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, 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.
The rivalry first arose in 1994, when Inverness CT were formed out of the merger between Inverness Caley and Inverness Thistle. 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. 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.
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