Date	Thursday, 01 January 2015
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Ross County 1:3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Attendance	4,887
Referee	Steven McLean
Comments	Match Report Report by Martin Dowden for the BBC. Ross County 1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3 Aaron Doran's double helped Inverness Caledonian Thistle to victory in the Highland derby against Ross County. The visitors dominated the majority of the match and perhaps should also have had a penalty when Billy McKay was held in the box by Jamie Reckord. County rarely threatened but did score from Jackson Irvine's header. However, McKay's close-range finish allowed John Hughes' side to coast to the win which keeps them in touch with the leading pack. Winger Doran broke the deadlock with a superb drilled effort low past Antonio Reguero after fine build-up play from Marley Watkins. Earlier, McKay was denied what appeared a stonewall penalty after his touch allowed him to outfox Reckord, only for the defender to manhandle the striker and prevent him getting a shot away. The visitors would not be denied, though, and Doran struck again with a deflected effort which entirely wrong-footed the frustrated Reguero. County offered very little as an attacking force but immediately pulled themselves back into the match. Irvine hit the inside of the post but won a corner from which he stooped to power a header past Dean Brill. It seemed a comeback was on, but Inverness quickly re-asserted their authority. Gary Warren headed a free-kick back across goal and McKay stole in to knock home. That ended the game as a contest and earned a thoroughly deserved three points for Inverness CT. County will require a big improvement if they are to remain in the Scottish Premiership. Staggies manager Jim McIntyre could find little encouragement from his bottom-of-the-table side's display. "Inverness were worthy winners, they did practically everything better than us on the day and that was the real disappointment," he told BBC Scotland. "Three balls into our box from set plays and we lose three goals, so it was a sore day. "It certainly wasn't the type of performance we were looking for, that's for sure. Inverness started the game better, they were winning more second balls, they were passing it better than us, they were doing the fundamentals better than us and took their chances when they came. "We never looked like getting back into the game. "They looked quicker than us to the ball and passed it better, they had a snap in their challenges and too many of our players didn't perform. When that happens, you're never going to win a game. "There's a reason why we're bottom of the league and it's up to us to make sure we strengthen in the window and move forward. We've got targets in mind and we'll see how we get on with that, but it's important we get bodies in and we'll make sure we're a lot more competitive than we were today."
Ross County
Manager	Jim McIntyre
Starting 11	1: Antonio Reguero Chapinal, 5: Scott Boyd, 6: Steven Saunders, 8: Richard Brittain, 10: Filip Kiss 1, 12: Jamie Reckord, 15: Yoann Arquin 1, 23: Graham Carey, 26: Martin Woods, 31: Terry Dunfield, 43: Paul Quinn 1
Bench	21: Mark Brown, 7: Joseph Cardle, 9: Jake Jervis, 14: Darren Maatsen, 16: Liam Boyce, 25: Lewis Toshney, 36: Jackson Irvine 1
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Manager	John Hughes
Starting 11	Dean Brill, David Raven 1, Gary Warren, Josh Meekings, Carl Tremarco, Greg Tansey, Graeme Shinnie, Aaron Doran 2, Marley Watkins 1, Billy Mckay 1, Ryan Christie
Bench	Ryan Esson, Nick Ross, Danny Williams, James Vincent, Danny Devine, Lewis Horner, Ibra Sekajja