Ross County 3 - 2 Inverness CT

League Match
Saturday, December 31st, 2016, 3:00 PM at Global Energy Stadium, Dingwall
Attendance: 5,111
Referee: Bobby Madden
Ross County Inverness CT

Goalscorers
Liam Boyce (2)
Liam Boyce (28)
Martin Woods (61)
Carl Tremarco (28)
Alex Fisher (81)

Team Managers
Jim McIntyre Richie Foran

Starting Eleven
Scott Fox
Marcus Fraser
Andrew Davies
Jay McEveley
Kenny van der Weg
Martin Woods
Tim Chow
Christopher Routis
Ryan Dow
Liam Boyce
Alex Schalk
Owain Fon Williams
Josh Meekings
Gary Warren
Carl Tremarco
Brad Mckay
Iain Vigurs
Aaron Doran
Greg Tansey
Ross Draper
Larnell Cole
Lonsana Doumbouya

Bench
Aaron McCarey
Craig Curran
Tony Dingwall
Jonathan Franks
Paul Quinn
Christopher McLaughlin
Reghan Tumility
Ryan Esson
Liam Polworth
Alasdair Sutherland
Jake Mulraney
Alex Fisher
Scott Boden
Billy King

Substitutions
Craig Curran -> Alex Schalk (62)
Jonathan Franks -> Martin Woods (71)
Tony Dingwall -> Ryan Dow (91)
Alex Fisher for Lonsana Doumbouya (56)
Billy King for Larnell Cole (56)
Scott Boden for Iain Vigurs (73)

Bookings
Jay McEveley (76) Gary Warren (46)
Brad Mckay (92)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Owain Fon Williams (GK) 69 apps -
Josh Meekings 192 apps7 goals
Brad Mckay 15 apps -
Carl Tremarco 99 apps8 goals
Gary Warren 176 apps14 goals
Aaron Doran 170 apps21 goals
Larnell Cole 11 apps1 goal
Greg Tansey 172 apps27 goals
Ross Draper 185 apps16 goals
Iain Vigurs 86 apps16 goals
Lonsana Doumbouya 18 apps5 goals
Alex Fisher (sub) 20 apps2 goals
Billy King (sub) 22 apps3 goals
Scott Boden (sub) 15 apps5 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Brad Mckay (23 years 286 days)
Oldest Player:Josh Meekings (2018 years 156 days)
Average Player Age:28 years 197 days
Domestic Players:6 (54.55 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Alasdair Sutherland (20 years 108 days)
Oldest Player:Josh Meekings (2018 years 156 days)
Average Player Age:27 years 95 days
Domestic Players:12 (66.67 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Not a Happy New Year:

Just when you think things can't get much worse, we fail to win at Dingwall for the first time in six games and extend our winless run to ten games, the worst in our history.

It's not looking good for Richie Foran as another defeat anchors us at the bottom of the pile and makes us favourites for the drop at this stage of the season. Liam Boyce scored a double and Martin Woods added a third with Carl Tremarco and sub Alex Fisher scoring for Inverness in an all too familiar tale of too little too late.

Inverness benched Liam Polworth and started with Aaron Doran, the only change from the defeats against Motherwell and Rangers. County, as expected had Kenny van der Weg back after suspension and gave Ryan Dow a start ahead of Paul Quinn and Craig Curran.

A healthy away support gave Inverness all the backing they needed from the start, but it's a pity the team failed to return the favour.

It took County only two minutes to breech the suspect visitors fragile defence. Liam Boyce, who scored a hat-trick in the first meeting knocked home from close range, the ball adjudged to have crossed the line by Bobby Madden. Not the start the away fans were hoping for and we were left chasing the game inside 120 seconds.

County were buoyed by this explosive start and Alex Schalk hit the side netting soon after. Inverness could only muster a shot from Larnell Cole that cleared the Jail End on it's way out of the stadium.

To their credit, Inverness gradually worked their way into the game and began to control most of the play without any real cutting edge, the final ball eluding them as has been the case all season.

