Date	Saturday, 20 February 2016
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Ross County 2:1 Hamilton Academical
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Attendance	3,059
Referee	Greg Aitken
Comments	Match Report Report by Scott Davie for the BBC. Ross County 2 Hamilton Academical 1 Ian McShane's wonderful free-kick gave 10-man Ross County a crucial win against Hamilton Academical. Dutch striker Alex Schalk's first league goal for the club gave the Staggies an interval lead. Within seconds of the restart Jamie Reckord was sent off for denying Dougie Imrie a clear goalscroring opportunity. Imrie himself equalised with his sixth goal of the season but Accies were caught chasing the win and McShane showed real skill to get the winner. The win moves fourth-placed Ross County eight points clear of second-bottom Kilmarnock while Accies - just a point above Killie - next face Celtic at home on Friday. Sleet and a driving wind hardly helped the players produce silky soccer on a pitch that cut up badly as a result of the battering it has taken from the elements this winter. It was perspiration rather than inspiration for the first half-hour before a flurry of activity at either end of the field. Hamilton goalkeeper Michael McGovern produced a top drawer save when Liam Boyce thought he has scored after being set up by Schalk. Almost immediately Ali Crawford fizzed a shot just wide of the home goal. Scott Fox had to tip a Darren Lyon cross over the bar before Gramoz Kurtaj caused problems for the Staggies keeper with a near-post drive. Fox injured himself in the process of dealing with that but Crawford did not spot him on the deck and failed to hit target from the edge of the area. Jim McIntyre's side made the most of that let-off by taking the lead as the first half spilled into added time. Richard Foster played in a free-kick from deep, Andrew Davies headed it across the danger area and Schalk nodded home for his first goal since scoring against Celtic in the League Cup semi-final. However, the Staggies' lead always looked fragile from the start of the second half after Reckord picked up a straight red card for a professional foul on Imrie. Hamilton laid siege to the Ross County goal and only a block on the line by Paul Quinn prevented Lucas Tagliapietra heading in a quick leveller. Fox also made two great saves to deny Accies, the first from Crawford's free-kick and the second dealing with Imrie's net-bound effort. Imrie finally got the goal his industry and determination deserved when he headed in a Kurtaj cross. Accies pushed for a winner but were caught out on the counter attack as Ross County won a free-kick 22 yards from goal, left of centre field. McShane showed sublime skill to curl the ball round the defensive wall into the top left-hand corner of the net, giving McGovern no chance. And it proved to be a massive blow for Hamilton, who have taken just seven points from their last 11 league matches. Ross County may be excelling in cup competitions this season but boss Jim McIntyre is determined to maintain that sort of form in the league as well. The Staggies have a League Cup final against Hibernian and a Scottish Cup tie with Dundee United on the horizon. But McIntyre held a meeting with his players before Saturday's win over Hamilton Academical to make sure they did not lose focus in the Premiership. "It was a huge result for us," said McIntyre of the 2-1 victory. "We had a meeting during the week as we know the importance of the next seven games before the [Premiership] split. "That is one out of the way with a victory we know we needed if we are going to make it to the top six post-split. "Of course we still need a few more to consolidate our place in there as we have been there all season. "It would be a disaster for us if we were to fall out of it at this late stage but we know we are going to have to earn it. "We don't have any given right to think because we have been there for so long that it is just going to happen so we need another positive result at home to Dundee United [in the league] next week." Goals from Alex Schalk and Ian McShane gave fourth-placed Ross County only a second win from their last six league games to move eight points clear of second-bottom Kilmarnock. McIntyre admits he feared the worst when Jamie Reckord was sent off for denying Dougie Imrie a clear goalscoring opportunity early in the second half. However, he was pleased with the way they coped with the dismissal and battled their way to victory courtesy of McShane's sublime free-kick 12 minutes from time. "The sending off changed the whole game and made it very difficult for us," McIntyre explained. "Jamie was in a good position but he didn't get on to the ball quickly enough. "We have no complaints as it was a definite red card but the players battled manfully for the rest of the game and showed great spirit to get a winner. "We knew we would have to defend stoutly in the situation and that's what the boys did so they deserve credit for the way they hung in there." The result just piled on the frustration for Hamilton Accies manager Martin Canning as his side failed to take advantage of their superior numbers. Imrie's sixth goal of the season hauled them level but despite overwhelming possession they could not turn it into only a second win in 11 games. And they face Celtic on Friday for the first time since their 8-1 hammering by the league leaders last month. "It was a very frustrating afternoon as there wasn't much in the first half and we completely dominated the second half only to end up with nothing," said Canning. "I can't fault the players though as they put in a great effort, defended well and made a lot of chances. "The most frustrating thing is that the free-kick they get their winner from isn't one as far as I'm concerned but there's nothing we can do about that. "I think to give it was a mistake but on another day we would have gone on to win the match comfortably but we are not putting the ball in the net as much as we should be. "When you are in the position we are then sometimes these things go against you but we will keep working hard. "On that second-half performance especially you can see that there's not a lot wrong and we have to show that in all our games. "We need to dust ourselves down and show that same spirit to go again on Friday to get a positive result against Celtic."
Ross County
Manager	Jim McIntyre
Starting 11	1: Scott Fox, 3: Jamie Reckord 1, 7: Michael Gardyne, 8: Ian McShane 1, 10: Liam Boyce, 12: Richard Foster, 15: Andrew Davies, 23: Alex Schalk 1, 36: Jackson Irvine, 42: Martin Woods, 43: Paul Quinn 1
Bench	21: Gary Woods, 6: Christopher Robertson, 9: Brian Graham, 17: Jonathan Franks, 18: Stewart Murdoch, 24: Raffaele De Vita, 25: David Goodwillie
Hamilton Academical
Manager	Martin Canning
Starting 11	Michael McGovern, Zygmunt Gordon, Antons Kurakins 1, Jesus Garcia Tena 1, Lucas De Lima Tagliapietra, Dougie Imrie 1, Gramoz Kurtaj, Darian MacKinnon, Darren Lyon, Alister Crawford, Carlton Morris
Bench	Grant Gillespie, Oumar Diaby, Alejandro D'Acol, Eamonn Brophy, Greg Docherty, Alan Martin, Christopher Mandiangu