Date	Saturday, 22 August 2015
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Kilmarnock 0:4 Ross County
Venue	Rugby Park
Attendance	3,604
Referee	Don Robertson
Comments	Match Report Report by John Barnes for the BBC. Kilmarnock 0 Ross County 4 Liam Boyce scored twice as Ross County tore Kilmarnock to shreds with a strong first-half showing at Rugby Park. The hosts were atrocious in defence as an early deflected strike from Boyce sent the Staggies on their way. Jonathan Franks knocked in a debut goal after a Craig Curran effort was blocked and Boyce added a tap-in. Andy Davies shot in the fourth goal from a corner on 35 minutes to complete their biggest win over bottom-of-the-table Killie. The Ayrshire side have not won at home since March and have picked up just one win from their last 14 matches. Supporters had barely taken their seats when Boyce's shot took a deflection to beat goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald. Michael Gardyne then got to the left byline to cut the ball back for Curran to fire in a shot which was blocked on the line but Franks pounced to hammer in the rebound. It was all County and MacDonald had to be alert to make good saves from Fraser and two from Curran to prevent them increasing their lead. Killie's problems continued with captain Mark Connolly and Darryl Westlake being forced off with injuries And MacDonald could do nothing to stop Boyce claiming his second of the day when he connected with a Jamie Reckord driven shot. The fourth goal quickly followed with captain Davies volleying home a Michael Gardyne corner kick at the back post for his first goal for the Dingwall side. Killie's only real effort of the first half came from Kris Boyd as his 20 yard free kick came back off the post. Lee McCulloch's follow up was deflected over the bar and that was to be the player assistant coach's last involvement as he limped off to be replaced by Aaron Splaine. Jackson Irvine was controlling the match in the middle of the park and the former Killie player almost made it five before the interval with an overhead kick which was tipped over by MacDonald. Early in the second half, Davies could have added to the visitors' lead when he guided a free header over the bar, with the Kilmarnock defence nowhere to be seen. As regularly happens when one side has a commanding lead by half time, the flow of goals dried up. But for MacDonald's performance Killie could have been facing an even greater margin of defeat and the former Falkirk keeper produced another good save from County substitute Stewart Murdoch two minutes from the end. Manager Gary Locke described Kilmarnock's first half performance as "embarrassing" after they fell to a 4-0 defeat at home to Ross County. Jonathan Franks, Andrew Davies and a Liam Boyce double had County four up inside 35 minutes at Rugby Park. And Locke, whose side are rooted to the bottom of the table, called it "unacceptable." "We're not giving ourselves a chance in games with the way we've started," Locke told BBC Scotland. "The first half was embarrassing. It's maybe a lack of confidence but we're going to have to stick together. "The last couple of games I thought we were getting there and improving. We've got to play better than that, that's unacceptable. "We showed a bit of character in the second half but it's easy to play when you're 4-0 down, we've got to make sure we give ourselves a chance in games by doing our jobs." Kilmarnock have managed just two points from their opening five fixtures, and have conceded 14 goals in the process, leading Locke to admit he needs to dip into the transfer market to find new faces before the end of the month. "Without a doubt," he said when asked about new recruits. "It's difficult because the budget's spent, but the transfer window isn't closed. "I think it's pretty evident after today that we need to strengthen at the back." Ross County manager Jim McIntyre saw his side rise to fifth in the table, leapfrogging Dundee. "I'm thrilled," said McIntyre. "I thought right from the first whistle we were excellent. To be 4-0 up after 35 minutes you've done a lot of things well in the game. "We spoke about the need to be ruthless and get at teams and the boys certainly did that. "We knew Kilmarnock would come out with strong words said at half-time. We just wanted to keep a clean sheet, that was the biggest thing for us. "I think we were in the top half before the game and the aim is to try and stay there. We've got a lot to prove. It's only one match. "It's a fantastic performance, but we'll take the confidence of that, we'll get rested up, we've got Ayr United at home on Tuesday night so we'll rest the legs and get ready for that."
Ross County
Manager	Jim McIntyre
Starting 11	1: Scott Fox, 2: Marcus Fraser, 3: Jamie Reckord, 4: Rocco Quinn, 6: Christopher Robertson, 7: Michael Gardyne, 10: Liam Boyce 2, 11: Craig Curran, 15: Andrew Davies 1, 17: Jonathan Franks 1, 36: Jackson Irvine
Bench	21: Daniel Bachmann, 5: Scott Boyd, 8: Ian McShane, 9: Brian Graham 1, 14: Darren Holden, 18: Stewart Murdoch, 24: Raffaele De Vita
Kilmarnock
Manager	Gary Locke
Starting 11	Jamie MacDonald, Steven Smith 1, Mark Connolly, Darryl Westlake, Lee Ashcroft, Kallum Higginbotham, Mark O'Hara, Lee McCulloch, Josh Magennis, Rory McKenzie, Kris Boyd
Bench	Ross Barbour, Jamie Hamill, Stuart Findlay, Aaron Splaine 1, Craig Slater, Greg Kiltie, Oliver Davies