Schalk went close with a header as County broke the monopoly, but it was Inverness that deservedly pulled themselves level when Carl Tremarco headed home his sixth goal of the season after Warren had made a nuisance of himself in the County box just before the half hour.

No more than we deserved at this stage of the game but County re-asserted themselves soon after, Fon Williams being equal to a Martin Woods effort. They took the lead again on thirty-five minutes and it was that man Boyce once more. Fon Williams did well to turn away another strike from Woods, but as Inverness could not clear the ball, Boyce struck the ball well enough and it ended up in the back of the net, Fon Williams looking sheepish again as the ball missed his hands on the way into the net.

Boyce was once more a handful for the visiting defence and could have had another hat-trick inside the first half but he missed the target this time and at the other end Cole went closer than his previous attempt but Fox was alert enough to deny him.

Half Time 2-1

Iain Vigurs was spotted on the park early in the second half when a minor dust-up was intervened by the ref who lectured the players for offending.

King and Fisher were introduced to try and lift Inverness but it was County that stretched their lead when Woods added a third after Schalk fed him through.

Billy King was lurking with intent though and it was from one of his shots that Alex Fisher benefited from to score our second goal. A slick forward move saw King turn and strike from twenty yards, Fox blocked but Fisher reacted first to dink the ball behind the keeper.

With ten minutes remaining, Inverness piled forward but an equaliser eluded them, Aaron Doran coming closest with a low drive that Fox pushed away.

Full Time 3-2

I'm sure the County fans would have enjoyed their Hogmanay celebrations better than the Inverness contingent. Never would they have been expecting to be gifted goals so easily. Owain Fon Williams was suspect again, deceived once more. The annoying thing was that the second goal came after two superb saves, then the innocuous shot/cross from Boyce went straight through him. Shocker from the artist. I doubt he will be painting that scene any time soon.

Once again ( how often have we said that), we were cut open too easy, offered too little in attack, squandered what little opportunities came our way, gifted needless goals, were error strewn across the back and lacked the ability and tactical nous to alter the outcome.

There's no doubt that County overall deserved to win this encounter, with a little help from ourselves.We did have better spells, but these were unsustainable due to our own frailties. A lot of tough talking to be done during the winter break. I'm sure we won't all like the result, but if it changes our fortunes, so be it. If not then it's Championship for us and a bleak future, that's the reality of the situation we find ourselves in. Ten games without a win does not make for good reading, it's not all down to misfortune.

tm4tj MotM:- Tommy Tremarco continues to give. Another goal, his sixth of the season and willingness to get forward when required makes him my MotM. To be honest it was not a difficult choice as others around him disappointed. Owain Fon Williams may still be struggling with spasms, something must be affecting the way he has performed recently is beyond sloppy. Iain Vigurs was again poor, but he was not alone. Billy King showed signs of improvement when he came on, as did Alex Fisher. Other than that, the rest need to take a long hard look at themselves. The young team tried their best to lift spirits on the field but were let down badly. Some investment is needed if we are to get out of this, but the stats tell us otherwise.

Anyway, Happy New Year. :cry: Enjoy the break.

Match report written by tm4tj



Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Celtic 20 19 1 0 54 14 40 58
2. Rangers 21 11 6 4 28 21 7 39
3. Aberdeen 20 11 4 5 35 19 16 37
4. Hearts 21 8 7 6 38 26 12 31
5. St. Johnstone 20 7 7 6 25 24 1 28
6. Ross County 21 5 8 8 23 36 -13 23
7. Partick Thistle 21 5 7 9 24 29 -5 22
8. Dundee 21 6 4 11 21 28 -7 22
9. Motherwell 20 5 6 9 25 33 -8 21
10. Kilmarnock 21 4 8 9 16 35 -19 20
11. Hamilton Academical 21 2 11 8 21 31 -10 17
12. Inverness CT 21 3 7 11 26 40 -14 16