk instead of drawing in the league so the league table now is actually:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Holders - Ross County

Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st Ross County 11 9 1 1 43 7 +36 28

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd Motherwell 11 7 2 2 21 15 +6 23

3rd Falkirk 11 7 1 3 20 10 +10 22

4th Celtic 11 6 4 1 18 9 +9 22

5th Dundee Utd 11 4 4 3 21 24 -3 16

6th Kilmarnock 11 4 3 4 14 14 0 15

7th Dundee 11 5 0 6 14 21 -7 15

8th Rangers 11 2 6 3 17 19 -2 12

9th Clyde 11 2 5 4 8 16 -8 11

10th Hearts 11 2 2 7 8 20 -12 8

11th Hibs 11 2 1 8 14 28 -14 7

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12th Livingston 11 1 1 9 18 33 -15 4

</pre>

We beat Aberdeen 5-0 in the cup this time and Alan Reid and Richard Rhodes have claimed more assists each, but fewer goals. We lost again at Old Trafford, but won this time at home to Man Utd, but lost 3-2 in Brondby this time...biggest difference is that Scotland this time beat Czech Republic in the play-off so they will in fact be at Euro 2016 (I guess at least something good comes from losing a day's play )

[glamdring]

Match report from the Dingwall Times on Saturday December 12th 2015

Classy Campbell stars in 7 goal showpiece thriller

Hamish Brodie reports:

It's fair to say that the Intercontinental cup is not very high on Ross County manager Adam Eckersley's list of priorities, but nonetheless he does admit that it would be nice to win it since he likes to make an effort to win every competition his club enters. That said, it didn't stop Eckersley ringing the changes as he rested most of his first team regulars, only Kevin Black, David Dunne, Kerr Dodds, John MacDonald and Michael Reid retained their places from County's full strength line-up for the previous match, Alan Reid returned from injury to play on the right wing also, with Steven Davidson, Alan Anderson, John Rankin, Kevin Watson and 17 year old ex-academy striker David Campbell all being drafted in to a make-shift libe-up to face Boca Juniors at the Yokohama Internation stadium.

A casual observer certainly would not have thought this was anything but a full strength County side however as the Dingwall side found themselves 0-3 up after just 23 minutes with a brilliant hat-trick from David Campbell, clearly eager to impress when he gets his chance in the side. His first certainly had an element of luck, is left footed free-kick taking a major deflection to fly into the Boca net, but his second was a very neat and assured finish from a Kevin Watson ball across the box and his 3rd was another precise finish from a curled Michael Reid cross.

Just before the break came the event which was to change the course of this game, if not the ultimate result, making it far more competitive than Ross County would have liked. Quite why County manager Adam Eckersley never seems to find room for a goalkeeper on the bench even amongst 7 subs is a bit of a mystery, but his propensity to trust to luck failed him today as 'keeper Kevin Black was stretchered off leaving Paul Harris to come on and keep goal. It was County who struck first after half time however to take a commanding 0-4 lead, Kevin Watson picking up the loose ball after Alan Reid was tackled to fire home. With a midfield player in goal County had to keep pouring forward though and Boca where quite happy to take advantage of the unskilled custudion between the posts as they fired in goals first from 30 yards, then from 25 yards before ading a 3rd on 74 minutes. Suddenly the result was beginning to look far less of a foregone conclusion, but to County's relief they managed to keep the Boca strikers away from and more shooting opportunities to hold on for a 3-4 victory and their first Inter-Continental Cup triump.

FT: Boca Juniors 3-4 Ross County

[Tyrone the Magazine]

Ross County v Boca Juniors whod have thought it

good result tho

[glamdring]

Thanks. I was a bit nervous in the last 15 minutes though as we did our best to throw away all of our 4-0 lead I even selected a goalkeeper on the bench for the next Champs League match against Ajax

[glamdring]

Summer 2016

Having somewhat abandoned my diaries in the latter half of this season I should update what has happened at Ross County since Christmas, but I will do so rather more briefly than usual. There's little point going over individual league results - we lost a few towards the end of the season, but by then we knew full well the title was ours and some players were rested and the usual end of season excuses come out. When the dust settled though, we had won our 7th successive SPL title and our 9th in 10 years. To add to that, domestically we saw off Nairn County (0-4), Dundee (0-2), Inverness Cally Thistle (1-0) and Dundee United (1-0) to setup a Scottish Cup final with Division 1 champions St. Johnstone. It wasn't as easy as many expected after Alan Reid's 16th minute opener and indeed St. Johnstone equalised on 54. It took a Julián Speroni own goal to re-ignite us as Ian MacSween bagged a 3rd 5 minutes from time to secure a 3-1 win and a domestic double.

