Date	Saturday, 05 February 2022
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Dundee 1:2 Ross County
Venue	Dens Park
Attendance	4,621
Referee	Don Robertson
Comments	Match Report Report by Andrew Southwick for the BBC. Dundee 1 Ross County 2 James McPake is worried about Dundee's "dangerous position" after they were left rooted to the bottom of the Scottish Premiership by Ross County. Zak Rudden's opener for Dundee on his maiden start had given the hosts their first league goal of 2022, but Joseph Hungbo levelled. Regan Charles-Cook missed a penalty but made amends before Dundee lost Vontae Daley-Campbell to a red card. "My worry is that we're bottom of the league," McPake told BBC Scotland. "Am I worried about my job - no. What I'm worried about is winning football matches. We look in a very dangerous position, and we need to get wins on the board." Malky MacKay's County, who are unbeaten in three games, move eight points clear of bottom spot and seven clear of St Johnstone. After three league games without a goal, Dundee almost broke their 2022 duck within the opening minutes when Paul McMullan cracked a shot off the crossbar from outside the box. Max Anderson's effort was deflected wide while Daley-Campbell was denied by a sliding challenge from Charles-Cook when clean through. Rudden timed his run well to latch on to a through ball, took a touch and knocked it past goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw to notch his first Dundee goal since arriving from Partick Thistle. And it should have been 2-0 with Rudden involved again. The forward held the ball up, fed the overlapping McMullan, who expertly picked out Anderson unmarked in the box only for it to be nudged harmlessly into the grateful arms of Laidlaw. That kept County in the game. Alex Iacovitti had passed up a chance at the back post from a corner when he failed to connect, before he then headed a free-kick wide. But right on the stroke of half-time, when a botched clearance was played back into the danger area and into the path of Hungbo, he was able to stride through on the wrong side of the defender and finish from close range. County were a different beast after the break and should have been ahead by the hour mark. Charles-Cook had already gone close with a shot inside the box before County were awarded a penalty after Connor Randall's cross hit the hand of Cammy Kerr. However, the striker was unable to take advantage, his weak spot-kick comfortably saved low down by Laidlaw. The penalty miss did not dent his confidence - if anything it spurred him and County on as they took full control of the game - and soon his 11th goal of the season arrived. Jordan White laid the ball into his path on the right-hand side and he rifled a shot into the roof of the net for a deserved three points. And Dundee's woes did not end there. Daley-Campbell's wild attempt at a clearance led to his foot connecting with the face of Harry Paton, leaving referee Don Robertson with little option but to send him off. Dundee started well, showed a great attacking intent and, had they taken their first-half chances, could have been clear by half-time. But they folded after the break, offering only half-chances. County have now scored six goals in three games against Rangers, Aberdeen and Dundee. Only the Premiership's top two have scored more. They have conceded more than anyone else, though, and that is what is letting them down. It is not too late to make a late bid for a top-six spot with only four points separating them and sixth-placed Dundee United. Dundee manager James McPake: "We should be 2-0 up through Max Anderson. I can't be too critical of the kid, he gets himself into a good position, but if we score that it's a different game. If we had gone in at half-time at 1-0 we would still be frustrated. But to lose that goal in the last 30 seconds of the first half is absolutely criminal. "I thought the decision making all over the park was just ridiculous. Everything we spoke about before the game, which we thought we had nailed down, was badly lacking." Ross County manager Malky Mackay: "Even before the goal went in I was delighted with how we were beginning to play. I thought if we just kept playing the way we were playing we would open it up. "Confidence comes from performances and results and I was really delighted with the second-half performance. We looked impressive and we kept Dundee's chances to a minimum. It's a fantastic result for us."
Ross County
Manager	Malcolm (Malky) Mackay
Starting 11	1: Ross Laidlaw, 2: Connor Randall 1, 3: Jake Vokins, 7: Blair Spittal, 8: Ross Callachan 1, 15: Keith Watson, 16: Alexander Iacovitti 1, 17: Regan Charles-Cook 1, 22: Jordon Tillson, 23: Joseph Hungbo 1, 26: Jordan White
Bench	31: Ashley Maynard-Brewer, 6: Harrison Paton 1, 9: Alexander Samuel, 10: Dominic Samuel, 19: Kayne Ramsay, 20: Declan Drysdale, 24: Benjamin Paton, 30: Matthew Wright, 32: Adam Mackinnon
Dundee
Manager	James McPake
Starting 11	Adam Legzdins, Cammy Kerr, Liam Fontaine 1, Ryan Sweeney, Jordan McGhee, Shaun Byrne 1, Paul McMullan, Zak Rudden 1, Vontae Daley-Campbell 1, Max Anderson, Niall McGinn
Bench	Ian Lawlor, Danny Mullen, Declan McDaid, Jay Chapman, Josh Mulligan, Christie Elliott, Luke McCowan, Finlay Robertson, Charlie Adam