Highland honours are even in cracking clash
IN ALMOST 40 years in senior football, John Robertson says he has never seen anything like it. Seven successive draws. Nine draws and three wins from 12 opening matches in the league.
But the football fan in the Caley Thistle manager was delighted after the dust settled on a pulsating Highland derby.
Robertson was convinced County’s Billy Mckay ran off-side before the cross that home defender Brad Mckay turned into his own net for the equaliser before half-time.
County, though, claimed video footage disproved Robbo’s claim.
The share of spoils set a record 23-game unbeaten run in the league for the hosts, breaking Steve Paterson’s 1996 previous best.
Mark Ridgers pulled off a jawdropping save from County’s Mckay before the break. Both sides, though, tallied up a clutch of missed chances in the second period.
Robertson said: “It was a brilliant game. The first goal was a great strike but we felt we came back well and deserved to be ahead at 2-1.
“The equaliser was one where you can clearly see Billy Mckay is offside and we felt a bit aggrieved at half-time.
“The linesman knows he made a mistake. That’s why he raced up the tunnel at half-time.
“As for our draws, I’ve been in football for 40 years and never seen anything like this.
“I was in a team which went 27 games unbeaten but there is always a win in there somewhere.”
What a rip-roaring 90 minutes it was. County led against the run of play after 17 minutes. Iain Vigurs only just kept on his feet to slip a pass inside to Don Cowie who threaded the ball into Jamie Lindsay’s path.
From 22 yards, the County midfielder steered a tremendous low shot into the left corner of Ridgers’ net.
Two minutes later, it was level. A cross from the left from home captain Aaron Doran saw Tom Walsh rise to power in a header and, six yards out, the upstretched leg of George Oakley deftly did the rest.
The hosts then grabbed the lead on the half hour. Sean Welsh released Liam Polworth on the left and the home midfielder looked up to spot Shaun Rooney in plenty of space at the edge of the box and he whipped a low shot into the bottom left hand corner.
County sparked to life and it took a truly remarkable, one-handed save down
low from Ridgers to turn wide a Billy Mckay header from Josh Mullin’s cross.
Mckay’s moment came, though – against home howls for offside – after 43 minutes.
The flag stayed down as the ex-Caley Thistle striker’s low cross from the left was turned into his own net by the flailing leg of home defender Brad Mckay.
Both teams had chances in the second half – Sean Kelly, unmarked and staring at an empty net, somehow stubbed a shot wide.
Then in 69 minutes Caley Thistle’s Polworth was left clutching his head in disbelief after striking the outside of the post in free sight of goal.
A last-gasp Kelly block on Polworth prevented a home lead inside the final 10 minutes and a few minutes later Doran, in agonising fashion for the hosts, couldn’t quite connect properly with a low-driven Polworth diagonal.
At the other end, Ridgers’ acrobatics turned away a Brian Graham goal-bound header.
County co-manager Steven Ferguson said: “Billy was clearly onside. We watched it at the break and knew then.
“It was a very decent game of football for a derby. It was a game we could have won and one we could have lost.”