Date	Saturday, 31 October 2020
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Dundee United 2:1 Ross County
Venue	Tannadice Park
Referee	Steven Kirkland
Ross County
Manager	Stuart (Ketts) Kettlewell
Starting 11	21: Ross Doohan, 2: Connor Randall, 9: Billy Mckay, 11: Iain Vigurs 1, 16: Alexander Iacovitti, 17: Regan Charles-Cook, 18: Stephen Kelly, 19: Charlie Lakin, 25: Coll Donaldson 1, 27: Ross Stewart 1, 43: Josh Reid
Bench	1: Ross Laidlaw, 3: Carl Tremarco, 7: Michael Gardyne, 8: Oliver Shaw 1 1, 10: Michael O'Connor, 12: Tom Grivosti, 14: Jermaine Hylton, 22: Jordon Tillson, 24: Harrison Paton
Dundee United
Manager	Micky Mellon
Starting 11	Benjamin Siegrist, Liam Smith, Mark Reynolds, Peter Pawlett, Nicky Clark 2 (1 pen), Ryan Edwards, Jamie Robson, Calum Butcher, Luke Bolton 1, Ian Harkes, Lawrence Shankland
Bench	Deniz Doğan Mehmet, Adrian Sporle, Dillon Powers, Paul McMullan, Adam King, Kai Fotheringham, Louis Appere, Lewis Neilson, Jeando Fuchs
Attendance
Match Report	Ross County Goal Scorer: Oli Shaw (81') Ross County Substitutions: Tom Grivosti for Connor Randall (11') Harry Paton for Iain Vigurs (63') Michael Gardyne for Regan Charles-Cook (63') Oli Shaw for Billy Mckay (73') Ross County Cautions: Iain Vigurs (52') Coll Donaldson (58') Oli Shaw (83') Ross Stewart (86') Dundee United Goal Scorer: Nicky Clark (18' Pen. 51') Dundee United Substitutions: Adrian Sporle for Peter Pawlett (70') Jeando Fuchs for Ian Harkes (77') Louis Appere for Nicky Clark (87') Dundee United Caution: Luke Bolton (87') Report by Andy Campbell for the BBC. Played Behind Closed Doors Dundee United 2 Ross County 1 Dundee United do not get credit for results because onlookers "forget" their recent past, said manager Micky Mellon after the win over Ross County. Nicky Clark's double, including a first-half penalty, took United up to fifth in the Scottish Premiership with a 2-1 victory. Oli Shaw replied late on for Stuart Kettlewell's County, who slipped to eighth in the table "We're new to this level," Mellon said after a third league game unbeaten. "Everyone runs away with themselves and forgets that maybe 17 of them played in the Championship for the last three or four years. "They've come into the Premiership, they're winning games. Yeah, we understand that we want to get better. To allow a team to develop and to become that, we've got to give the group a chance." County, who lost Connor Randall to injury early on, were undone when Iain Vigurs hesitated to make a clearance at a United free-kick. The captain motioned to clear but the ball bounced up and lodged between his hand and body. Clark struck confidently for United's first goal in three games. They should have doubled their lead soon after with a quick counter attack that culminated in Peter Pawlett firing wide after combining with Ian Harkes and Lawrence Shankland. Billy Mckay fired straight at Siegrist at the other end and County claimed unsuccessfully for handball after Vigurs' free-kick made contact with Shankland. It was from a Pawlett free-kick that United got their second with Mark Reynolds' header blocked before his shot deflected off Tom Grivosti, then Clark's chest, before finding the net. Charlie Lakin lost his footing at the crucial moment as County looked for a response and Jeandro Fuchs made his Dundee United debut as a replacement for Harkes. Shaw, on for Mckay, then latched on to Lakin's through ball and kept his composure to score his first league goal for County but they could not find a leveller. The preamble to the match had been somewhat overshadowed by news that Dundee United are in talks with the squad over wage deferrals or cuts amid the continued absence of fans from matches. Club officials had cited the unity of the squad and there were no visible signs that the off-field issues were affecting the players, with the side having won three and drawn two of their past six games in all competitions. County boss Kettlewell had stressed the importance of cutting out "simple mistakes" in his pre-match interview and Vigurs' handball will be a huge frustration. On the plus side, the Dingwall side did not crumble as they had done in last week's 4-0 loss at Motherwell and Shaw's contribution made for an exciting finale. Dundee United manager Micky Mellon: "A massive three points at an important time in the season. It's a hard-fought game, well contested in real difficult Scottish conditions. "The boys deserve an immense amount of credit. We're fighting, we're battling, we're trying to keep improving all the time. The signs are good." Ross County manager Stuart Kettlewell: "We had so much control of the game. It's another game, it's another penalty conceded. It's so scrappy, it's so disappointing. So avoidable. "It's frustrating for me, it's frustrating for the players. The heads didn't go down, we didn't feel sorry for ourselves. They never gave up right up to the last whistle."