Highland derby

Highland derby
Locale Scottish Highlands
Teams Inverness CT and Ross County
First meeting 1994
Stadiums Caledonian Stadium, Inverness and Victoria Park, Dingwall
Statistics
Most wins Inverness CT (26)

The Highland derby,[1] is a football rivalry that is based in the Scottish Highlands. It is contested between the only two senior league clubs in the Highland council area, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ross County. The city of Inverness and town of Dingwall are only 14 miles (23 km) apart, whereas the nearest other professional clubs (Aberdeen, Dundee, Dundee United and St Johnstone) are over 100 miles (160 km) away from either club. The fixture is the most northerly professional football derby in the UK.

History

The rivalry first arose in 1994, when Inverness Caledonian Thistle were formed out of the merger between Caledonian and Inverness Thistle.[2] Both the new Inverness club and County had been accepted as new teams into the Scottish Football League, starting a trend of Highland League clubs entering the SFL.[2] The first match between the sides was a Third Division contest, played on 27 August 1994 at Victoria Park, won 3–1 by Inverness.

Since that historic first match, the encounter has grown from strength to strength to the extent that both teams are now competing near the top of the Scottish football league system. Both teams have significant fanbases that have grown from both clubs successes since their inclusion in 1994. Often, attendances at the derby matches surpass the 5,000 mark, making the match itself a popular attraction. The clubs met in the top flight of Scottish football for the first time during the 2012–13 Scottish Premier League season.[3]

The increased level of media interest in the fixture led some outlets to humorously tag the derby as "El Kessocko" (a pun on Spanish El Clásico)[4] or "The Cold Firm" (a pun on the Old Firm.[5]

The relationship between the clubs is unusual in that there is "a level of goodwill" between them.[6] For example, both clubs closely co-operate in the Highland Football Academy.[7][8]

Head-to-head

In head-to-head matches, the teams have played each other in 55 games, with Inverness Caledonian Thistle winning 26 times, compared to Ross County's 15. A total of 14 matches have ended in a draw.[9] Inverness have won more league, Scottish Cup and Challenge Cup matches.

As of 22 September 2018
TeamLeagueScottish CupLeague CupChallenge CupTotal
Inverness CT2211226
Ross County1401015
Draw1410015

Matches played

League

Inverness CT v Ross County Ross County v Inverness CT
Season Division Date Venue Score Attendance Date Venue Score Attendance
1994–95 Third Division 29 Oct 1994 Telford Street Park 0 – 0 2,440 27 Aug 1994 Victoria Park 1 – 3 3,157
6 May 1995 Telford Street Park 3 – 0 3,562 2 Jan 1995 Victoria Park 3 – 1 2,749
1995–96 Third Division 30 Sep 1995 Telford Street Park 1 – 1 3,625 18 Nov 1995 Victoria Park 2 – 0 4,288
23 Jan 1996 Telford Street Park 1 – 1 4,931 16 Mar 1996 Victoria Park 2 – 1 3,670
1996–97 Third Division 16 Nov 1996 Caledonian Stadium 2 – 0 4,562 28 Sep 1996 Victoria Park 1 – 3 3,598
15 Mar 1997 Caledonian Stadium 3 – 0 5,525 12 Feb 1997 Victoria Park 0 – 3 5,017
2000–01 First Division 16 Sep 2000 Caledonian Stadium 0 – 1 4,823 18 Nov 2000 Victoria Park 0 – 3 5,721
2 Jan 2001 Caledonian Stadium 3 – 3 5,291 31 Mar 2001 Victoria Park 0 – 1 5,876
2001–02 First Division 17 Nov 2001 Caledonian Stadium 3 – 0 4,513 15 Sep 2001 Victoria Park 2 – 1 4,679
23 Mar 2002 Caledonian Stadium 1 – 1 4,685 19 Mar 2002 Victoria Park 0 – 0 4,414
2002–03 First Division 24 Aug 2002 Caledonian Stadium 2 – 0 3,669 9 Nov 2002 Victoria Park 0 – 2 5,449
25 Feb 2003 Caledonian Stadium 1 – 5 3,443 8 Mar 2003 Victoria Park 0 – 2 4,621
2003–04 First Division 14 Nov 2003 Caledonian Stadium 3 – 3 3,523 30 Aug 2003 Victoria Park 1 – 1 5,020
27 Mar 2004 Caledonian Stadium 1 – 0 4,019 3 Jan 2004 Victoria Park 1 – 0 6,120
2009–10 First Division 29 Aug 2009 Caledonian Stadium 1 – 3 5,846 7 Nov 2009 Victoria Park 2 – 1 5,506
30 Mar 2010 Caledonian Stadium 3 – 0 5,411 20 Mar 2010 Victoria Park 0 – 0 5,928
2012–13 Premier League 5 Oct 2012 Caledonian Stadium 3 – 1 6,766 2 Mar 2013 Victoria Park 0 – 0 5,959
16 Mar 2013 Caledonian Stadium 2 – 1 5,750 19 May 2013 Victoria Park 1 – 0 6,002
2013–14 Premiership 1 Jan 2014 Caledonian Stadium 1 – 2 4,332 25 Feb 2014 Victoria Park 0 – 3 4,805
4 Apr 2014 Victoria Park 1 – 2 4,433
2014–15 Premiership 5 Oct 2014 Caledonian Stadium 1 – 1 3,741 1 Jan 2015 Victoria Park 1 – 3 4,887
31 Jan 2015 Caledonian Stadium 1 – 1 4,021
2015–16 Premiership 2 Jan 2016 Caledonian Stadium 2 – 0 5,388 3 Oct 2015 Victoria Park 1 – 2 5,473
19 Mar 2016 Victoria Park 0 – 3 5,912
2016–17 Premiership 13 Aug 2016 Caledonian Stadium 2 – 3 4,204 31 Dec 2016 Victoria Park 3 – 2 5,111
18 Mar 2017 Caledonian Stadium 1 – 1 4,123 28 Apr 2017 Victoria Park 4 – 0 4,928
2018–19 Championship 3 Nov 2018 Caledonian Stadium 22 Sep 2018 Victoria Park 0 – 0 6,402
16 Mar 2019 Caledonian Stadium 29 Dec 2018 Victoria Park

