Date	Monday, 13 April 2015
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Saint Mirren 0:3 Ross County
Venue	Saint Mirren Park
Attendance	3,033
Referee	Willie Collum
Comments	Match Report Report by Clive Lindsay for the BBC. Saint Mirren 0 Ross County 3 St Mirren were consigned to a bottom-two finish in the Scottish Premiership as Ross County's impressive revival continued with a Liam Boyce hat-trick. Third-bottom County cruised to a win that lifts them 16 points clear of the Buddies at the basement. County merited their lead thanks to Boyce's close-range toe-poke. St Mirren's Viktor Genev was sent off shortly after the break and two more clinical Boyce finishes ensured an eighth win in nine unbeaten games. The continuation of the fine form under Jim McIntyre was not only bad news for St Mirren but also for Motherwell. County are now six points clear of the second-bottom side and the Buddies are left with Ian Baraclough's Steelmen as their only remaining, if distant, target if they are to avoid the one automatic relegation spot. St Mirren manager Gary Teale had gone for aerial power up front as he brought back captain Steven Thompson to partner Yoann Arquin up front, with Gregg Wylde on the wing to supply the ammunition and James Dayton and Kieran Sadlier dropping out. The problem for a team who have only scored eight times at home this season was that, for all his qualities, Thompson has never been prolific while Arquin has now helped two sides to the bottom of the Premiership this season having left County just before the Dingwall side's revival. St Mirren's one moment of threat before falling behind came via a rare bit of skill as John McGinn performed a neat Zidane-turn before firing powerfully over. The home side had hoped for a big turnout as they drank at the last-chance saloon, but the funereal atmosphere suggested the fans had already given up the ghost. Their mood of gloom deepened as County's understandably unchanged starting line-up started the game the more confident side. St Mirren were dogged in defence and survived a series of corners, but they were living too dangerously in a season bereft of Paisley-patterned luck for that to last. Indeed, it proved third time lucky for County when Michael Gardyne's shot was blocked, Craig Curran's follow up was parried at point-blank range by Mark Ridgers, but the goalkeeper was beaten by Boyce's prodded finish. County consistently threatened to break behind a St Mirren defence playing a dangerously high line and pot shots from Boyce and Martin Woods threatened to extend the lead. The Buddies' cause was not helped by an injury that forced defender Marc McAusland to be replaced with forward Thomas Reilly before 45 minutes had passed. It was made even more impossible when Genev was shown the red card three minutes after the break for a last-man challenge on the goalscorer. St Mirren took 60 minutes to force Mark Brown into a save, but McGinn's deflected drive presented a simple catch for the goalkeeper. Either side of that, the traffic was all towards the home goal, Gardyne striking the outside of the post with the free-kick that followed the red card and the diving Ridgers superbly denying Woods and Raffaele De Vita. Boyce showed the skill that won him a spell with Werder Bremen by gathering a Gardyne cross on his chest, nutmegging Jim Goodwin and firing past Ridgers from 12 yards. The Northern Ireland international completed County's first top-flight hat-trick in stoppage time as he turned in a Tony Dingwall cross. Manager Jim McIntyre attributes Liam Boyce's newly improved displays to the striker slimming down. The 24-year-old Irishman scored a hat-trick in the 3-0 win at St Mirren that lifts the Staggies six points clear of the relegation play-off place. "He's come from part-time football and he had a lot of weight to shift," McIntyre told BBC Scotland. "He's worked really hard to get himself in peak condition. We always knew he could score goals." Former Cliftonville player Boyce opened the scoring on 30 minutes, reacting quickest to a loose ball after a Craig Curran shot had been saved. With bottom-of-the-table Buddies down to 10 men early in the second half after Viktor Genev's red card, Boyce then showed great skill to tee up his second, controlling on his chest before sticking the ball through the legs of a defender. And a first hat-trick for a County player in the top flight was completed with a firm stoppage-time finish. "He's been an integral part of the run and that's four goals in the last two games, which is fantastic," said McIntyre. County are now unbeaten in nine games, with this their eighth victory in a remarkable sequence that has taken them from last place to one point away from eighth place. The Dingwall side can no longer finish bottom, but McIntyre is still wary of the play-offs. "Six points isn't enough, that can quickly change," he said. "We were six points adrift before we started this run. "Teams are capable of winning five on the bounce, we've shown that, and we need to be mindful of that. "We need to keep our feet on the floor and keep trying to put in performances like we've done. "Motherwell and Partick Thistle have had good results and teams aren't just going to hand you safety - you have to go and earn it. "We have five huge games coming up." Man-of-the-match Boyce echoed his manager's thoughts as he conducted a post-match interview with the ball tucked under his arm. "We need to keep going and get more points in the table," he told BBC Scotland. "It's taken time for the manager's plans and ideas to get through and for the players to gel. "We seem to be much fitter now. We're running over the top of teams and pressurising the life out of them."
Ross County
Manager	Jim McIntyre
Starting 11	21: Mark Brown, 5: Scott Boyd, 11: Craig Curran, 12: Jamie Reckord, 16: Liam Boyce 3, 24: Raffaele De Vita, 26: Martin Woods, 36: Jackson Irvine, 40: Michael Gardyne, 43: Paul Quinn, 44: Marcus Fraser
Bench	1: Antonio Reguero Chapinal, 7: Joseph Cardle, 9: Jake Jervis, 10: Filip Kiss, 20: Darvydas Sernas, 22: Ruben Palazuelos Garcia, 30: Tony Dingwall
Saint Mirren
Manager	Gary Teale
Starting 11	Mark Ridgers, Jason Naismith, Sean Kelly, Marc McAusland, Viktor Genev 1, James Goodwin, John McGinn, Gregg Wylde, Stephen Mallan, Steven Thompson, Yoann Arquin
Bench	Alan Gow, Kieran Sadlier, Thomas Reilly, James Dayton, Adam Brown, Emmanuel Sonupe, Daniel Wilks