All of which just leaves Europe and our 2nd defence of the Champions League title as we aimed to become the first team since the Ajax and Bayern Munich teams of the 1970's to complete a hat-trick of successive victories. I could go through each match of the knockout stage in detail, but I thin kon this occasion, the simple facts give the reader the full story for themslves to flesh out and see just how dramatic it all was. Manchester United, Brondby and Ajax had been in our group, but had all been dealt with sufficiently to see us emerge as group winners and setup a tie with Real Madrid in the 2nd Round and so here are the bare facts of the remainder of our European run for the season:

Round 2:

Real Madrid 1 (Tuncay 48)

Ross County 2 (MacSween 90 + 2', 90 + 4')

Ross County 3 (Rankin 13; Campbell 19,77)

Real Madrid 1 (Tuncay 82)

Aggregate: Ross County 5-2 Real Madrid

Quarter-final

FC Bayern Munich 2 (Feulner 10; Kellner 73)

Ross County 1 (Watson 90 + 1')

Ross County 5 (McGlynn 31, 57; MacSween 40, 41; James pen 54)

FC Bayern Munich 1 (Feulner 52)

Aggregate: Ross County 6-3 FC Bayern Munich

Semi-final

AC Milan 3 (Pazzini 38, 41; Manzo 68)

Ross County 1 (James pen 88)

Ross County 4 (James 28; McGlynn 47, 60; Alan Reid 78)

AC Milan 1 (Pazzini 11)

Aggregate: Ross County 5-4 AC Milan

Final

AS Monaco 0

Ross County 2 (Michael Reid 38; Watson 58)

So there it was, in at times quite sensational circumstances we had completed the hat-trick of European Cup successes. All I can say is that this bunch of lads have a nucleus who have played together for years and who grew up together and came through the Ross County youth academy with a few well considered additions from elsewhere and they will never give up a cause until it is truly lost - they have a passion and a spirit and a will to win for this club that has seen them take their place deservedly in history. I'm proud of you all.

On a sadder note, this Summer sees the retirement of one of Ross County's greatest and most loyal players - David Winters finally hangs up his boots after some 13 seasons at Ross County and he will be sorely missed. David had become a peripheral figure in the Ross County first team at the age of 34, but for what he has given to this club over the last 12-13 years he will forever be remembered as a loyal club servant and a fantastic player. It was remiss of me also to fail to pass comment last year on the retirements of 3 other players - Derek Riordan was only with us 2 seasons and failed to make the desired impact, retiring at the age of 32 last summer, but he was an excellent striker in his heyday and I just wish we had been able to sign him 5 years earlier. Keigan Parker was a great servant to this club also, scoring some crucial goals to backup Ian MacSween and Mark McGlynn over the seasons and appeared and scored for us in Champions League finals - he will be another who goes down in the Ross County history books as one of our best ever players. And the final word must go to the first signing I ever made as Ross County manager, back in Division 1 in 2004 when Ross O'Donoghue joined us and over the following 2 years played a huge part in driving our club forward in his creative midfield role as we reached for the promised land of the Premiership where O'Donoghue's talents could be displayed and appreciated by a wider audience as he helped guide us to a 3rd placed finish followed by the first of our many titles and our early forays into Europe. I know Ross was frustrated at being sidelined towards the end of his career when he still had a good few years left in him, but he knew that I have always given young talent a chance to shine and he was a beneficiary of that himself when he first joined as a 19 year old and I threw him in ahead of more experienced players. His impact on the development of Alan Reid and brother Michael Reid who took over his central midfield position in recent seasons cannot be under-estimated. Again, Ross I can truly say, from my heart that this club and myself especially miss having you around here - you were an inspiration to a whole generation of players and the driving force behind all that was good in Ross County's formative years in the top flight.

And now we move on to look ahead to the new season as 11 members of my squad return victorious from the Euro 2016 championships, albeit with a slightly bitter taste in the mouth for many who found themselves suspended from the final victory over Portugal. It was a fantastic tournament and a great victory for Scotland and my lasting memory of the tournament will be of Ian MacSween collecting the ball straight from the kick-off in the second period of extra time of the crucial and tense match against Italy to stride forward to the edge of the penalty area before unleashing an audacious chip over Gianluigi Buffon, who, even at 38 is unquestionably the best goalkeeper in the world.

[glamdring]

Match report from the Dingwall Times on Saturday August 13th 2016

Opening day Faroese nightmare for County

Hamish Brodie reports:

They may have a trophy cabinet glittering with 10 league and 10 cup trophies by now, but a new season always brings new challenges and for Ross County today the challenge came from 2 players whom their manager knows all too well. When County manager Adam Eckersley recommended a number of out of contract Faroese players to his friend and Dundee United boss he probably knew that one day they would come back to haunt him and today was that day as Dundee United played host to Ross County in a truly fantastic opening day encounter.

Fans of both sides had barely got bums on seats when Dundee United's Faroese striker Allan Andreasen latched onto a wonderful pass from young winger Paul Edwards in the 2nd minute to fire the home side infront with a fierce shot from the edge of the area. 6 minutes later, Andreasen was again on the scoresheet, this time timing his run to perfection to get on the end of a cross from his Faroese strike partner Jákup Poulsen for a 2-0 lead. County fought back with a neatly worked goal finished off by Ian MacSween in the 24th minute, but there was no stopping Allan Andreasen today as the pacey Faroe Islands striker completed his hat-trick just 4 minutes later, lashing home the rebound after Kevin Black blocked his initial effort. County were in no mood to lie down though and Alan Reid fed Ian MacSween who carried on where he had left off in Euro 2016 with a clinical finish on 34 minutes to send the two sides in 3-2 at the break.

