Date	Saturday, 09 April 2016
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Ross County 1:0 Partick Thistle
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Attendance	3,603
Referee	Nick Walsh
Comments	Match Report Report by Martin Dowden for the BBC. Ross County 1 Partick Thistle 0 oss County secured their place in the Premiership's top six with victory over Partick Thistle. And Alex Schalk's early strike consigned Thistle to the bottom half of the table for the season run-in. Schalk turned on to his right foot and fired a firm effort low to Ryan Scully's right to hand Jim McIntyre's side a crucial advantage. The Dutch striker almost created a decisive second when he teed up Brian Graham only for Gary Miller to block. Thistle knew an equaliser might be enough for them to finish in the top six and came close through Mathias Pogba and Kris Doolan but Alan Archibald's side will have to settle for being comfortably clear of a relegation fight. Ross County add a top-half finish to their Scottish League Cup triumph in what's proving to be a very successful season. Both sides knew a win was the most likely route to their ambition of getting above seventh before the split and it was the home side who seized the initiative with an early opener. Forward Schalk showed great confidence when he picked up possession in an inside left position and smashed a low shot past Scully. It was his eighth strike since arriving in January and proved to be another vital contribution after his late League Cup final winner against Hibernian last month. Thistle tried to respond when Abdul Osman nodded towards the back post but the onrushing Pogba was offside when he tried to connect. Schalk seemed central to most positive County moments and did superbly to escape down the left. As the angle got too tight he laid the ball into the path of the onrushing Graham, who tried to place a low shot across Scully, but Miller positioned himself wonderfully to snuff out the danger. Almost instantly, Dundee fell behind to Hamilton Academical in South Lanarkshire and all of a sudden County were in pole position for that top-six place. A timely reminder arrived when Ryan Edwards tried to curl a shot beyond Scott Fox, which the keeper palmed narrowly over whilst appearing to be slightly unsighted by the sun. Schalk seemed at the top of his game and almost netted again when he fired another low effort narrowly past. He was sharp and threatening every time he gathered possession throughout the first half. Thistle started the second period very positively with Pogba watching his close range header palmed away and Edwards failing to hit the target with a diving header. Callum Booth looked like he had broken through but Fox raced off his line brilliantly to gather before substitute Doolan shot straight at the keeper from close range. Booth had a claim for a penalty dismissed as County held out in a nervy finale. Jim McIntyre insists his Ross County side deserve to be in the Premiership's top six after their win over Partick Thistle ensured a top-half finish. An early Alex Schalk strike proved decisive with Dundee losing to Hamilton Academical. That allowed Scottish League Cup winners County to achieve the target they had set at the start of the season. "It means everything," McIntyre told BBC Scotland. "We made it no secret at the start of the season that that was our goal. "We've been fighting relegation the last couple of seasons. This season's been good progress, obviously the cup win is fantastic but for me I judge myself, I judge my players on the consistency of trying to be a top-six team. " It's fantastic and we deserve it." McIntyre's side knew they had to win and hope Dundee failed to beat Hamilton to move above seventh. "I think from the second week onwards we've been in the top six," McIntyre continued. "Our consistency levels from Christmas onwards haven't been good enough to pull away and secure it. "The one thing we've continuously done this season is when we've had a poor result or couple of results, we always bounce back and that shows the character in the dressing room. "I'll always be looking for more consistency in the team and that's the challenge going forward." Schalk scored the winner in last month's cup final defeat of Hibernian and delivered again for his manager. "It was summed up typically by Alex Schalk, who was ill this week," explained McIntyre. "I spoke to him this morning and he thought he would struggle to play but I told him he was playing. "He gave us the winning goal so absolutely thrilled for him and thrilled for the players, they work so hard. "Planning for next season has been going on for a wee while. Top six certainly helps for your budget. It's fantastic. "I think anytime you play in high profile games or get recognition for success then it does make the club more attractive." It was a day of disappointment for Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald, who watched his side narrowly miss out on a top-six finish themselves. "Bitterly disappointed, it just wasn't to be our day," Archibald said. "There just wasn't enough there in the final third. "It's hard to get over the disappointment. It was in our own hands today, that's the biggest disappointment. We wanted to do it, had the chance to do it and other results went for us. "We'll need to pick the lads up, obviously. We've got five games to go. "We finished eighth last year and we want to go and build on that. That was our goal at the start of the season and we've still got a chance to do that."
Ross County
Manager	Jim McIntyre
Starting 11	1: Scott Fox, 2: Marcus Fraser, 7: Michael Gardyne, 9: Brian Graham, 12: Richard Foster, 15: Andrew Davies, 18: Stewart Murdoch 1, 23: Alex Schalk 1, 42: Martin Woods, 43: Paul Quinn, 44: Christopher McLaughlin
Bench	13: Christopher Konopka, 6: Christopher Robertson, 8: Ian McShane, 10: Liam Boyce, 17: Jonathan Franks, 24: Raffaele De Vita, 25: David Goodwillie
Partick Thistle
Manager	Alan Archibald
Starting 11	Ryan Scully, Gary Miller 1, Daniel Seaborne 1, Callum Booth, Mustapha Dumbuya, Sean Welsh, Abdul Osman, Ryan Edwards, David Amoo, Steven Lawless 1, Mathias Pogba
Bench	Kris Doolan, Christie Elliott, Aidan Nesbitt, Liam Lindsay, David Wilson, Kevin Nisbet, Paul Gallacher