2019–20 Ross County F.C. season

Ross County
2019–20 season
Chairman	Roy MacGregor
Manager	Steven Ferguson and; Stuart Kettlewell
Ground	Victoria Park; Dingwall, Ross-shire; (Capacity: 6,541)
Scottish Premiership	10th
Scottish League Cup	Second Round
Scottish Cup	Fourth Round
Top goalscorer	League: Ross Stewart, Billy McKay (7); All: Ross Stewart, Billy McKay (11)
Highest home attendance	6,575 vs Rangers ; (League)
Lowest home attendance	3,301 vs Livingston ; (League)
Home colours	Away colours
	← 2018–19 2020–21 →

The 2019–20 season was the club's 1st season back in the Scottish Premiership, the top flight of Scottish football, after being promoted as Champions from the Scottish Championship.^[1] Ross County also competed in the League Cup and the Scottish Cup.

Results & fixtures edit

Win Draw Loss Postponed

Pre-season edit

29 June 2019 Friendly	Nairn County	0–3	Ross County	Station Park, Nairn
15:00			Stewart Mckay MacBeath

29 June 2019 Friendly	Forres Mechanics	0–11	Ross County	Mosset Park, Forres
15:00			Watson McManus Paton Murray Graham Armstrong

5 July 2019 Friendly	Groningen	2–0	Ross County	Assen, Netherlands
19:00	Postema 12' Sierhuis 70'

7 July 2019 Friendly	GFA Deventer City	1–3	Ross County	Doorwerth, Netherlands
19:00			Watson Graham Stewart

27 July 2019 Friendly	Ross County	2–0	Carlisle United	Victoria Park
15:00	Power 52' Vigurs 73'	[1]		Attendance: 735 Referee: Steven McLean

Scottish Premiership edit

3 August 2019 1	Ross County	3–0	Hamilton Academical	Dingwall
15:00	Chalmers 30' Mckay 36' Stewart 57'	Report	McKenna 1' MacKinnon 51' Oakley 71'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 4,071 Referee: Alan Newlands

10 August 2019 2	Heart of Midlothian	0–0	Ross County	Edinburgh
15:00		Report	Morris 45' Kelly 73' Spittal 87'	Stadium: Tynecastle Attendance: 15,652 Referee: Alan Muir

24 August 2019 3	Ross County	1–4	Livingston	Dingwall
15:00	Stewart 44'	Report	Guthrie 3' Lawless 14' Dykes 26' Stobbs 52'	Stadium: Global Energy Stadium Attendance: 4,237 Referee: John Beaton

31 August 2019 4	Aberdeen	3–0	Ross County	Aberdeen
15:00	Leigh 34' Cosgrove 37' (pen) Hedges 50' Ojo 51' Considine 73'	Report	Stewart 27'	Stadium: Pittodrie Stadium Attendance: 13,006 Referee: Nick Walsh

14 September 2019 5	Ross County	2–1	St Mirren	Dingwall
15:00	Stewart 62' Fraser 90+2'	Report	Andreu 72'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 3,637 Referee: Colin Steven

21 September 2019 6	Motherwell	1–2	Ross County	Motherwell
15:00	Gallagher 58' Campbell 61' Carroll 78' 80'	Report	Graham 75' Gardyne 84' Stewart 88' Spittal 90+4'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 4,620 Referee: Alan Muir

28 September 2019 7	Kilmarnock	0–0	Ross County	Kilmarnock
15:00		Report	Gardyne 40' Fraser 82'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 4,906 Referee: Alan Newlands

5 October 2019 8	Ross County	2–2	St Johnstone	Dingwall
15:00	Chalmers 10' Spittal 68'	Report	May 24' Kennedy 51'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 4,124 Referee: Euan Anderson

19 October 2019 9	Celtic	6–0	Ross County	Glasgow
	Elyounoussi 4', 72' Édouard 46' McGregor 49' Fontaine 50' (o.g.) Forrest 55'	Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 58,560 Referee: Don Robertson

26 October 2019 10	Hibernian	2–2	Ross County	Edinburgh
	Horgan 50' Allan 56'	Report	Graham 72' Chalmers 90'	Stadium: Easter Road Attendance: 15,452 Referee: Steven Maclean

