Date	Saturday, 22 October 2022
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Kilmarnock 1:0 Ross County
Venue	Rugby Park
Attendance	4,640
Referee	Colin Steven
Comments	Match Report Report by Amy Canavan for the BBC. Kilmarnock 1 Ross County 0 Kilmarnock ground out a narrow victory over Ross County to create breathing space between them and the bottom of the Scottish Premiership. Danny Armstrong's fourth league goal of the season was a worthy match-winning strike and leaves his side unbeaten in their last four league matches. County failed to create a glaring opportunity despite displaying more fervour in the second half and remain bottom, three points adrift of Kilmarnock, and behind Dundee United on goal difference. Derek McInnes had spoken passionately about the importance of this week in Kilmarnock's season. Kicking off with a goalless draw with St Mirren, followed by booking a Hampden outing for the first time in a decade, and book-ending it with victory in a true six-pointer would be just what the manager was after. "A lot of players were running on empty after three demanding games for us but we have come out of it okay," said McInnes. "We take the benefit from the confidence of the run we are on and recognise what that has given us, which is a lot of hard work, a lot of quality moments and a lot of team spirit." County came up trumps in the first meeting of the sides this season, but with the buzz of a League Cup semi-final still brewing amongst the Ayrshire side, their confidence was overpowering. Slipping the ball around with a swagger, it was only going to be a matter of time before Kilmarnock drew first blood and exploited the alarmingly gaping holes in County's shape. Fresh of securing his side a semi-final with Celtic, Armstrong once again had his team-mates celebrating. Capitalising on some woeful defending, Armstrong latched onto a Kerr McInroy flick to caress the ball past Ross Laidlaw. That pressure was maintained, which left the hosts scratching their head at their slender interval advantage. McInroy's powerful strike, calling Laidlaw into a fine save, was the pick of the lot. County showed more spark in the second-half, and Kilmarnock struggled to contain them. Owura Edwards, Jordan White and Yan Dhanda probed, with the latter pair calling Zach Hemmings into action, but an equaliser always looked unlikely. The zip which both halves began with dissipated rapidly, with Kilmarnock able to comfortably see the win through unscathed. County will be ever so grateful for St Mirren's late winner, which keeps Dundee United on the same points as the Dingwall side. Not least because St Johnstone and, now Kilmarnock, have pulled clear of them this weekend. Malky Mackay will struggle to see many positives from a match against an evenly-matched side. A source of goals is hard to find while, defensively, there was some questionable shapes and positions taken up. Kilmarnock rode the emotions from their midweek success and took advantage of that uplift in morale. Armstrong is the man of the moment right now, but once again, Ryan Alebiosu gave a great account of himself. Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes: "I thought it was a mixed bag. We came out of the traps brilliantly and imposed ourselves. We had umpteen chances and thankfully Danny is confident at the moment and I could see that with the finish." Ross County manager Malky Mackay: "I thought we came down and did really well. It was always going to be a tough game but we had numerous chances in the second half. "We but we have got to be clinical and that is my take-away. I am proud of the way they came down and played."
Ross County
Manager	Malcolm (Malky) Mackay
Starting 11	1: Ross Laidlaw, 4: David Cancola, 5: Jack Baldwin, 6: Alexander Iacovitti, 7: Owura Edwards, 8: Ross Callachan, 12: Callum Johnson, 16: George Harmon, 19: Jordy Hiwula-Mayifuila 1, 22: Jordon Tillson, 26: Jordan White
Bench	31: Jake Eastwood, 9: Dominic Samuel, 10: Yan Dhanda 1, 11: Joshua Sims, 14: Victor Loturi, 15: Keith Watson, 17: Kazeem Olaigbe, 18: William Akio, 21: Ross Munro
Kilmarnock
Manager	Derek McInnes
Starting 11	Zach Hemming, Lewis Mayo, Ash Taylor, Joe Wright, Alan Power, Kerr McInroy, Ryan Alebiousu, Benjamin Chrisene, Jordan Jones 1, Daniel Armstrong 1, Innes Cameron 1
Bench	Chris Stokes, Rory McKenzie, Oli Shaw, Fraser Murray, Brad Lyons, Sam Walker, Bobby Wales, Liam Polworth, Steven Warnock