Date	Sunday, 28 January 2018
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Ross County 1:2 Rangers
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Attendance	6,541
Referee	Steven McLean
Comments	Match Report Report by Chris McLaughlin for the BBC. Ross County 1 Rangers 2 Rangers moved back into second place in the Premiership with goals from Daniel Candeias and Jason Cummings adding to the woes of bottom side Ross County. Goalkeeper Aaron McCarey failed to keep out a shot from Candeias as the visitors dominated the first half. A strike from substitute Cummings then found the bottom corner via a slight deflection on 82 minutes. A late penalty from David Ngog could not prevent County from slipping six points adrift. The spot-kick decision was bizarre, with an effort from Ngog blasting against the hand of Russell Martin from point-blank range. Not long before Cummings' goal, the hosts had what looked like a much stronger claim for a penalty waved away when David Bates stopped a Ross Draper header with his arm. From the start, Rangers' movement and passing was impressive. James Tavernier on the right and Declan John on the left terrorised a frantic County's defence. Candeias and Bates had early chances - only the post preventing the latter from giving the men in red, the lead. McCarey should have done much better when the inevitable breakthrough did come on 21 minutes. Candeias let fly from distance but, instead of blocking or parrying the shot, the goalkeeper watched it disappear through his fingers and into the net. It was a bad blunder and from it Rangers smelled blood. They swarmed forward and Alfredo Morelos fizzed a shot just wide after skipping through on goal unchallenged. A second goal looked a certainty. With the Highland rain now pouring, Rangers continued to turn the screw and Tavernier was at the centre of all that was good for the visitors. From the full-back's cross, Jamie Murphy's glancing header was superbly pushed away by McCarey. Ross County started the second half with a little more drive and belief but again it was Rangers who were more purposeful. This time Josh Windass twisted and turned impressively down the left on the angle but his shot was stopped by McCarey on the stretch. The home side's jittery nerves had settled and they ventured over the halfway line with more regularity. With Rangers struggling to find their earlier fluency, County started to believe and they pressed with a renewed purpose. There were loud cries for a penalty when Bates blocked with his arm. No spot kick but further evidence of a second-half turnaround in performance. However, Rangers' new boy Cummings entered the stage and soon killed off any home hopes of a comeback. The former Hibs man was on the pitch for a mere five minutes before he burst through on goal and fired a shot low past McCarey, with the help of a Harry Souttar deflection. A mini pitch invasion of celebrating Rangers fans followed; they knew it was game over and, like their new hero, they were loving it. In the closing stages referee Steven McLean did point to the spot, with Martin dazed and confused by the ferocity of Ngog's shot and the penalty award. The former Liverpool striker converted with real composure to tease the possibility of a grandstand finish that never materialised. So, despite that spirited second half fight back, the misery continues for County boss Owen Coyle, who has gone 11 league games without a victory. He's a man with enough experience to know that serious questions about his position could be coming. For Rangers, it was a third win in a four-match unbeaten sequence as they nudge ahead of Aberdeen on goal difference and stay 11 points behind leaders Celtic.
Ross County
Manager	Owen Coyle
Starting 11	31: Aaron McCarey, 2: Marcus Fraser, 3: Jason Naismith 1, 4: Christopher Routis, 5: Harry Souttar, 7: Michael Gardyne, 11: Craig Curran, 17: Ross Draper, 25: James O'Brien, 28: Kenny Van der Weg, 40: Davis Keillor-Dunn
Bench	1: Scott Fox, 9: Timothy Chow 1, 10: Alex Schalk, 12: Inih Effiong, 14: David N'Gog 1 (1 pen), 22: Billy Mckay, 24: Tony Dingwall
Rangers
Manager	Graeme Murty
Starting 11	Wes Foderingham, James Tavernier, Declan John, David Bates, Russell Martin, Josh Windass, Daniel João Santos Candeias 1, Jason Holt, Sean Goss, Jamie Murphy, Alfredo Morelos
Bench	Fábio Rafael Rodrigues Cardoso, Eduardo Herrera, Andrew Halliday, Niko Kranjcar, Jak Alnwick, Jason Cummings 1, Greg Docherty