Highland derby

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 apart, whereas the nearest professional clubs (Aberdeen, Dundee United and St. Johnstone) are over 100 miles 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 CT were formed out of the merger between Inverness Caley 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."^[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 51 games, with Inverness Caledonian Thistle winning 26 times, compared to Ross County's 12. A total of 13 matches have ended in a draw.^[9] Inverness have won more league, Scottish Cup and Challenge Cup matches.

As of 19 March 2016

Matches played

League

Cups

Goalscorer records

Players with 3 or more goals in the Highland derby.

As of 19 March 2016

Scorer	Team(s)	League	Scottish Cup	League Cup	Challenge Cup	Total
Dennis Wyness	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	9	-	-	-	9
Iain Stewart	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	7	-	-	-	7
Billy McKay	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	4	3	-	-	7
Aaron Doran	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	5	-	-	-	5
Jamie McPherson	Ross County	4	-	-	-	4
Iain Vigurs	Ross County	2	2	-	-	4
Steven Ferguson	Ross County	3	-	-	-	3
Brian Grant	Ross County	3	-	-	-	3
Barry Robson	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	3	-	-	-	3
Miles Storey	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	3	-	-	-	3
Marley Watkins	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	3	-	-	-	3
Barry Wilson	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	3	-	-	-	3
Steve Hislop	Inverness Caledonian Thistle Ross County	1 1	- -	- -	1 -	3
Richie Foran	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	1	2	-	-	3

Notable players and managers of both clubs

A surprising number of players have played for both clubs. Craig Brewster is a former player and manager of Inverness, 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:

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

References

External links

• All-time matches between Inverness CT and Ross County