30 October 2019 11	Ross County	0−4	Rangers	Dingwall
19:45	Stewart 59'	Report	Morelos 20', 71' Jack 29', 37'	Stadium: Global Energy Stadium Attendance: 6,575 Referee: Bobby Madden

2 November 2019 12	Hamilton Academical	2–2	Ross County	Hamilton
15:00	Smith 52' Oakley 64' Martin 90+3'	Report	McKay 1' Graham 88'	Stadium: New Douglas Park Attendance: 1,268 Referee: Colin Steven

9 November 2019 13	Ross County	1–3	Aberdeen	Aberdeen
15:00 GMT	Mullin 5' (pen.) Morris 22' Fontaine 84'	Report	McGinn 10' Hedges 52' Ferguson 64' Considine 70'	Stadium: Global Energy Stadium Attendance: 6,510 Referee: Alan Newlands

23 November 2019 14	St Mirren	2–1	Ross County	Paisley
15:00	McLoughlin 43' Foley 88'		Graham 24'	Stadium: St Mirren Park Attendance: 4,708 Referee: Euan Anderson

1 December 2019 15	Ross County	1–4	Celtic	Dingwall
	Stewart 24'	Report	Christie 11', 38' Rogic 67' Johnston 73'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 6,512 Referee: Nick Walsh

4 December 2019 16	Ross County	2–1	Hibernian	Dingwall
	Stewart 65', 75'	Report	Doidge 34'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 4,196 Referee: David Munro

14 December 2019 17	Ross County	1–0	Kilmarnock	Dingwall
	Erwin 90+2'	Report		Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 3,688 Referee: Alan Muir

21 December 2019 18	Livingston	4 − 0	Ross County	Almondvale Stadium
15:00	Lamie 31' Dykes 41', 50', 73' Sibbald 60'	Report		Attendance: 1,201 Referee: Colin Steven

26 December 2019 19	Ross County	1 – 2	Motherwell	Dingwall
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Spittal 24' Spence 48' 62' Foster 71' Fontaine 90+4' Graham 90+5'	Report	Gallagher 49' 90+2' Maciver 81' Hartley 90+4' Polworth 90+5'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 4,181 Referee: Greg Aitken

29 December 2019 20	St Johnstone	1 − 1	Ross County	McDiarmid Park
15:00	Hendry 84'	Report	Vigurs 72' Graham 68' 90+3'	Attendance: 2,658 Referee: Bobby Madden

22 January 2020 21	Ross County	0 – 0	Heart of Midlothian	Dingwall
19:45	Vigurs 81'	Report	Souttar 90+2'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 4,301 Referee: Gavin Duncan

25 January 2020 22	Celtic	3 – 0	Ross County	Glasgow
	McGregor 37' (pen.) Bauer 51' Édouard 65', 68'	Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 58,785 Referee: Kevin Clancy

29 January 2020 23	Rangers	2−0	Ross County	Glasgow
19:45	Defoe 41' Arfield 47' Goldson 52' Polster 67'	Report	Mullin 45' Spence 74' Kelly 76' Fraser 86'	Stadium: Ibrox Stadium Attendance: 47,583 Referee: Don Robertson

1 February 2020 24	Kilmarnock	3–1	Ross County	Kilmarnock
15:00	Brophy 54', 57' Kabamba 82'	Report	Vigurs 25'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 4,733 Referee: Willie Collum

5 February 2020 25	Ross County	2–0	Livingston	Dingwall
19:45	McKay 2', 59'	Report		Stadium: Global Energy Stadium Attendance: 3,301 Referee: Nick Walsh

12 February 2020 26	Hibernian	3–0	Ross County	Edinburgh
19:45	McNulty 7' Doidge 41' Jackson 84'	Report		Stadium: Easter Road Attendance: 14,486 Referee: Steven McLean

15 February 2020 27	Ross County	1–1	St Johnstone	Dingwall
15:00	McKay 90+4'	Report	May 33'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 3,569 Referee: Colin Dteven

22 February 2020 28	Aberdeen	1–2	Ross County	Aberdeen
15:00	Main 28' Campbell 18' 32'	Report	McKay 43', 88'	Stadium: Pittodrie Stadium Attendance: 14,860 Referee: Gavin Duncan

