Date	Saturday, 06 March 2021
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Ross County 3:2 Kilmarnock
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Referee	Euan Anderson
Ross County
Manager	John Hughes
Starting 11	1: Ross Laidlaw, 3: Carl Tremarco, 9: Billy Mckay 2, 15: Keith Watson, 16: Alexander Iacovitti, 19: Charlie Lakin 1, 20: Blair Spittal, 22: Jordon Tillson 1, 23: Jason Naismith, 25: Coll Donaldson, 26: Jordan White
Bench	21: Joseph Hilton, 4: Leo Hjelde 1, 6: Ross Draper, 7: Michael Gardyne, 8: Oliver Shaw, 14: Jermaine Hylton, 17: Regan Charles-Cook, 18: Stephen Kelly, 24: Harrison Paton
Kilmarnock
Manager	Tommy Wright
Starting 11	Colin Doyle, Brandon Haunstrup, Kirk Broadfoot, Alan Power, Rory McKenzie, Gary Dicker, Greg Kiltie, Mitch Pinnock, Ross Millen 2 1, Zech Medley, Kyle Lafferty 2 (1 pen) 1
Bench	Danny Rogers, Aaron McGowan, Nicke Kabamba, Danny Whitehall, Zeno Ibsen Rossi, Calum Waters, Diaguely Dabo, Aaron Tshibola, Chris Burke
Attendance
Match Report	Ross County Goal Scorers: Billy Mckay (39') Leo Hjelde (47') Billy Mckay (49') Ross County Substitutions: Leo Hjelde for Carl Tremarco (20') Harry Paton for Blair Spittal (72') Stephen Kelly for Billy Mckay (81') Ross Draper for Jordan Tillson (81') Oli Shaw for Charlie Lakin (81') Ross County Cautions: Jordan Tillson (63') Charlie Lakin (69') Kilmarnock Goal Scorer: Kyle Lafferty (18' 77' Pen.) Kilmarnock Substitutions: Aaron McGowan for Rory McKenzie (45') Nicke Kabamba for Mitch Pinnock (45') Chris Burke for Gary Dicker (65') Diaguely Dabo for Zech Medley (65') Aaron Tshibola for Greg Kiltie (79') Kilmarnock Cautions: Ross Millen (27' 90') Kyle Lafferty (34') Kilmarnock Red Card: Ross Millen (90') Report by Thomas Duncan for the BBC. Played Behind Closed Doors Ross County 3 Kilmarnock 2 Kilmarnock players took "no responsibility", says manager Tommy Wright, as a 3-2 defeat by Ross County left them bottom of the Scottish Premiership. Kyle Lafferty's fine drive deservedly put them ahead, but they were pegged back by Billy Mckay's close-range finish. And County rallied at the start of the second-half to storm in front with Mckay rattling in his second barely two minutes after Leo Hjelde side-footed home. That left Kilmarnock stunned, but they set up a tense finish when Lafferty blasted home his second from the spot after Keith Watson had hauled down Greg Kiltie. Despite a late surge, they failed to claw their way back and also had Ross Millen sent off in the final minute as their winless run extends to 10 league games. "I've come out and defended our players in my four previous games, but the way we started that second half made it a real uphill struggle," Wright told BBC Scotland. "We responded well, but the damage was already done. There was no responsibility taken and there's very little we can take out of that game. "There aren't any positives from today. When you defend like that, we can't pat ourselves on the back." County are now four points clear of Kilmarnock with a game in hand as they sit 10th, three ahead of Hamilton Academical in 11th, the relegation play-off spot. Separated by just one point before kick-off, the significance of defeat was not lost on either manager pre-match. Both sides played in the frenetic, almost desperate manner you might expect in the circumstances, with plenty of blood and thunder but little in the way of crisp, precise football. County started the better, with Blair Spittal picking up pockets of space to cause problems, but Wright - still waiting for his first win - soon asked Kiltie to drop back into midfield to allow Gary Dicker to foil Spittal's efforts. That helped swing the game in Kilmarnock's favour, with Lafferty's terrific strike giving them their just rewards. The Northern Irishman was sharp to pick up a second ball after losing an initial header, had his first effort blocked, before hammering into the bottom left-hand corner at the second attempt. It was Lafferty's first goal since joining Kilmarnock last month and signalled his potential impact in the run-in, but he also gave a glimpse of his sometimes controversial character. In tussling with Alex Iacovitti as the ball came long, he left an arm flailing which caught the County defender in the face. It was naughty, but ultimately not done with excessive force, and referee Euan Anderson showed him a yellow card. The visitors continued to press for a second, but County managed to wrestle back some control by being far more direct, and hauled themselves level just before the break. Jason Naismith's pin-point delivery teed up Mckay to guide home and leave the second-half finely poised. Wright brought on Aaron McGowan and Nicke Kabamba at the break in order to inject fresh impetus, but his team's shambolic defending left them two goals adrift within minutes of the restart. Hjelde - who made a strong impact in the first-half after being brought on for the injured Carl Tremarco - dispatched emphatically into the corner after another fine pass from Naismith. And Mckay, who was also involved in the build-up to the second - made a mockery of the Kilmarnock defence as he gathered a simple flick over the top before rattling the ball beyond Colin Doyle. Within two minutes, the entire complexion of the game had changed, and County swelled with confidence as Kilmarnock were left with an arduous task. But the Ayrshire side set about it vigorously, and despite struggling to fashion clear opportunities, eventually worked an opening which ended with Kiltie being hauled to the deck by Watson. Lafferty nearly took the net off with his penalty, but it was ultimately meaningless. And their afternoon got worse in the final seconds, as Millen, already on a yellow card, was sent down the tunnel, presumably for something he said to the assistant referee as he prepared to take a free-kick. This game really did have everything. A ferociously competitive encounter that was frantic from start to finish, its significance in the final shake up could be huge. Ultimately, County manager John Hughes was rewarded for an attacking line up, with his wing-backs Hjelde and Naismith key in all three goals, and Mckay rolling back the years with his finishing. The key now will be backing it up, they have not won back-to-back league games since the opening two weeks of the season. Kilmarnock boss Wright changed formation at least three times, to some success. His first tweak stifled County after a good start, and the final switch to a 4-4-2 gave them numbers out wide which allowed them to pin their opponents back. Ultimately, though, they failed to fashion enough clear chances, which has been a problem all season. Their plight worsens by the week, and it will take an almighty effort to reverse this slide, which has seen them take one point from the last 30 on offer. Ross County manager John Hughes: "We're absolutely delighted with the character the players have shown to come back. We're going to need that for the rest of the season. Even at 1-0 down I still felt we were good enough to get back into the game." Kilmarnock manager Tommy Wright: "I still feel I can turn it around, even after a defeat when it's still raw I still feel that I can. The positive is we still have a number of games to turn things around."