Date	Friday, 06 December 2013
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Ross County 1:2 Kilmarnock
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Attendance	2,137
Referee	Bobby Madden
Comments	Match Report Report by Charles Bannerman for the BBC. Ross County 1 Kilmarnock 2 Kilmarnock made the longest trip in the Scottish Premiership to record their first away win of the season with a fine performance in Dingwall. Impressive youngster Chris Johnston gave Killie the lead before Ross County responded with a well worked equaliser from Stuart Kettlewell. Then, as half-time beckoned, Kris Boyd grabbed what turned out to be the winner with a 22-yard lob. Kilmarnock missed chances to extend their lead with Boyd a regular threat. The three points takes Allan Johnston's side out of second bottom spot, which is now occupied by Derek Adams' County. Kilmarnock started strongly and the first real piece of action was Johnston's opener. Boyd ran down the right and threaded a long square ball through the County defence to find the youngster at the back post and he finished from six yards out. County responded and Kevin Luckassen dispossessed Jerone Tresselaar before feeding fellow Dutchman Melvin de Leeuw but his shot went wide from 20 yards. There might also have been an equaliser if Graham Carely's ball had not narrowly missed De Leeuw's head. However, Rocco Quinn started a fine four-man move that also involved Carey and, after De Leeuw's shot was blocked, Stuart Kettlewell netted the rebound from the edge of the box. County might have taken the lead but De Leeuw's well-struck effort fizzed past the left post. Boyd took his next opportunity better and, with the County defence posted missing, he had all the time in the world to hit a left footed lob over goalkeeper Mark Brown. Killie spurned several chances to go ahead early in the second half and Johnston set up Boyd, whose shot came off the underside of the bar. Then Michael Gardyne came close with a shot and a header as the Ayrshire side continued to press, At the other end, De Leeuw sent an inviting ball across goal but there was no-one to connect with it and Luckassen put another effort over. Boyd found the woodwork again - the right post this time - late on after a scintillating 70-yard run by Rory McKenzie. But, in the end, the second half yielded no further addition to the scoresheet. Ross County boss Derek Adams feels signing a new defender is a priority after they slumped to their fifth defeat in six games. Goals from Chris Johnston and Kris Boyd sealed a 2-1 win for Kilmarnock at Victoria Park, with Stuart Kettlewell's strike not enough for the home side. The result means the Ayrshire men leapfrog County, leaving them second bottom and only propped up by Hearts. And Adams admitted: "We haven't started the season well enough this year." It is a far cry from County's fifth-place finish last season, and Adams warned fans to prepare for a long hard season. He said: "We know we've overachieved over the years. We know we're in the Premiership and we know where we got last season, but this season was always going to be survival for a club of this size. "We just keep on working away and trying to find a positive result. "It's a difficult league we're in but we're only six points off seventh place. "You only have to look at St Mirren a few weeks ago. They were down at the bottom end and look where they are now." County found themselves trailing after just seven minutes, but a well worked move had them level 12 minutes before half-time. Rocco Quinn started a fine four-man move that also involved Graham Carey and, after Melvin de Leeuw's shot was blocked, Kettlewell netted the rebound from the edge of the box. However, Boyd restored Killie's lead before the break, and could have increased their advantage in the second half. "We started the game very well and we took the game to Kilmarnock," added Adams. "We passed it well and had good possession, and they've scored against the run of play. "It's disappointing but defensively we didn't do enough today."
Ross County
Manager	Derek Adams
Starting 11	1: Mark Brown, 2: Mihael Kovacevic, 3: Benjamin Gordon, 4: Stuart Kettlewell 1, 5: Scott Boyd, 6: Branislav Micic, 10: Rocco Quinn, 11: Melvin De Leeuw, 18: Mark Klok, 19: Kevin Luckassen, 23: Graham Carey
Bench	20: Michael Fraser, 9: Orhan Mustafi, 14: Darren Maatsen, 15: Gary Glen, 16: Alex Cooper, 17: Steven Ross, 24: Tony Dingwall
Kilmarnock
Manager	Allan Johnston
Starting 11	Craig Samson, Jeroen Tesselaar, Jackson Irvine, Kris Boyd 1, Chris Johnston 1, Gabriel Reuben, Sean Clohessy, Rory McKeown, Michael Gardyne, Craig Slater, Lee Ashcroft
Bench	Antonio Reguero, Barry Nicholson, Sammy Clingan, David Silva, Rory McKenzie, Rabiu Ibrahim, Robbie Muirhead