4 March 2020 29	Motherwell	4 – 1	Ross County	Motherwell
19:45	O'Hara 17' Aarons 20' Campbell 25', 75' Tait 65' Watt 90+3'	Report	Fontaine 3' Morris 16' Vigurs 64' Stewart 80'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 3,191 Referee: Alan Muir

8 March 2020 30	Ross County	0−1	Rangers	Dingwall
12:00	Fontaine 12' Stewart 56' Spittal 90+1' Morris 90+5'	Report	Kent 77'	Stadium: Global Energy Stadium Attendance: 6,400 Referee: Andrew Dallas

Scottish League Cup edit

13 July 2019	Ross County	4–1	Montrose	Dingwall
15:00	Mullin 7' Stewart 13', 46' Mckay 85'	[2]	Lyons 18' Allan 51'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 1,159 Referee: Chris Fordyce

16 July 2019	Brechin City	0–4	Ross County	Brechin
19:45		[3]	Stewart 33', 44' Mckay 49' Spittal 75'	Stadium: Glebe Park Attendance: 272 Referee: Alan Newlands

21 July 2019	St Johnstone	1–2	Ross County	Perth
15:00	Tanser 8' (pen.) Craig 73'		Mckay 30', 45+1' Vigurs 63'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 1,648 Referee: Bobby Madden

24 July 2019	Ross County	2–0	Forfar Athletic	Dingwall
19:45	Graham 15', 76'	^[2]	Bain 66'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 1,002 Referee: Willie Collum

17 August 2019	Partick Thistle	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Ross County	Glasgow
15:00	Miller 80' Penrice 96' Saunders 114'	^[3]	Spittal 60' Paton 105'	Stadium: Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,053 Referee: Steven McLean

Scottish Cup edit

18 January 2020	Ayr United	1–0	Ross County	Ayr
15:00	Bell 37'	Report		Stadium: Somerset Park Attendance: 1,538 Referee: Andrew Dallas

Squad statistics edit

Appearances edit

As of 8 March 2020

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premiership		Scottish Cup		League Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	SCO	Ross Laidlaw	22	0	17	0	0	0	5	0
2	DF	SCO	Marcus Fraser(c)	31	1	25+1	1	0	0	4+1	0
3	DF	SCO	Sean Kelly	23	0	18	0	1	0	4	0
4	DF	ENG	Liam Fontaine	27	1	22	1	1	0	4	0
5	DF	NIR	Callum Morris	19	0	17	0	0	0	2	0
6	MF	ENG	Ross Draper	12	0	8+3	0	0	0	1	0
7	FW	SCO	Michael Gardyne	17	0	13+1	0	0	0	2+1	0
8	FW	SCO	Lee Erwin	19	1	11+6	1	1	0	0+1	0
9	FW	NIR	Billy Mckay	33	11	22+5	7	0+1	0	4+1	4
11	MF	SCO	Iain Vigurs	22	2	16	2	1	0	3+2	0
12	DF	ENG	Tom Grivosti	8	0	5+1	0	0	0	2	0
14	MF	SCO	Josh Mullin	32	2	21+6	1	1	0	3+1	1
15	DF	SCO	Keith Watson	20	0	14+3	0	0	0	2+1	0
16	MF	SCO	Lewis Spence	15	0	10+5	0	0	0	0	0
18	DF	SCO	Richard Foster	21	0	19+1	0	1	0	0	0
19	FW	SCO	Oli Shaw	7	0	2+5	0	0	0	0	0
20	MF	SCO	Blair Spittal	26	4	10+10	2	1	0	4+1	2
21	GK	ENG	Nathan Baxter	14	0	13	0	1	0	0	0
22	MF	ENG	Jordan Tillson	8	0	5+2	0	1	0	0	0
23	MF	SCO	Joe Chalmers	19	3	6+8	3	0	0	4+1	0
24	MF	CAN	Harry Paton	23	1	11+8	0	1	0	2+1	1
25	DF	SCO	Coll Donaldson	8	0	7	0	1	0	0	0
26	MF	SCO	Don Cowie	9	0	7+2	0	0	0	0	0
27	FW	SCO	Ross Stewart	26	11	19+2	7	0	0	4+1	4
38	DF	SCO	Ruari Fraser	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
41	GK	ENG	Tommy Dixon-Hodge	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
43	DF	SCO	Josh Reid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
44	FW	SCO	Matthew Wright	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Players who left the club during the season
8	MF	SCO	Jamie Lindsay	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
17	MF	SCO	Ewan Henderson	10	0	6+3	0	0+1	0	0	0
19	FW	SCO	Brian Graham	23	6	5+13	4	0+1	0	2+2	2
22	MF	IRL	Simon Power	4	0	0+1	0	0	0	1+2	0
25	GK	SCO	Jack Ruddy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
36	MF	SCO	Mark Gallagher	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goalscorers edit

