Ross County F.C. - History

History

See also: List of Ross County F.C. seasons

The club were formed in 1929 after the previous local clubs from the North Caledonian Football League, Dingwall Victoria United and Dingwall Thistle merged. the 'Dingwall Victors', successfully applied for Highland Football League membership. The club was subsequently renamed Ross County. Playing in the Highland League from 1929, they won the championship on three occasions, first in 1967, then in 1991 and 1992. They also gained a reputation for their good performances in the early rounds of the Scottish Cup, upsetting league teams on eight occasions. The most notable of these upsets came on 8 January 1994, they won 4–0 at Forfar Athletic, and were elected to the Scottish Football League three days later.

At the beginning of season 1994–95 the Scottish League underwent changes in its structure, and, following a vote on 11 January 1994, County were allocated one of the two vacancies in the new 10-club Division Three. County gathered 57 votes, while the proposed merger to form Inverness Caledonian Thistle amassed 68.

In 1998–99 they were Champions of the Third Division and thereby won promotion to the Second Division, where they finished in third place. This resulted in promotion to the First Division followed thanks to a reorganisation of the League, with the Premier League being expanded from ten clubs to twelve. After seven seasons in the First Division Ross County were relegated back to the Second Division in 2006–07. They won the Second Division in 2007–08, and were promoted back to the First Division. Ross County finished their first season back in the First Division in 8th place.

Their manager for a very short spell until October 2005, was former Inverness and Hearts manager John Robertson. He left the club on 24 October 2005, due to differences of opinion on a number of fundamental issues with the chairman. Gardner Spiers, a former Aberdeen coach, was appointed caretaker manager, but he too left in April 2006 after being told he would not be considered for appointment on a permanent basis. Director of Football George Adams took temporary charge before former Motherwell player Scott Leitch was appointed on 18 April 2006. Leitch, after winning the Challenge Cup but suffering relegation, stood down at the end of the 2006–07 season, almost exactly one year after his appointment. Former Partick Thistle manager Dick Campbell was announced as his replacement in May 2007. However, after a good run of results to start their Division 2 campaign, Campbell and the Ross County board decided to part company on 2 October 2007. Derek Adams (son of George Adams) took over as caretaker, and was confirmed as permanent manager a month later, after the side's good form continued.

In November 2010 Derek Adams left to become Colin Calderwood's assistant at Hibernian. Former Celtic player Willie McStay was appointed as his replacement in November 2010. Although McStay's tenure was short – lasting only 9 games. Jimmy Calderwood was then appointed until the end of the 2010/2011 season. In May 2011 it was announced that Derek Adams was to return as manager.

Ross County won their first ever nationwide trophy when they won the Scottish Challenge Cup in November 2006 on penalties with Jason Crooks scoring the deciding spot kick on his competitive debut.

Two years later County again reached the final of the Scottish Challenge Cup. They played Airdrie United at McDiarmid Park. Unlike two years previously, County lost in a penalty shootout where four penalties were missed. Ross County also reached the Challenge Cup final in 2011 in which they beat Queen Of The South 2–0.

On 23 March 2010 they defeated Scottish Premier League club Hibernian 2–1 in a Scottish Cup quarter-final replay at home at Victoria Park.

In the semi-final, they played Celtic on Saturday 10 April 2010. Described as the biggest match in their history, they won 2–0 in Hampden Park and reach the final of the Scottish Cup for the first time in their history. More than 7,000 Ross County fans travelled to Glasgow to watch the game.

In the 2010 Scottish Cup Final on 15 May 2010, County lost 0–3 to Dundee United at Hampden Park. The match was watched by more than 17,000 Ross County fans.

Ross County secured promotion to the Scottish Premier League on 10 April 2012 when their nearest rival to the title Dundee failed to beat Queen of the South. During this push to promotion, Ross County embarked on a 40 game undefeated run in league football, which continued into the Scottish Premier League. The run was ended by St Johnstone on 22 September 2012 .