Date	Saturday, 24 October 2015
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Heart of Midlothian 2:0 Ross County
Venue	Tynecastle Park
Attendance	16,264
Referee	Alan Muir
Comments	Match Report Report by Chris McLaughlin for the BBC. Heart of Midlothian 2 Ross County 0 Hearts were strong enough to hold off Ross County despite playing most of the second half with 10 men. Callum Paterson smashed in a wonderful angled shot to send the Tynecastle crowd wild on 15 minutes. Captain Blazej Augustyn was dismissed for pulling back Liam Boyce soon after the break, prompting a period of dominance for the visitors. But Osman Sow added a second goal before County substitute Craig Curran somehow hit the post from close range. Hearts cement third place in the Premiership and close to within two points of second-placed Aberdeen. County, who have never won at Hearts, were first to threaten as Neil Alexander tentatively tipped away a curling shot from Michael Gardyne. The contest was then in danger of descending into a stodgy midfield battle as both sides fought fiercely for possession. However, the deadlock was broken in some style. Sam Nicholson's blocked effort at the edge of the box fell to the feet of Paterson who let fly from 18 yards and the ferocity of the full-back's shot gave Gary Woods in the County goal no chance. It was a fourth goal of of the season for the 21-year-old, who is quickly becoming the first name on Robbie Neilson's team sheet. The visitors were in no mood to let their heads go down but the Hearts back line, who have now conceded just one goal in four outings, stood firm. At the other end, Hearts' young wingers continued to impress and Jamie Walker brought out a fine save from Woods with a fierce volley. Just two minutes after the break, though, the home side were reduced to 10 men and stripped of their skipper. As Boyce raced through on goal he was hauled back by Augustyn, with referee Alan Muir deeming it to be an act of denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. Hearts then looked a little confused - should they sit in or should they go for number two? Attack was the answer and it paid off when Sow doubled their lead after bundling in a neat Walker cross when it looked like the chance had gone. If that was not enough to knock the wind out of the Highlanders' sails then the miss of the season may well have done the trick. Curran found himself unmarked at the back post but could only knock the ball against the frame of the goal from two yards out. Hearts' focus remains on a top-half finish despite closing to with two points of second place with a 2-0 win over Ross County at Tynecastle. "At the start of the season the aim was top six," said boss Robbie Neilson. "People were talking about us challenging then you lose a few games and everyone's talking about can we get in the top six. "Now we have won two and people are asking if we can challenge again so we're not going to get carried away." Goals from Callum Paterson and Osman Sow gave the home side maximum points against a lacklustre Ross County. Hearts rarely looked threatened despite playing most of the second half with 10 men following Blazej Augustyn's straight red card for denying Liam Boyce an obvious goalscoring opportunity. "We are a team that's been promoted from the Championship so if we can get higher than top six then great, but we have to earn results and keep working hard," added the head coach. Neilson and his players now turn their focus towards a midweek League Cup match against Celtic. But despite the pressure Ronny Deila's side have been under lately, the Hearts boss was playing down the possibility of their task being any easier than usual. "Celtic are the huge favourites coming here," added Neilson. "They have top class international players so we have to be on our game to get anything." Ross County had plenty of the ball, especially after Augustyn's dismissal, but failed to carve out many meaningful chances in front of goal. It was just a fourth Premiership defeat of the season for the Staggies and manager Jim McIntyre was disappointed with his side's performance. "The best team won," McIntyre told BBC Scotland. "Hearts won the individual battles, especially in the first half. "We've had a lot of plaudits lately and rightly so but today we were miles off it."
Ross County
Manager	Jim McIntyre
Starting 11	21: Gary Woods, 2: Marcus Fraser, 3: Jamie Reckord, 6: Christopher Robertson 1, 7: Michael Gardyne, 9: Brian Graham, 10: Liam Boyce, 12: Richard Foster 1, 15: Andrew Davies 1, 18: Stewart Murdoch, 36: Jackson Irvine
Bench	31: James Severn, 5: Scott Boyd, 8: Ian McShane, 11: Craig Curran, 17: Jonathan Franks, 23: Alex Schalk, 42: Martin Woods
Heart of Midlothian
Manager	Robbie Neilson
Starting 11	Neil Alexander, Callum Paterson 1, Blazej Augustyn 1, Igor Rossi 1, Jordan McGhee, Jamie Walker, Prince Buaben Abankwah, Sam Nicholson, Arnaud Sutchuin-Djoum, Osman Sow 1, Juan Manuel Delgado Lloria 1
Bench	Morgaro Gomis, Billy King, Jack Hamilton, Miguel Pallardo Gonzalez, Daniel Swanson, Liam Smith, Dario Zanatta