Rank	Pos.	Player	Premiership	Scottish Cup	League Cup	Total
1	ST	Ross Stewart	7	0	4	11
1	ST	Billy Mckay	7	0	4	11
3	ST	Brian Graham	4	0	2	6
4	MF	Blair Spittal	2	0	2	4
5	MF	Joe Chalmers	3	0	0	3
6	MF	Iain Vigurs	2	0	0	2
6	MF	Josh Mullin	1	0	1	2
7	DF	Liam Fontaine	1	0	0	1
	DF	Marcus Fraser	1	0	0	1
	FW	Lee Erwin	1	0	0	1
	MF	Harry Paton	0	0	1	1
Totals			29	0	14	43
Last updated: 4 March 2020

Team statistics edit

League table edit

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Qualification or relegation^[a]
8	Kilmarnock	30	9	6	15	31	41	−10	33	1.10
9	St Mirren	30	7	8	15	24	41	−17	29	0.97
10	Ross County	30	7	8	15	29	60	−31	29	0.97
11	Hamilton Academical	30	6	9	15	30	50	−20	27	0.90
12	Heart of Midlothian (R)	30	4	11	15	31	52	−21	23	0.77	Relegation to the Championship

Source: BBC SPFL
Rules for classification: 1) Points per game; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-Head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only if deciding champion, UEFA competitions qualification, second stage group allocation or relegation).^[5]
(R) Relegated
Notes:

^ All play-off matches were cancelled, as clubs voted to curtail the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4]

League Cup table edit

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	ROS	FOR	MON	STJ	BRE
1	Ross County	4	4	0	0	0	12	2	+10	12	Qualification for the Second Round	—	2–0	4–1	—	—
2	Forfar Athletic	4	3	0	0	1	9	4	+5	9	Qualification for the Second Round	—	—	—	2–1	3–0
3	Montrose	4	1	1	0	2	4	9	−5	5		—	1–4	—	1–0	—
4	St Johnstone	4	1	0	0	3	6	5	+1	3		1–2	—	—	—	4–0
5	Brechin City	4	0	0	1	3	1	12	−11	1		0–4	—	1–1p	—	—

Source: ^[6]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.^[7]

Transfers edit

In edit

Date	Player	From	Fee
1 June 2019	Joe Chalmers	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Free^[8]
1 June 2019	Ross Laidlaw	Hibernian	Free^[9]
4 June 2019	Blair Spittal	Partick Thistle	Free^[10]
19 June 2019	Nathan Baxter	Chelsea	Loan^[11]
4 July 2019	Simon Power	Norwich City	Loan^[12]
23 July 2019	Jack Ruddy	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Free^[13]
23 July 2019	Lee Erwin	Tractor	Free^[14]
2 September 2019	Ewan Henderson	Celtic	Loan
29 August 2019	Richard Foster	St Johnstone	Free
15 January 2020	Jordan Tillson	Exeter City	Free
15 January 2020	Coll Donaldson	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Undisclosed
22 January 2020	Oli Shaw	Hibernian	Undisclosed

Out edit

Date	Player	To	Fee
24 May 2019	Greg Morrison	Brora Rangers	Free^[15]
24 June 2019	Callum Semple	Queen of the South	Free^[16]
24 June 2019	Ross Munro	Raith Rovers	Loan
1 July 2019	Scott Fox	Partick Thistle	Free^[17]
3 July 2019	Russell Dingwall	Elgin City	Free
16 July 2019	Declan McManus	Falkirk	Loan^[18]
24 July 2019	Jamie Lindsay	Rotherham United	£300,000 ^[19]
9 September 2019	Joel MacBeath	Montrose	Loan
11 September 2019	James Wallace	Brora Rangers	Loan
11 September 2019	Kenny van der Weg	Aalesund	Free^[20]
3 October 2019	Daniel Armstrong	Raith Rovers	Free
16 January 2020	Davis Keillor-Dunn	Wrexham	Free
21 January 2020	Mark Gallagher	Aberdeen	Undisclosed
4 February 2020	Jack Ruddy	CD Leganés	Free

