U20s v Ross County

Smith stars at the double as Pars hit County for six in evening game at Dingwall

ROSS COUNTY 1 DUNFERMLINE 6

Dunfermline U20s made the long trip up to Dingwall on Tuesday night and did very well to return down the A9 having inflicted a hefty defeat on their hosts. Blair Henderson was injured so it was Craig Dargo and Allan Smith who formed what was to turn out to be a significant striking partnership.

The Pars started brightly and deservedly took the lead in 11 minutes. Good play on the left allowed Dargo to feed Ivan D'Angelo and his cut back was finished by SMITH. Kurtis BYRNE scored an equaliser in 34 minutes after a defensive lapse but Ross MILLEN scored from the penalty spot ten minutes later. Smith was put through by Fayssal El Bakhtaoui and the keeper got off with a yellow card for bringing the young Borderer down.

Half Time: Ross County 1 Dunfermline 2

Dunfermline scored again just a minute into the second half. Dargo the creator on the right, supplying D'Angelo with the chance to shoot but keeper Sean McCarthy saved only for Shaun BYRNE to volley home. 3-1.

BYRNE then slotted home again in 55 minutes after a great pass by Smith sent the midfielder through the middle to beat the keeper. 4-1 became 5-1 in 64 minutes after a Byrne spin in the middle of the park set him up to slide the ball through for Dargo in the inside left position and he beat the keeper with a left footed shot at the near post.

Allan SMITH completed the scoring with quarter of an hour remaining. A fitting end for the player who was a constant threat to the County back four. Smith took both his goals well and worked very well alongside the experienced Craig Dargo. As well as good individual performances, this was a good team effort and they scored some great goals. County keeper McCarthy pulled off some fantastic saves at crucial times in the game that certainly kept the Pars score down to six.

ROSS COUNTY: Sean McCarthy; Calum McDonald, Gordon Finlayson, Ross McKillop, Adam Porrit, Russell Duncan, Tony Dingwall, Paul Lawson, Kurtis Byrne, Steven Ross, Liam Hutchinson
SUBS: Conor Hay (GK), Ryan Ross, Mike Grimes, Cameron Crown, Duncan Corbett
SCORER: Byrne (34)

DUNFERMLINE: Michal Hrivnak; Ross Millen, Kerr Young, Grant Munro, Ross Drummond; Ivan D'Angelo, Chris Kane (Declan O'Kane HT), Shaun Byrne, Fayssal El Bakhtaoui, Allan Smith (Lewis Spence 75), Craig Dargo (Andy Ritchie 65).
SUBS NOT USED: Steven Mayne (GK), Jack Bruce, Jordan Brown, Finn Graham.
SCORERS: Smith (11, 75), Millen (44 pen.), Byrne (46, 55), Dargo (64).

NEXT MATCH: SPL U20 League (home) v Hibs
Tuesday 18th September, kick off 7.00pm East End Park.