Jamie Lindsay scored the opener for Ross CountyImage source, SNS
Image caption,

Jamie Lindsay scored the opener for Ross County

ByCharlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

Richard Chin's stunning late strike helped League 1 Ross County knock Scottish Cup finals Dunfermline out of the League Cup.

It was a blistering start from Stuart Kettlewell's side, who were unbeaten in seven games before Saturday's trip to East End Park, and they were probably unfortunate not be in front at the break.

Brian Graham had his close range shot saved by the strong hand of Dunfermline goalkeeper Aston Oxborough before Lindsay rattled the post from a County free-kick.

Dunfermline's best chance of the first half came from Andrew Tod, who, after nutmegging defender Lewis Reid, smashed his strike straight at goalkeeper Brad Foster.

County finally broke the deadlock, and deservedly so, in the second half when Jamie Lindsay turned his header beyond Oxborough at the back post.

But Allan Oyirworth levelled for the visitors with just over 10 minutes to play. Alfons Amade delivered a perfectly weighted pass in towards the back post where Oyirworth was waiting to tap the ball into an empty net.

Dunfermline looked buoyed by their goal and were pressing for a second, that was until Chin's impressive effort flew beyond Oxborough into the top corner of the hosts' goal.

Ross County will find out their opponents for the last eight on Sunday 16 August following the conclusion of the final round of 16 game, Rangers v St Mirren.

Analysis: County renaissance after misery of May

Three-and-a-half months ago, Kettlewell's side suffered their second relegation in as many seasons when they were dumped into League One.

Since then, they enjoyed an unbeaten run in the group stage of this competition, have won both their first two league games, and are now through to the quarter-finals of the League Cup.

While the scoreline may not demonstrate it, County were very comfortable in the game and could have won by a bigger margin had they been more clinical.

If Graham had hit his early shot towards either corner or if Lindsay's free kick had been a few inches to the left, they would have been two goals to the good at half-time. But they did not and County went into the break goalless.

Before the game, Kettlewell praised the mental resilience of his side, which he has seen a vast improvement upon this term, and that was on display in Dunfermline.

They kept pushing and eventually took a deserved lead but were knocked back by Oyirworth's leveller. The heads did not go down, though, and Chin's late goal summed up an evident shift in mentality since that game against Raith in May.

Dunfermline, on the other hand, were brought back down to earth after the high of last season's Scottish Cup final.

Neil Lennon's men looked good in spells, particularly after the equaliser, but were sloppy in possession and lacked a real clinical edge in front of goal.

What they said

Dunfermline manager Neil Lennon: "It's a real big opportunity missed. We're all accountable for it. The hungrier team were Ross County. We were flat, the ball wasn't sticking, we didn't look sure of ourselves.

"I apologise to supporters for that. At both ends of the pitch, I need to find solutions because we're not good enough at the moment.

"This is cup football and I didn't think we paid the opposition enough respect on the pitch and we didn't work hard enough."

Ross County boss Stuart Kettlewell: "It's not all about the technical and tactical aspect of it, sometimes it comes down to character, spirit and togetherness.

"We had to weather a wee storm just before and just after 1-1 but to have the character and spirit to be able to find the winner, against a team that's proven that they're good in cup competitions, is a brilliant trait to have. We didn't have that last season but we've seen it a few times now.

"We have to reset our culture, what we're about as a football club, how we want to play the game, how we want to approach life off the pitch."

What's next for these teams?

County travel to face Airdrieonians in League 1 on Saturday 22 August (15:00 BST).

Meanwhile, Dunfermline are at Livingston in the Championship at the same time.

Player of the match

Number: 7 Richard Chin
Average rating 8.09
Number: 1 A. Oxborough
Average Rating: 5.59
Number: 10 O. Shaw
Average Rating: 4.48
Number: 25 A. Donnelly
Average Rating: 4.44
Number: 47 R. Fraser
Average Rating: 4.31
Number: 8 C. Gilmour
Average Rating: 4.29
Number: 5 L. Robinson
Average Rating: 4.27
Number: 14 Alfons Amade
Average Rating: 4.27
Number: 24 D. Lobban
Average Rating: 4.10
Number: 26 A. Tod
Average Rating: 4.04
Number: 3 J. Tod
Average Rating: 4.00
Number: 11 S. Kearney
Average Rating: 3.92
Number: 19 A. Oyirwoth
Average Rating: 3.86
Number: 20 C. Kane
Average Rating: 3.80
Number: 99 A. Alade
Average Rating: 3.75
Number: 33 J. Cooper
Average Rating: 3.33
Number: 7 C. Morrison
Average Rating: 3.23

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.