Cups

Season Division Round Date Venue Score Attendance
2003–04 Challenge Cup Quarter-final 26 Aug 2003 Caledonian Stadium 1 – 0 2,631
2004–05 League Cup Second round 24 Aug 2004 Victoria Park 0 – 1 3,315
2009–10 Challenge Cup Semi-final 4 Oct 2009 Caledonian Stadium 1 – 0 2,755
2012–13 Scottish Cup Fourth round 1 Dec 2012 Victoria Park 3 – 3 5,077
Fourth round replay 11 Dec 2012 Caledonian Stadium 2 – 1 4,135
2015–16 League Cup Quarter-final 27 Oct 2015 Caledonian Stadium 1 – 2 3,004

Goalscorer records

Players with 3 or more goals in the Highland derby.

As of 22 September 2018
Scorer Team(s) League Scottish Cup League Cup Challenge Cup Total
Northern Ireland Liam BoyceRoss County10———10
Scotland Dennis WynessInverness CT9———9
Scotland Iain StewartInverness CT7———7
Northern Ireland Billy McKayInverness CT43——7
Republic of Ireland Aaron DoranInverness CT5———5
Scotland Alan HercherInverness CT4———4
Scotland Jamie McPhersonRoss County4———4
Scotland Iain VigursRoss County22——4
England Ross DraperInverness CT3———3
Scotland Steven FergusonRoss County3———3
Scotland Brian GrantRoss County3———3
Scotland Barry RobsonInverness CT3———3
England Miles StoreyInverness CT3———3
England Marley WatkinsInverness CT3———3
Scotland Barry WilsonInverness CT3———3
England Greg TanseyInverness CT2—1—3
Scotland Steve HislopInverness CT1——13
Ross County1———
Republic of Ireland Richie ForanInverness CT12——3

Notable players and managers of both clubs

A number of players have played for both clubs. Craig Brewster is a former player and manager of ICT, who then played for and coached Ross County.[10] John Robertson has had spells as manager at both clubs.

Among the players who have featured for both sides are:

Clubs' honours

These are the football honours of Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ross County since they joined the Scottish League in 1994-95:

National Competition Inverness Caledonian Thistle Ross County
First Division 2 1
Second Division — 1
Third Division 1 1
Scottish Cup 1 —
Scottish League Cup — 1
Scottish Challenge Cup 2 2
Total 6 6

These are the football honours of Caledonian, Inverness Thistle and Ross County since before they joined the Scottish League in 1994-95:

National Competition Caledonian Inverness Thistle Ross County
Highland Football League 18 8 3
Highland League Cup 5 3 4
North of Scotland Cup 20 13 5
Total 43 24 12

References

  1. ↑ Bannerman, Charles (30 March 2010). "Inverness CT 3–0 Ross County". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  2. 1 2 McLeod, Graeme (12 April 2008). "Highland clubs reluctant to join SFL ranks". The Scotsman. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  3. ↑ "Highlands 'buzzing' ahead of first SPL derby of the season". BBC Sport. BBC. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  4. ↑ "Inverness C T 3 Ross County 1: Clubs' first competitive meeting in the top flight proves worth the wait". heraldscotland. Herald & Times Group. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  5. ↑ "McKay settles Cold Firm clash". PA Sport. Yahoo! and Eurosport. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  6. ↑ Fraser, Alasdair (5 May 2010). "Highland football has never had it so good after County's Cup run and Caley promotion, say Wilsons". Daily Record. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  7. ↑ "Highland Football Academy launched". Scottish Government. 10 April 2002. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  8. ↑ "About Us". Highland Football Academy. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  9. ↑ "All time results between Inverness CT and Ross County". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
  10. ↑ "Ross County sign Brewster at 42". BBC Sport. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  11. ↑ "Hislop in Highland switch". BBC Sport. 13 February 2003. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  12. ↑ "Reguero Joins". Ross County website. 16 June 2014. Archived from the original on 16 June 2014.
  13. 1 2 "Inverness pair join Ross County". BBC Sport. 3 June 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.