Ross County boss Jim McIntyre relieved as Linlithgow Rose cup adventure ends

Ross County manager Jim McIntyre admitted his side were not at their best after they beat Linlithgow Rose 4-2 in the Scottish Cup fifth round.

Ross County manager Jim McIntyre admitted his side were not at their best after they beat Linlithgow Rose 4-2 in the Scottish Cup fifth round.

Brian Graham scored twice and further goals from Paul Quinn and Alex Schalk got the job done for League Cup finalists County, who conceded a Jamie Reckord own goal and a superb effort from Ruari MacLennan.

MacLennan's goal was the pick of the bunch, a classy finish preceded by some impressive build-up play.

But Graham's second put the tie to bed after the Junior side had threatened to cause one of the biggest upsets in the competition's history.

The County boss said it felt like a long day after his side eventually clinched a place in the quarter-finals of the competition.

But he was generous in his praise of Linlithgow, managed by David McGlynn, who did their ranks proud, especially after falling behind to Quinn's fourth-minute goal.

McIntyre said: Credit goes to Linlithgow, I thought they were excellent. We got off to the best possible start and you think you can have a comfortable day.

But I felt we were far too slack in possession, slow and deliberate at times.''

He added: I thought David McGlynn had them set up really well and they flooded the midfield. They broke well. It caused us problems, but we had to be a lot better than that.''

Linlithgow boss McGlynn was proud of his players.

The boys have been a credit. Their work-rate and enthusiasm was tremendous from the start,'' said McGlynn.

We conceded after four minutes and you think the worst. Of course, County were going to put us under a lot of pressure and create chances.''

McGlynn even suggested his side have more important matches to come in the weeks ahead. They sit fifth in the McBookie.com East Superleague.

He said: To come to Dingwall and scored two is tremendous. I had a scary thought at 3-2 but it wasn't to be. But to get to the last 16 of the Scottish Cup is absolutely fantastic.

This was a fairytale ending but we've bigger matches, in terms of importance to our season, ahead now.''