Date	Saturday, 26 December 2020
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Ross County 0:2 Saint Mirren
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Attendance
Referee	Colin Steven
Comments	Match Report Report by Jordan Elgott for the BBC. Played Behind Closed Doors Ross County 0 Saint Mirren 2 St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin says his side's patience was rewarded with an ultimately comfortable Scottish Premiership victory at Ross County. The hosts had both Josh Reid and Ross Draper dismissed for two bookable offences, but looked to be holding out for a rare point. But Marcus Fraser smashed an effort, aided by a touch off a defender, past Laidlaw with 15 minutes remaining. Substitute Kristian Dennis then made sure of the points with a fine header. Goodwin says that despite it not being their best performance, the victory was the most important thing. "We can play better, we have played better, but today was about getting the result and getting home," he said. "We started the game really poorly, credit to Ross County, we couldn't get out and we were lucky not to go a goal behind. "At 11 v 11 there wasn't a great deal in it, but we used the extra man very well. "It's not easy to break ten men down, we asked the players to be patient and we got our rewards in the end. We'd have been very disappointed if we weren't able to beat nine men." The result comes as St Mirren's two forfeited league matches - against Motherwell and Hamilton Academical - as punishment for breaching Covid-19 guidelines were put on hold pending an appeal. John Hughes has now lost his first two games as County manager, with the club bottom of the table and without a win in their last 12 league matches. It was very nearly a perfect start for the hosts, who dominated the early stages. Visiting goalkeeper Jak Alnwick was forced into an early double save and Stephen Kelly might have done better after being fed by Jermaine Hylton but dragged his effort harmlessly wide. It took half an hour for St Mirren to even have a serious attempt on goal, with Junior Morias' long-range effort comfortably saved by Ross Laidlaw. But that only kicked the hosts back into life as Hylton then tested Alnwick with a long-range effort. Then came the turning point. Teenager Reid had already been booked for fouling Kyle McAllister before making the mistake of repeating the offence just before the break. The 18-year-old full-back looked distraught as referee Colin Stephen produced a second yellow card, leaving his side to play with 10-men for the remaining 55 minutes. Fraser's mis-hit volley just after the break went narrowly wide, but it signalled the direction the second half would take as St Mirren sniffed the points were there for the taking. Junior Morias stung Laidlaw's hands as Jim Goodwin threw Jon Obika and Ilkay Durmus on to bolster his side's forward line. Things then went from bad to worse for the hosts as Draper was shown two yellow cards in a matter of seconds. He was initially cautioned for a foul on Ethan Erhahon, before being dismissed for seemingly shoving over the St Mirren midfielder in the aftermath. The visitors still struggled to create clear-cut chances despite the numerical advantage, but a slice of luck ensured they finally broke the deadlock. A cross from the right-hand side ended up at the feet of Fraser, who took one touch and struck a fierce effort towards goal, with a deflection taking it over Laidlaw and into the net. Once that had gone in, there was only ever going to be one outcome. A terrific save from Laidlaw denied Richard Tait, but substitute Dennis wrapped up the victory shortly after with a well-taken header, his first goal for the club. It's difficult to draw too many conclusions from this game. Up until Reid's red card in the 36th minute, County were on top. They looked defensively solid and attacked with energy and purpose. But once again a lack of discipline has cost them. While Reid's two yellow cards could be described as soft, there is no excusing the indiscipline of Draper at such a pivotal moment. Despite those negatives, Hughes will look to build on what he saw from his side in the opening half hour as they seek an end to their miserable league run. The same goes for St Mirren. The main emotion for Goodwin will be that of relief that they were able to get the victory, but their performance was, for the most part, ordinary at best. A win is a win though, and the fact that they have bounced back so quickly from the defeat at Hibernian is worthy of praise. Ross County manager John Hughes: "We need to be more streetwise, always finish with 11 on the pitch. "Even in defeat, I'm happy for the boys. If we keep doing what we're doing and a little bit of luck comes our way. It is what it is, don't feel for ourselves, stick together." St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin: "We asked the players to be patient and we got our rewards. We'd have been very disappointed if we weren't able to beat nine men. "We can play better, we have played better, but today was about getting the result and getting home."
Ross County
Manager	John Hughes
Starting 11	1: Ross Laidlaw, 5: Callum Morris, 6: Ross Draper 2 1, 8: Oliver Shaw, 11: Iain Vigurs, 14: Jermaine Hylton, 15: Keith Watson, 16: Alexander Iacovitti, 18: Stephen Kelly, 24: Harrison Paton, 43: Josh Reid 2 1
Bench	21: Ross Doohan, 3: Carl Tremarco, 9: Billy Mckay, 22: Jordon Tillson, 25: Coll Donaldson, 44: Matthew Wright, 44: Ben Williamson
Saint Mirren
Manager	Jim Goodwin
Starting 11	Jak Alnwick 1, Richard Tait, Joe Shaughnessy, Conor McCarthy, Marcus Fraser 1, Jake Doyle-Hayes, Kyle McAllister, Jamie McGrath, Junior Morias, Ethan Erhahon, Lee Erwin
Bench	Ryan Flynn, Jonathan Obika, Ilkay Durmus, Cameron MacPherson, Sam Foley, Kristian Dennis 1, Dylan Connolly, Dean Lyness, Lewis Jamieson