The second half saw more end to end action and more goals as both side pushed on looking for goals. County were first to break the second half deadlock in the 69th minute, 16 year old centre-back Richard Lewis' powerful header from the halfway line being latched onto by 18 year old David Campbell who sidestepped the 'keeper to equalise. Dundee United hadn't finished however and it was now the turn of Jákup Poulsen to step into the limelight and pile the misery onto his international manager's club side with superbly taken goals on 78 and 90 minutes to give Dundee United a 5-3 opening day victory which sees them top the embrionic league table with Ross County in the rare position of being 11th.

With the two Dundee United strikers likely to be Eckersley first choice partnership for his Faroe Islands' team's assault on World Cup qualification he must be delighted on the one hand with the form the pair showed today, both in goalscoring and in linkingup play with each other - his suggestion of the pair as well as 5 other Faroe Islands players to the Dundee United manager clearly having the desired effect on their fitness and form, but unfortunately today it was against Eckersley's own club side. County will be fully expected to bounce back next week, but many are tipping Dundee United as dark horses this season after a solid 5th place finish under their new manager last season having narrowly avoided relegation at the end of the previous season.

FT: Dundee United 5-3 Ross County

[glamdring]

Author's note: For anyone following this story, but not my Faroese spin-off there will be some gaps in the story which are included in that story - most particularly - a) Euro 2016 which is covered in some detail in that story and b) I took over management of Dundee United at the end of the 2014/15 season with a new manager as they sat bottom of the SPL and I wanted a new challenge - in the summer of 2015 I noticed a lot of Faroese players unattached so decided to take 7 of them on frees to Dundee United in a move which I hoped would benefit both United and the Faroe Islands national side - since I'm managing Dundee United seriously, the Faroese players only play if they are performing, not solely to help my Faroe Islands quest!

[glamdring]

News report from the Dingwall Times on Sunday January 8th 2017

MacSween vows to fight back after career threatening injury

Hamish Brodie reports:

Ross County fans were today left contemplating the devastating news that striker and top scorer Ian MacSween will be out for the rest of the season after hobbling off in injury time of yesterday's 3-0 win over Hibernian with damaged cruciate ligaments. County were leading comfortably after Alan Anderson's opener and a 2nd half brace from Michael Reid as the match entered injury time when MacSween was hacked down with a scything tackle by Hibernian's Steven Whittaker. After the match, manager Adam Eckersley confirmed the bad news, stating that Ian MacSween would miss the rest of the season and wasn't expected to return for between 5 and 8 months.

At the Age of 32, some are speculating that this injury could spell the end of MacSween's career with the striker's 33rd birthday arriving before the start of next season. It is especially devastating news for the player who has finally started to win the caps he deserves for his country with the arrival of Brian Irvine as manager. MacSween was the star of Scotland's European Championship winning team as he netted a goal in the group stages and 5 crucial goals in the 3 knockout games, 4 of them coming in injury time, to win the golden boot. MacSween also scored 1 of the goals in Scotland's 1-2 win in the Ukraine in their World Cup qualifier to take his tally to 12 goals in 17 international caps and prove to the world what us here in Dingwall already knew - that he should have won far more caps over the last decade.

MacSween spoke briefly to the Dingwall Times today, confirming that he would miss the rest of the season with a long course of physiotherapy ahead of him if he is to be fit in time for the start of next season and possibly for Scotland's Confederations Cup campaign in late June. The player stated that he still feels he has a few years left of his career yet and is determined to play out the last 2 years of his Ross County contract and give his all to the club and the fans he loves. He also still hopes to figure for Scotland as they aim to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and vowed that he would come back fitter and more focused than ever before to get straight back into his prolific goalscoring form. MacSween has had a magnificent career so far at Ross County, holding the club record for goals scored and league goals with 190 league goals currently to his name and a superb 266 goals in total from 476 apperances, including 35 in 49 games last season.

MacSween finished on a positive note for both club and country however, telling fans that he already has a natural successor both for club and country who will take his place for the rest of the season and may well keep him out of the side when he returns. 22 year old Kevin Watson is a player in the same mold as MacSween, a superb dribbler and finisher with electrifying pace, a great deal of creativity and fantastic technique. MacSween commented that Watson has the talent and ability to break his scoring records for Ross County if he spends the better part of his career here and sees no reason why he can't go on to become one of Scotland's most prolific goalscorers ever having made a dazzling impact in Euro 2016, scoring 62 seconds into his debut and making it 3 in 3 caps with 2 goals against Norway.

We at the Dingwall Times would like to wish Ian MacSween all the best on behalf of his fans and hope he completes his recovery as fast as possible. We'll be eagerly awaiting your return next season Mr MacSween!

