Welcome back as we step into 1998 like Gala being Freed from Desire.

Twenty-one games played, and the table has taken shape. Ross County sit 2nd, level on 44 points with Albion Rovers, separated only by goal difference. It’s been a strong first half of the campaign: 14 wins, a couple of draws, and the occasional reminder that defending remains optional in Division 3.

Alloa are right behind on 43 points, making it a tight three-way contest at the top. Queen’s Park and Dumbarton aren’t completely out of the picture either, but for now the focus is on staying ahead of Alloa and keeping pace with Albion.

A reminder of this season’s extra layer of pressure:

• We must finish in the top three, replicating Ross County’s real-life finish in 97/98. No room for drifting into mid-table; the targets are clear.

And of course, the other self-imposed rule continues:

• Every matchday squad must include a Ross.

So far, that’s been manageable — though the bench has occasionally looked like a naming-day ceremony.

Still, halfway through the season, County are exactly where they need to be. In the hunt, competitive, and with promotion very much in their own hands.

Elgin City await in the Scottish Cup, a non-league side but hardly a soft touch. They’re one of the few clubs who can genuinely claim to come from even further north than Ross County, so it’s a long journey down for them and home advantage for us. On balance it’s a decent draw, and a chance to make the Fourth Round if we stay focused.

A very comfortable afternoon in the cup. County were in control from the first whistle, four up by half-time and never really troubled. Connelly and Mainwaring helped themselves, Carlisle chipped in, and the only real surprise was the crowd — over 4,500 turning out to watch a routine win over non-league opposition. A good day all round.

A tough one to take. With the top of the table so tight, this trip to Alloa always felt important, and falling behind early didn’t help. Bellshaw’s equaliser briefly gave County hope, but Alloa found a second and held on. It’s a setback and enough to nudge us down to third, reminding everyone how little margin there is in this promotion race.

A really poor night all round. Ten efforts without a single one on target tells its own story, and at the other end Queen’s Park took full advantage of every lapse. Four goals conceded at home and never really in the contest. It drops us to fourth and, with the top three the absolute requirement this season, the nerves are starting to set in.

Partick Thistle usually spend 97/98 distributing their latest prodigies to the rest of us, so it’s a bit of a role reversal to see them swoop in and take one of ours. Sean Friars did a decent job in his six months at Dingwall but always looked a rung or two above Division 3 level, so this move felt inevitable once the bigger clubs started sniffing around. A tribunal fee of £400k gives us roughly £350k profit, which should be enough to keep Chairman Roy in good spirits for a while.

A shaky start against the bottom side wasn’t ideal, but once County settled, the outcome was never really in doubt. Connolly took charge of the turnaround with a hat-trick and now sits on an impressive 26 for the season, while Wood added another to make things safe. A much-needed routine win to steady things after a tricky run.

A bit of January squad surgery, and probably overdue. In come two loanees to add some energy, plus the vastly experienced Eamonn Bannon at 39 — not one for the future, but certainly one for keeping standards up. Haslam is a welcome addition at centre-back; a dependable type and a personal favourite, and exactly the kind of calm presence we’ve been missing. Brady should give us some creativity too. All three should help keep the promotion push on track.

Eamonn Bannon remains one of the more remarkable names to walk through the door at this level. A Chelsea youngster who went on to play hundreds of games for Dundee United, and even had a spell managing Falkirk a year before CM2 97/98 came out, he brings a level of experience the rest of Division 3 can only dream of. Now 67 IRL , long since retired from the professional game, he runs the Strathallan Guest House in Edinburgh — and before you ask, it’s fully booked until February.

A chaotic but memorable afternoon in the cup. Beating Division 2 Forfar is impressive enough, but doing it with nine men takes it up a level. Haslam marked his debut with a solid showing before an over-eager tackle brought his day to an early end, while Ross — naturally, the one Ross we have to include — joined him for an early exit soon after. Thankfully the goals had already done the job, with Connelly, Mainwaring and Steven finding the net. A proper giant-killing, delivered in the most stressful manner possible.

Much more like the County we’ve been waiting to see. Dumbarton made the long haul north — one of the longest away trips in the division — and it showed. County were sharper, quicker and far more ruthless in front of goal, running in six with Adams, Connelly, Broddle and Steven all on the scoresheet. Dumbarton’s red card didn’t help their cause, but by then the damage was already done. A convincing win and a reminder that Victoria Park can be a very tough place to visit.

