Date	Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Competition	Scottish League Division 1
Fixture/Score	Ross County 8:0 Queen of the South
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Referee	Jordan Curran
Ross County
Manager	Stuart (Ketts) Kettlewell
Starting 11	1: Bradley Foster, 3: Lewis Strapp, 4: Akil Wright 1, 5: Lewis Reid, 6: Connor Randall, 9: Brian Graham 2 (1 pen), 11: Kieran Phillips 2, 16: Chris Hamilton 2 1, 19: Luke McCarvel, 22: Adam Emslie, 23: Ross Docherty 1
Bench	31: Bradley Wade, 2: Adam Forrester, 7: Richard Chin 1, 10: Jamie Lindsay 1, 15: Dylan Smith, 17: Ricco Diack, 20: Jack Turner, 28: Jamie Williamson, 43: Josh Reid
Queen of the South
Manager	Nicky Clark
Starting 11	Deniz Mehmet, Caleb Goldie, Taylor Charters, Liam Smith 1, Zander MacKenzie, Connor Young, Shaun Want, Ben Johnstone, Niall Rogerson, Cole Coughlin, Ruari Ellis
Bench	Shaun Petry, Chris McQueen, Brodie Dair, Aaron Davis, Billy Gray, Josh Kelly, Rocco McColm
Attendance	2,176
Match Report	Ross County Goal Scorers: Chris Hamilton (6' 46') Brian Graham (8' 56' Pen.) Kieran Phillips (66' 79') Richard Chin (80') Jamie Lindsay (89') Ross County Substitutions: Jack Turner for Chris Hamilton (58') Jamie Lindsay for Ross Docherty (58') Richard Chin for Luke McCarvel (58') Josh Reid for Lewis Strapp (67') Rocco Diack for Brian Graham (67') Ross County Cautions: Chris Hamilton (39') Ross Docherty (50') Akil Wright (72') Queen of the South Substitutions: Brodie Dair for Ben Johnstone (63') Aaron Davis for Ruari Ellis (64') Billy Gray for Liam Smith (70') Rocco McColm for Connor Young (70') Chris McQueen for Shaun Want (70') Queen of the South Caution: Liam Smith (32') Report by Andy Skinner for the Press & Journal. Ross County 8 Queen of the South 0 Ross County moved top of League One after cruising to an 8-0 victory over Queen of the South at Victoria Park. The Staggies set the tone for their rout thanks to goals from Chris Hamilton and skipper Brian Graham within the opening eight minutes. Hamilton and Graham both doubled their tallies after the break, with Kieran Phillips also netting a double, before Richard Chin and Jamie Lindsay completed the scoring. Staggies boss Stuart Kettlewell said: “There were two things that really pleased me in the game. There were a couple of slack moments for us in the game towards the end of the first half, and without wanting to start with the negatives I felt we responded really well to that at the start of the second half. “Any time that wee bit of indecision was there, I felt we corrected it really quickly. “The second thing that really pleased me was – we talk about this phrase of trying to be killers. I don’t mean that ever to disrespect our opponent – I mean it in the opposite way. “I think sometimes if you are caressing the ball around the back of the pitch, and not trying to entertain your supporters and score goals when you feel you are well on top, I believe you are cheating them. “The idea of always wanting to try and get the next goal in the game was good. “I’m delighted with some of the play, and the quality of some of the goals. I think Richard Chin’s is the highlight of them all, it was a wonderful finish, but there were a lot of good goals that typified how we want to play and how we want to be.” County knew a win of any kind in their game in hand would move them level on points with Hamilton Accies at the summit, with their eight-goal haul enough to put them ahead on goal difference. It marked a successful return to league action for County, who last week suffered defeat to Aberdeen B in the KDM Evolution Trophy, and exited the Premier Sports Cup at the hands of Hibernian on Saturday. Having drawn 2-2 with East Fife in their last league outing 10 days prior, Stuart Kettlewell’s men were eager to return to winning ways against the side propping up League One. Kettlewell made three changes from the side which went down 3-0 to Premiership side Hibs at the weekend. There was a reshuffle in midfield, with Hamilton drafted in, while Ross Docherty made his first start since August after returning from injury. Phillips also came in, after netting five goals from his previous five appearances. Dylan Smith, Jack Turner and Jamie Lindsay dropped out, with Connor Randall switching to right back. The Staggies started on the front foot, with a run down the left by Adam Emslie nearly carving out an opening for Phillips who saw an effort blocked within the opening minute. County took only six minutes to break the deadlock with Hamilton wasting no time in making his mark. Phillips broke to the edge of the penalty box before floating a clever ball through the heart of the Queens defence, with Hamilton ghosting in to apply a neat first-time finish. The Staggies doubled their advantage within just two minutes of the opener. Lewis Strapp was released down the left before arrowing a pinpoint cross to the far post, where Graham took one touch before emphatically powering home from 16 yards to take him on to double figures for the campaign. The home side looked to keep up their early momentum, with Hamilton twice heading off target in his efforts to add to his tally. Queens goalkeeper Deniz Mehmet was called into action to deny Adam Emslie, making a superb save to thwart the winger’s powerful strike from 20 yards, while Docherty fizzed an effort wide from similar distance. The visitors seldom threatened, with Connor Young well off target with a free-kick in their only meaningful attempt of the first half. Although they were unable to add to their advantage before the break, County were good value for their two-goal lead. Relentless Staggies up the ante in the second half It took the Dingwall men less than 60 seconds of the second half to find a third goal. Emslie surged down the left channel before whipping in a cross which was cleared away from the path of Graham, but sat up perfectly for Hamilton to smash home his second with a finish high into Mehmet’s net. County were awarded a penalty on 55 minutes when Strapp’s effort was blocked by the hand of Caleb Goldie. The spot-kick duty fell to Graham, who ruthlessly sent Mehmet the wrong way. Queens’ night got even worse on 66 minutes when Phillips latched on to a loose back pass, which allowed him to complete a tidy cushioned finish from 12 yards. Phillips had time to notch his second on 79 minutes when he got on the end of an Emslie cross to nod home. Substitute Chin got his name on the scoresheet in sublime style a minute later, when he acrobatically thumped home a first-time volley from Rico Diack’s cross. Lindsay prodded home from point-blank range to complete the scoring with a minute remaining, on a superb night for the Staggies.