[glamdring]

Special feature from the Dingwall Times on Wednesday April 26th 2017

3 teams, 5 games, 1 championship: it starts here!

Hamish Brodie reports:

For the first time in many seasons the title race looks to be going down to the wire. In recent years, Ross County have had no contenders for their crown as they quite regularly had the title wrapped up by the split, but not this season. We take a look at the prospects for the last 5 games of the season as 3 teams fight for SPL glory with the table showing just how close the race is at the split as the top 6 match off against each other:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Holders - Ross County

Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st Ross County 33 20 6 7 74 39 +35 66

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd Falkirk 33 19 8 6 59 24 +35 65

3rd Dundee Utd 33 18 10 5 62 40 +22 64

4th Rangers 33 13 7 13 39 40 -1 46

5th Livingston 33 13 5 15 46 46 0 44

6th Celtic 33 11 11 11 40 46 -6 44

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7th Dundee 33 11 11 11 26 32 -6 44

8th Motherwell 33 11 8 14 50 61 -11 41

9th St. Johnstone 33 9 10 14 39 43 -4 37

10th Clyde 33 8 13 12 36 41 -5 37

11th Hibs 33 9 5 19 43 68 -25 32

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12th Kilmarnock 33 2 14 17 19 53 -34 20

</pre>

Dundee United

The surprise package of this season, Dundee United have been a breath of fresh air to the SPL title. They beat Ross County 5-3 on the opening day of the season and haven't looked back since, beating the Dingwall side again at Victoria Park in the 2nd round of fixtures as well as some other impressive performances including a 2-5 victory at Celtic Park and a 5-1 demolition of Hibernian. After disappointingly losing in the 1st round of the UEFA Cup, a League Cup Quarter Final defeat to St. Mirren and a humiliating 1-5 reverse in the FA Cup 3rd round at Falkirk, Dundee United will be looking to finish the league season strongly to push the two more favoured teams all the way.

Falkirk

If Ross County manager Adam Eckersley is the best manager in Scotland over the last decade then Falkirk's John Carver is a close second. Old adversaries of County's from their Division 1 days, Falkirk eventually escaped Division 1 in 2008 and their performances since have been sensational. After finishing 5th in their first season in the SPL, the club have recorded four 2nd place finishes in the last 6 years, finishing top half in the other 2. Of all the teams in the SPL Falkirk have caused Ross County the most problems over the years and must surely fancy their chances for the title this year having twice won at Victoria Park this season as well as recording 2 wins out of 3 against Dundee United. In Europe as well as domestically Falkirk have moved onto a new level, making the quarter-finals of the Champions league for the last 2 years running. Runners up in the League Cup twice in the last 6 years and the Scottish cup twice in the last 11 years, Falkirk are clearly a team to be taken seriously and have their best chance ever of winning the top flight for the first time in their history.

Ross County

Ross County started the season off the boil and have never really got fully back to the kind of form they have shown in recent seasons. County have lost 7 games so far this season, more than any season since 2009/10. Back to back defeats against Falkirk and Livingston following after the opening defeat at Dundee United saw the club lose 3 of their first 7 matches as they struggled to find their form. The national media had a field day with talk of a crisis in Dingwall, but manager Adam Eckersley rejected such talk, pointing out that even the best clubs have bad spells and football tends to be cyclic with team's long reigns eventually coming to an end. Nonetheless, there is no doubting Ross County's wish to win their 8th successive title as they chase the elusive 10 in a row. The loss of hotshot striker Ian MacSween for half the season was a huge blow to the club with key winger Alan Reid also missing for the start of the season when County were at their most vulnerable. The most devastating day of Ross County's season came earlier this month however with the result that sent shockwaves through the world of football - to win 4 Champions League titles in a row was always going to be a tough ask, but no-one could possibly have predicted that having won the first leg 4-0 at home, Ross County would come away from Old Trafford with a record-breaking 10-1 defeat on a night that left the whole club in a state of shock and their European dreams shattered. Having beaten Celtic 3-1 in the League Cup final, County took out their European frustrations on Falkirk in their Scottish Cup semi-final as they trounced their opponents 5-1 on a magical night at Hampden Park to setup a final against St. Johnstone. The league cup and Inter-continental cup could be Ross County's only pieces of silverware this season or they could complete a domestic treble - the next few weeks will reveal all as County go head to head with their great rivals Falkirk again whilst Dundee United will look to upset the pair of them.

Keep with the Dingwall Times for match by match updates as the SPL title goes to the wire.