A good end to the month leaves County still in third, but the shape of the table looks a bit healthier. Albion Rovers and Alloa remain just ahead, but the gap back to Queen’s Park has stretched to five points, giving us at least a small cushion in the chase for the top three. With the form settling again, promotion remains firmly in our hands — as long as we don’t repeat the wobble from earlier in the month.

A wild one at Cliftonhill, and a slightly maddening one too. Three times we got ourselves in front, three times Albion Rovers wiped it out before we’d even had time to settle. Mainwaring’s early opener set the tone for a frantic night, Connelly twice restoring the advantage, but we just couldn’t keep the league leaders at arm’s length.

A draw away to top spot isn’t disastrous, especially in this division where any point is a scrap, but it’s another reminder that if we want automatic promotion secured early, we’ll need to be a bit less generous at the back. Still—on the balance of it—probably a point gained rather than two dropped.

A really flat one. Cowdenbeath away is never glamorous, but this was poor even by Central Park standards. Two second-half goals and barely a whimper in reply.

And yes, the name Cowdenbeath remains one of Scottish football’s great oddities. It’s believed to come from “Colden Booths” — literally meaning the cold shelters or huts used by coal miners — which over the centuries morphed through Cowd(en)booth, Cowd(en)beath, and eventually the version we all know today. A town named after cold mining shacks… and on days like this, it feels about right.

Another cup upset, and a proper hard-earned one. Mainwaring’s early second half strike is enough despite Connelly deciding now was the perfect time to miss a penalty. Stenny away is rarely straightforward, yet we hold firm and book a place in the next round.

As for Stenhousemuir itself, the name sounds like it should be a Level 3 Dwarf Fortress settlement. In reality it simply means “the dwelling of the steward” in Scots—stenhouse (stone house) + muir (moor). Not quite as exotic as it sounds, though Ochilview on a cold February afternoon can feel like the edge of the world.

An injury list as long as the A9 and two suspensions meant it was time to get creative. With Haslam banned and Carlisle patched up with tape and hope, the squad depth was stretched enough to force a rare cameo for Ross 2 (Bellotti) just to keep our mandatory “Ross quota” intact.

The XI had a certain pre-season-friendly feel to it: Bannon anchoring at 39, Adams shoved into the No.8 role, and Wood & Mainwaring asked to lead the line without their usual supply around them. Even Bellshaw and Furphy were looking at each other like they’d been introduced five minutes before kick-off.

A healthy crowd turned up – nearly 1,500 souls – but without Connolly we looked about as sharp as a butter knife. Wood stuck one away early, but after that the frontline went flatter than a week-old Irn-Bru.

And yes, before you ask, Montrose’s scorer being Ward alongside our own Wood does make it sound like Sir Clive Woodward had popped down from Twickenham to oversee proceedings.

A point’s fine, but it really should’ve been three.

The 250-mile round trip to Arbroath (and that’s being generous – it feels longer) did nothing to slow us down. Even with key absences still biting, we were comfortably on top from the first whistle, helped along nicely by Peters getting himself sent off before half-time.

Wood, Broddle, Bellshaw and Hart all chipped in, the kind of spread-out scoring you only ever seem to get when Connolly isn’t playing. A routine win against 9th place, but a very welcome one all the same.

A tidy, stress-free afternoon at Victoria Park — exactly what we needed with the run-in looming. Mainwaring set the tone early, Connolly reminded everyone he’s still the main man, and Adams added a third before the break to put it beyond doubt.

Berwick’s consolation barely registered, and the crowd of 1,336 went home happy enough. Six games to go now, and every point feels like gold dust in this tightening promotion chase.

Ross County sit third with six to play, and the nerves are jangling. The target remains unchanged: finish in the top three, just as the real-life County did in 97/98 to earn promotion and keep the save alive into next season. But the run-in is brutal. Of our remaining fixtures, four are against sides in the top six – the exact group we’ve been jostling with for months.

Albion Rovers and Alloa look gone at the top, but with Queen’s Park only a point behind – and Dumbarton still hanging around – there’s absolutely no margin for error. The good news? One of the six games is against East Stirlingshire, who are doing everything in their power to make 30 points look like Everest. If ever there was a must-win “freebie,” that’s the one.

Everything else is a scrap. One bad week and the whole challenge could collapse. One good week and we might just drag ourselves over the line. The season starts now, and this week’s update ends here!