Date	Saturday, 05 March 2016
Competition	Scottish Cup
Fixture/Score	Ross County 2:3 Dundee United
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Attendance	3,052
Referee	Craig Thomson
Comments	Match Report Report by Martin Dowden for the BBC. Ross County 2 Dundee United 3 Billy Mckay's late goal put Dundee United into the Scottish Cup semi-final after a five-goal thriller in Dingwall. Liam Boyce headed Ross County into the lead from close range, with Henri Anier levelling after the break. United defender Mark Durnan was sent off for a last-man foul on Brian Graham, who buried the resulting penalty to put County back in front. Anier equalised again before Mckay's header from Blair Spittal's cross sealed a memorable cup win. Boyce and Graham came into the County side while Anier was included in the United line-up, a decision that had a big bearing on the outcome. It was Boyce who set County on their way with a close-range header from a well-worked set piece as Jim McIntyre looked good to add a Scottish Cup semi-final to next week's League Cup final appearance. United were limited to long-range efforts in the opening period, all of which were way off target as both sides showed tremendous will to get forward but perhaps lacked composure in front of goal on a tricky surface. United started the second half brightly when Anier seized on Durnan's deflected shot and fired past Woods to equalise. It went horribly wrong for Mixu Paatelainen's side almost instantly when Durnan was ordered off for a challenge on Graham in the box. Referee Craig Thomson awarded the penalty and Graham simply slammed the ball low into the net. All indicators suggested United's chance was gone but they went on to produce an outstanding, committed performance. It developed into a classic Scottish Cup tie and incredibly Anier equalised for a second time when he anticipated the flight of the ball and arrived at the back post to slot home and send the large travelling support wild. Both sides continued to go forward with Spittal and Michael Gardyne going close but in the last minute of the 90, United sealed a famous win. Spittal delivered accurately from the right-hand side and for the second week running Mckay netted from close range, this time with a header to send United through. What this does for Dundee United's season remains unclear but they proved something when everything was against them. Their priority might be staying in the Premiership but this win and performance might prove valuable on all fronts. An "exhausted" Mixu Paatelainen praised the resilience of his Dundee United side after they twice came from behind to beat Ross County 3-2. United lost Mark Durnan to a red card for felling Brian Graham in the Scottish Cup quarter-final. "What a shift from our players, going down to 10 men the fighting spirit was excellent," said Paatelainen. "Even though we were a man short we wanted an attacking threat, hence the 3-3-3 formation, and it worked." Paatelainen's side are eight points adrift at the foot of the Premiership table, but have a game in hand over second-bottom Kilmarnock. And the Tangerines now have a semi-final to look forward to next month after Henri Anier's double and Billy Mckay's headed winner defeated County. "We know we are a match for any team when we play well," the Finn told BBC Scotland. "Today we did. That hasn't changed at all. "Yes, we have a long way to go; we're nowhere near safety yet. The boys' attitude is tremendous on the training ground and in the matches as you can see, but hopefully, by hard work, I believe we can do it." Ross County manager Jim McIntyre meanwhile bemoaned his side's failure to prevent Dundee United's deliveries into the box - from which they derived much of their attacking success. "We've blown a golden opportunity to get to another national semi-final," he said. "Quite frankly we didn't stop crosses - their goals have come from three crosses and it's not good enough. "We've got to get out, get close, but when United went down to 10 men we seemed to stand off them and allow crosses to come into the box. We've got to be much better than that. "We've been masters of our own downfall. You've got to give United credit, of course, but we've not picked up our men and we've been punished." County tackle Hibernian in next Sunday's League Cup final and McIntyre revealed midfielder Martin Woods "felt ill" at half-time, prompting his substitution. But Jackson Irvine, who was also withdrawn, is not currently a concern for the showpiece at Hampden.
Ross County
Manager	Jim McIntyre
Starting 11	21: Gary Woods, 2: Marcus Fraser, 7: Michael Gardyne, 9: Brian Graham 1 (1 pen), 10: Liam Boyce 1, 12: Richard Foster, 15: Andrew Davies, 17: Jonathan Franks, 36: Jackson Irvine, 42: Martin Woods, 43: Paul Quinn
Bench	41: Mark Foden, 6: Christopher Robertson, 8: Ian McShane, 18: Stewart Murdoch, 23: Alex Schalk, 24: Raffaele De Vita, 44: Christopher McLaughlin
Dundee United
Manager	Gordon Young
Starting 11	Luis Maria Zwick, Sean Dillon, Paul Dixon, Paul Paton, Mark Durnan 1, Coll Donaldson, John Rankin 1, Blair Spittal, Billy McKay 1, Ryan Dow, Henri Anier 2
Bench	Joe McGovern, Kyle Knoyle, Christopher Erskine, Scott Fraser, Edward Ofere, Simon Murray, Florent Sinama Pongolle