[glamdring]

Match round-up of week 34 from the Dingwall Times on Saturday April 29th 2017

Hamish Brodie reports:

Falkirk turn on the style at United's expense

Falkirk dealt a potentially fatal blow to Dundee United's title hopes in a one-sided encounter at the Falkirk Stadium today. Former Ross County striker Andy Williams netted his 17th and 18th league goals of the season taking his total tally to 26 in all competitions to put Falkirk into a commanding 2-0 lead at half time. United rarely threatened the Falkirk goal in a surprisingly lethargic performance with their 44 goal strike partnership of Allan Andreasen and Jákup Poulsen only managing a shot between them with a total lack of service from their midfield. The sending off of John Robertson on 82 minutes didn't dent Falkirk's charge as David Daly wrapped up the victory in the 89th minute

Falkirk 3 (Williams 1, 45; Daly 89; Robertson s/o 82)

Dundee United 0

Glasgow gloom for profligate County

With 19 shots on goal at Celtic Park, County must have wondered what went wrong today as their title challenge took another hammer blow against a wounded Celtic side, eager to remind the anyone watching that they are the biggest club in Scotland. As Andy Williams netted in the opening minute for Falkirk, so Daniel Braathen gave Celtic the perfect start inside 25 seconds to send the home fans wild. County had by far the more chances, but strikers Mark McGlynn and Kevin Watson were unusually firing blanks with Alan Reid and Richard Rhodes failing to truly sparkle on the wings. As the second half kicked off, Celtic repeated their trick of scoring in the opening seconds, Yordan Spasov this time lashing in a 30-yard effort after just 20 seconds. County threw on attacking substitutes, but their day was summed up by one of them, Eddie Pilkington receiving a red card 10 minutes from the end as no fewer than 7 Ross County players had efforts on goal. As the full time whistle came there was misery in the away end and ecstasy in the home end. One rather interesting statistic for Ross County - whilst Kevin Watson managed to win just 1 of the 22 headers he contested with the Celtic defence, Alan Reid out on the right wing won 18 out of 18 headers, yet still failed to produce a goal.

Celtic 2 (Braathen 1, Spasov 46)

Ross County 0 (Pilkington s/o 80)

[glamdring]

Match round-up of week 34 from the Dingwall Times on Wednesday May 3rd 2017

Hamish Brodie reports:

Stunning Celtic comeback hammers final nails in United coffin

Today surely saw the final nail hammered into the coffin of Dundee United's title dreams as Celtic produced a stunning comeback at Tannadice Park. Dundee United looked lively in the first half and took the lead through Mark Kerr followed by a delicious one-two between Rúni Hansen and Allan Andreasen setting up the Faroese striker for United's second which saw them leading 2-0 at half time. It was a very different Celtic that came out for the second half however and Gonzalo Vargas gave the visitors hope with a 59th minute goal. The away side then took total control, equalising through Yordan Spasov who is certainly making his mark on the title race before a devastating injury time winner from Stefano Mezzacapo. The Dundee United players were on their knees at the end of the game wondering just how they threw away a golden opportunity to fight for the title to the very end.

Dundee United 2 (Kerr 14; Andreasen 33)

Celtic 3 (Vargas 58, Spasov 79, Mezzacapo 90)

Rangers spoil Falkirk party at Ibrox

Andy Williams was at it again at Ibrox today, netting the opening goal in a close affair as Falkirk led 0-1 at half time. With a 2 point lead over Ross County at the top of the table, things were looking rosy for Falkirk but it didn't last into the second half. Glasgow Rangers have squeezed their way into the top 6 this season after 3 seasons fighting relegation and have clearly improved somewhat over those past seasons. It was veteran striker Jerome Thomas who threw a spanner in Falkirk's works with a well-taken equaliser in the 73rd minute and despite chances Falkirk failed to grab a winner.

Rangers 1 (Thomas 73)

Falkirk 1 (Williams 35)

Captain fantastic heads County to narrow victory

County fans have been worried about their club's form of late and today wasn't about to change that as they struggled to overcome a Livingston side bereft of ideas or any serious intent to attack the County goal. Livingston did create a few goalscoring chances, but without their talisman Jerome Gomez they failed to put any of them away. County too were not exactly firing on all four cylinders as they again created the chances, but were found wanting when it came to finding the back of the net, Michael Reid firing 3 shots high and wide, while Kevin Watson and Paul Harris saw 2 shots apiece well saved. So it fell to the club captain and inspiration, playing in midfield of late, but back in defence today to raise County from their gloom. On 64 minutes, Mark McGlynn whipped in a corner and Nick James rose above the Livingston defence to head home what could prove to be a priceless winner which sees County move level on points again with Falkirk, albeit with a 4 goal inferior goal difference

[glamdring]

erm...

Ross County 1 (James 64)

Livingston 0

[glamdring]

Match round-up of week 36 from the Dingwall Times on Saturday May 6th 2017

Hamish Brodie reports:

Breathless finale leaves Falkirk wanting

This was a match which saw some neat passing from both sides, but very little in the way of true goalscoring chances as both teams appeared more interested in keeping the ball and looking to create the perfect goal rather than just get the ball upfield and in the back of the net by any means. It wasn't until the 88th minute that the action hotted up as Ben Baldwin felled Michael Thomson in the Livingston penalty area to concede a penalty which Andy Williams calmly slotted home to give Falkirk a lead which would see them remain top of the table unless Ross County hit 5 without reply against Dundee United. Ultimately how many County would score would become irrelevent as points rather than goal difference would be likely to seperate the two teams come the end of the season, Livingston's Bryan Stewart equalising within a minute of the kickoff to leave Falkirk rueing their missed chances.