Notes and references edit

^ "Ross County secure title and promotion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
^ "Ross County v Forfar Athletic". www.bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
^ Crawford, Kenny (17 August 2019). "Partick Thistle 3–2 Ross County (AET): Steven Saunders the hero for hosts". www.bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
^ "Dundee Utd, Raith & Cove win titles and reconstruction talks start after Dundee vote". BBC Sport. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
^ "The Rules of the Scottish Professional Football League" (PDF). SPFL. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
^ "Summary - League Cup Group B". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
^ "Format". SPFL. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
^ "Joe Chalmers: Ross County to sign Inverness CT player". BBC Sport. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
^ "Ross County sign goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw on pre-contract deal". Press and Journal. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
^ Smith, Tyrone (4 June 2019). "Ross County: Blair Spittal out to 'rebuild reputation' after Partick Thistle exit". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
^ "County sign Chelsea goalkeeper on season-long loan". Press and Journal. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
^ "In-demand Norwich City winger seals loan switch to Scottish top-flight". Eastern Daily Press. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
^ "Ross County sign goalkeeper Jack Ruddy on a six-month deal". BBC Sport. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
^ "Ross County sign goalkeeper Jack Ruddy on a six-month deal". BBC Sport. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
^ "Steven Mackay sold Greg Morrison on Brora Rangers move after Ross County release". 25 May 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
^ "Callum Semple leaves Ross County". Press and Journal. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
^ "Scott Fox: Goalkeeper leaves Ross County after talks breakdown". BBC Sport. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
^ "Declan joins McKinnon's Bairns on Loan". Ross County FC. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
^ Skinner, Andy (24 July 2019). "Lindsay leaves County to join Rotherham". Press & Journal. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
^ "Keny van der Weg: Defender leaves Ross County to return to Holland". BBC Sport. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.

[5] All play-off matches were cancelled, as clubs voted to curtail the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4]

[1] "Ross County secure title and promotion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 May 2019.

[2] "Ross County v Forfar Athletic". www.bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.

[3] Crawford, Kenny (17 August 2019). "Partick Thistle 3–2 Ross County (AET): Steven Saunders the hero for hosts". www.bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 August 2019.

[4] "Dundee Utd, Raith & Cove win titles and reconstruction talks start after Dundee vote". BBC Sport. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.

[6] "The Rules of the Scottish Professional Football League" (PDF). SPFL. Retrieved 20 October 2019.

[7] "Summary - League Cup Group B". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 August 2019.

[Format-8] "Format". SPFL. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.

[9] "Joe Chalmers: Ross County to sign Inverness CT player". BBC Sport. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.

[10] "Ross County sign goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw on pre-contract deal". Press and Journal. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.

[11] Smith, Tyrone (4 June 2019). "Ross County: Blair Spittal out to 'rebuild reputation' after Partick Thistle exit". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 June 2019.

[12] "County sign Chelsea goalkeeper on season-long loan". Press and Journal. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.

[13] "In-demand Norwich City winger seals loan switch to Scottish top-flight". Eastern Daily Press. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.

[14] "Ross County sign goalkeeper Jack Ruddy on a six-month deal". BBC Sport. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.

[15] "Ross County sign goalkeeper Jack Ruddy on a six-month deal". BBC Sport. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.

[16] "Steven Mackay sold Greg Morrison on Brora Rangers move after Ross County release". 25 May 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.

[17] "Callum Semple leaves Ross County". Press and Journal. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.

[18] "Scott Fox: Goalkeeper leaves Ross County after talks breakdown". BBC Sport. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.

[19] "Declan joins McKinnon's Bairns on Loan". Ross County FC. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.

[20] Skinner, Andy (24 July 2019). "Lindsay leaves County to join Rotherham". Press & Journal. Retrieved 24 July 2019.

[21] "Keny van der Weg: Defender leaves Ross County to return to Holland". BBC Sport. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.

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