Livingston 1 (Stewart 89)

Falkirk 1 (Williams pen 88)

Four goals salvo for rampant County

Ross County made a welcome return to goalscoring form at Victoria Park this afternoon as a fast fading Dundee United side came north knowing that anything other than a win would see them mathematically out of contention for the title. You wouldn't have thought they were a side needing the win though as they played some of their worst football of the season, creating just a single shot on target in the whole match. Ross County on the other hand, despite firing 10 shots off target did manage 7 on target and more importantly, 4 of them hit the back of the United net. Mark McGlynn opened the scoring with a deflected shot off Mark Kerr in the 15th minute with a Nick James penalty on 35 sending the home side in with a 2-0 lead at the break. Further goals in the second half from Kevin Watson and James again eased County to a 4-0 win as Utd's Allan Andreasen blazed an injury time penalty over the bar to conclude a miserable day and a folorn end to the season for the Tannadice team.

Ross County 4 (McGlynn 15; James pen 35, 84; Watson 49; Lewis s/o 90)

Dundee United 0 (Andreasen m/pen 90)

[glamdring]

Match round-up of week 37 from the Dingwall Times on Saturday May 13th 2017

Glasgwegian doom for title contenders sets up final day clash

Hamish Brodie reports:

The footballing gods were not smiling on the two title challengers today as both faced Glasgegian opposition on a day which could have seen the title won, but it seems those selfsame footballing gods preferred the idea of a final day showdown between the two title protagonists.

At Ibrox today, Rangers proved too good for a tired Ross County side, many of whose players played a major role in Scotland's Euro 2016 glory last summer and are now feeling the effects of a long season on top of their sumer exertions. Daniel Ibáñez and Craig Nicol scored the all important goals in the first half, leaving County with a mountain to climb in the second 45 minutes. Kevin Watson gave them hope with a goal squeezed past the 'keeper on 65 minutes, but the better team won on the day.

Meanwhile, over in Falkirk, Rangers' great rivals were also doing their bit put a dent in the charge of one of the two title rivals as they ran out narow 0-1 winners, Mike Lucas scoring the only goal of a game which Celtic controlled for the most part.

Full time scores:

Glasgow Rangers 2-1 Ross County

Falkirk 0-1 Glasgow Celtic

And so we head for Victoria Park next Sunday for a win or bust clash between the top two sides in the SPL. County go into the match needing just a draw to clinch their 8th title in a row as they hold a 2 point lead over their rivals. However, for those thinking that those footballing gods could have set up the finale even better by giving Falkirk home advantage, here's a point to consider - the 3 previous league meetings between these two teams these teams have all been won by the away team so maybe Falkirk won't be too unhappy at having 3 away games to just 1 home game against Ross County this season.

Don't miss the Dingwall Times next week as we bring you news on the destiny of the SPL title!

[glamdring]

Match report from week 38 from the Dingwall Times on Sunday May 21st 2017

8 in a row for relentless County

Hamish Brodie reports:

It has been an exciting season and far closer than the last 7 seasons, but ultimately the final outcome was the same as Ross County's tired players rose for 1 more challenge as Falkirk came to Victoria Park having won on their previous 2 visits in the league. It had been billed as a fantastic title showdown, winner takes all, but in the end it was a rather one-sided affair as County got their act together to finish the season in some style.

To be fair, Falkirk created a fair few chances and it wasn't so much the balance of play that was one-sided, only the scoreline as Kevin Black kept a clean sheet in the County goal in the face of numerous Falkirk shots on target. Richard Rhodes opened the scoring with a trademark exquisite freekick, left-fotted from the edge of the area, curled around the wall with pinpoint accuracy into the top left corner of the net. The 2nd half began well for County, settling the nerves of the home fans who knew a draw would be good enough for them - Mark McGlynn doubled the lead on 46 minutes before Alan Reid netted his 16th goal of a superb season from the right wing. McGlynn wrapped up the rout on 77 minutes with another neat finish to put the seal on County's 8th title in a row. With Falkirk and Dundee United both pushing County all the way and the old firm showing signs of a recovery of late next season could be County's toughest yet as they go in search of the record-equalling 9 SPL titles in a row.

FT: Ross County 4-0 Falkirk

[glamdring]

Special football feature from Scotland Today on Saturday 30th September 2017

Crisis in Glasgow - surely time for change?

John Bird reports:

There were signs of stirrings towards the end of last season by Glasgow's big two as they both finished in the top half of the table for the first time in many seasons and threw a number of spanners in the works of the top three fighting for the title. Hopes were high that the two fallen giants could build on that to challenge for the title this year, but now, 6 matches into the season the cold stark truth is all to clear - the false dawn of last season has been well and truly blasted away with the SPL table making sorry reading for fans of the Old Firm:

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Holders - Ross County

Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

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1st Ross County 6 6 0 0 19 6 +13 18

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2nd Motherwell 6 4 1 1 10 6 +4 13

3rd Livingston 6 3 2 1 10 5 +5 11

4th Falkirk 6 3 1 2 10 6 +4 10

5th Aberdeen 6 3 1 2 6 6 0 10

6th Dundee Utd 6 2 2 2 9 7 +2 8

7th Clyde 6 2 2 2 9 10 -1 8

8th Dundee 6 2 2 2 6 7 -1 8

9th St. Johnstone 6 2 1 3 7 10 -3 7

10th Hibs 6 2 1 3 7 12 -5 7

11th Rangers 6 0 1 5 3 13 -10 1

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12th Celtic 6 0 0 6 6 14 -8 0

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With Rangers' single point at home to Clyde, having gone a goal down, last week representing the only point between the pair it is surely time for a major change in the way these two former great clubs are run now. Fans have been short-changed season after season with a succession of failing managers at both clubs - Celtic are on their 10th manager in as many seasons after the sacking of Martin O'Neill which is clearly a situation which is not likely to lead to stability and progress for the club. Rangers likewise have been through a similar number of managers, most of them foreign managers who bring in a succession of ageing foreign players on large wages who repeatedly fail to perform.

Sitting at the top of the table and champions for the last 8 seasons, Ross County are a clear example of how a club should be run - they are now light years ahead of the Old Firm yet have spent only ~£1 million on transfer fees for each year in the SPL with a large proportion of the squad, including many of the Scotland national team, having come through their youth academy with a visionary chairman who had an aim and pursued it ruthlessly having identified the manager he wanted and winning promotion from Division 1. The Old Firm should take a long hard look at themselves and their policy in recent seasons.

It is now 50 years since the famous Lisbon Lions of Glasgow Celtic won the European Cup with a team made up of Scots all of whom came from within 25 miles of the city and a number of that famous winning team have been highly scathing of their beloved club in recent years as they see Ross County, inspired by their own success, win the European Cup 3 times in a row with an entirely Scottish squad.

Glasgow is a footballing city - there is no doubt about that. Anyone who has been to a Glasgow derby will know the passion of the two teams' supporters and yet both clubs seem to totally ignore the potential of this large city. If Ross County can build a championship winning squad and a squad to conquer Europe from the tiny town of Dingwall and its environs, the potential of this great city for young footballing talent is surely enough for both clubs to develop a team full of proud Scots who know just what it means to play for these Glasgow giants. In a city were there is still a lot of poverty, football is something which unites people and allows them to put aside the problems of the rest of their lives, yet what hope is there for the young kids, playing football in the streets of this city if the two big clubs whom they idolise ignore their local talent in favour of overpaid and overhyped foreigners who just don't know what it means to play for these two huge clubs.

If Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers don't get their acts together soon and bring about a huge change in the way they are run, this great city could well see it's two famous clubs fighting a fatal relegation battle with the consequences of getting relegated being unthinkable for either club.

[glamdring]

Interview from the Dingwall Times on Sunday October 1st 2017

Ross County chairman Archie McLaren speaks exclusively to Hamish Brodie

Ross County chairman Archie McLaren is not one for the limelight. He is the driving force behind the Ross County revolution and is adored by the fans, yet prefers to let his manager and players take the public glory whilst he gets on with his job efficiently behind the scenes to make Ross County one of the premier clubs in world football. In his first major interview for many years, I found Archie in expansive mood when I caught up with him this morning to chat about the pressures and joys of being a club chairman at Ross County

Hamish: Archie, you've been Ross County chairman for almost 20 years now. Could you ever have believed back that you could be sitting here with a trophy room bulging with silverware?

Archie: Och, of course not Hamish. You were here, writing for the Dingwall Times all those years ago and we were still a relatively new club in the Scottish football league, looking for promotion to Division 1.

Hamish: It was a brave decision when you appointed a totally unknown manager with no footballing experience, but you must be delighted that you took that chance, looking back.

Archie: It's always a risk when you appoint a new manager Hamish, even an experienced manager can struggle at a club with limited resources and we weren't in a position to attract a big name manager anyway. I'd known Adam for a few years since he and my son were at Uni together and they often came back here during the vacations to do some walking in the Highlands and even though he didn't have a football background he was an avid follower of the game and had a good tactical brain even then and most of all, he had a passion and a passion which matched my own, a passion to see a team of proud Scots run out there on the football field and win the biggest prizes that football had to offer.

Hamish: Fast-forwarding a little then, after a solid first season, you won promotion to the SPL on the final day of the manager's second season - how did that feel for you, as chairman?

Archie: Of course it was a great day for the club and for me - our aim when we arrived in the SFL was to reach the SPL and to do it so quickly was a dream come true. It was a tense final day though after we had lost our lead at the top. I seem to remember that we drew 2-2 here and Clyde also managed a 2-2 draw down at Queen of the South so we squeezed up ahead of them, but I was really nervous that day!

Hamish: And then that first season in the SPL - what a turnaround?

Archie: Yeah, I think we were bottom of the table at christmas and everyone was saying we'd be sure to get relegated, but in truth the table was really close, but I never expected that Adam would transform that struggling side into a team who eventually finished 3rd just 6 months later - it was remarkable and laid down the foundations for the next 10 years of success.

Hamish: Could you have feasibly extended the youth academy to be as successful as it is now without that onfield success so soon?

Archie: Well, we already had a good youth academy when we were in the first division - at the end of Adam's first season we saw the likes of Nick James, John MacDonald and David Dunne come through and look where they are now. As for the changes, extensions and generally turning the facility into one of the best in Europe, of course that was made easier by us having the success when we did, but it was always a long term plan to develop our youth.

Hamish: You mentioned those players there. It must give you a huge sense of pride when a Scotland squad is announced and you see your players making up ~50% of the whole squad, and many of them players who have come through the academy.

Archie: I think we have been very lucky with the quality of our youngsters in past seasons, but there was a lot of hard work there as well. In recent seasons we haven't had quite the same level of quality players coming through as in earlier seasons, but we have time on our side now since we have a good team - earlier we were still building the team so youngsters were thrown in early, but now those youngsters are well established and it is harder for the new ones to break in. It is great when I see our players scoring for Scotand though - we now have 4 players I think into double figures for international goals which is superb and Alan Reid's hat-trick from the right wing against South Korea in the Confederations Cup was just superb.

Hamish: You've won 8 SPL titles in a row now, but last season was a lot tougher than previously. I know you are a man with a keen knowledge of the history of the game and will want to equal the 9 in a row record or Rangers and Celtic - do you think you will manage it this season.

Archie: Well, we've started very strongly this year so I am very hopeful. I think the problem last year was that there was a bit of a hangover from so many of our players being in the Scotland Euro 2016 squad and then of course we lost 5-3 to Dundee United on the opening day of the season and struggled to find form after that, but this year it's much better. We did miss Alan Reid for the start of last season though and I know the manager rates him very highly - he has always said that we are a team and no player is indispensible if they are injured, but I think Alan is that final cog who makes the whole team click so much better and without him we just aren't the same.

Hamish: You've been watching football for over 50 years now Archie. How do the current Ross County players match up among the best Scottish players you have watched?

Archie: It's difficult to compare players from different generations Hamish, I grew up watching the Celtic side of the 60s and those Lisbon Lions of '67 will forever be in my heart as one of the best teams I ever saw. As for our current players, our captain Nick James is probably the most complete defender I have ever seen, even including those in that Lisbon Lions team - he has been rock solid at the back for us ever since the Age of 15 and he's a Dingwall lad too. Richard Rhodes is one of the most naturally gifted wingers I have ever seen too - he maybe lacks the pace to be right up there as the greatest Scottish winger I've ever seen because we've had a few, but he is a talent. And then there's Alan Reid of course...I don't want to pile pressure on him and over-hype him and all that because the national media do too much of that anyway and it can get too much for a player, but from my heart I can honestly say that I have never seen so talented a pleyer in all my years watching football - I would hesitate to say he is the best Scottish footballer of all time because he is only 24 and time will tell - already he is up there amongst the best, but soon the die will be cast as to just how he develops into his late 20's - he has the ability to light up the world stage at the 2018 world cup if he can keep his temperemant under control - whether he will or not we'll all have to wait and see.

Hamish: Finally Archie, how do you see the club currently in the wider scheme of things and what are the aims for the future, especially in the wake of that shock 10-1 defeat to Manchester United last year.

Archie: Ooh, don't mention that Hamish - it was the lowest point for this club in the last 10 years - I know Adam was shocked, the players were shocked, the fans were and so was I, but we must move on and come back this year stronger than ever to regain our Champions League crown.

We reached a real crunch point last season with numerous players' contracts up for renewal and I had to sit down with the manager and we really had to take a hard look at things and decide were we saw this club being in 5 years because we have top players now and they demand top wages - we had to decide whether we could pay those wages to keep them here or turn again to our youth system and bring in more youngsters and let the older players move on. In the end we decided we would do all we could to keep them here because this team are good enough to pay for themselves. It is a risk though - without giving exact details, our top earners are now on > £30,000 per week and our total wage bill is in the region of £17-20 million per year. We've made a profit of ~£7 million the last few years despite improvements to the ground costing money, but that all stems from success on the field - with that wage bill, if we have a bad season and fail to qualify for the Champions League, that £7 million profit will soon turn into £5 million + debt for a season. Now I can't see that happening at the moment - if I could we wouldn't have given such large contracts, but the pressure is on and we have to bear it in mind constantly - we don't have the fanbase of Rangers and Celtic with 50,000 attendances to pay the wages - we rely on the European money. That said, we are in a very strong financial position and could absorb those losses for a few seasons, but only if we then return to winning ways.

Hamish: Well, thank you for talking to us Archie and best of luck for the season. The fans here in Dingwall are all fully behind you and are crossing their fingers for that nine in a row!