Date	Saturday, 17 August 2013
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Saint Johnstone 4:0 Ross County
Venue	McDiarmid Park
Attendance	2,833
Referee	Brian Colvin
Comments	Match Report Report by Kenny Crawford for the BBC. Saint Johnstone 4 Ross County 0 St Johnstone made it two Scottish Premiership wins out of three with a convincing victory over a listless Ross County at McDiarmid Park. Nigel Hasselbaink flicked home in style before David Wotherspoon curled in a 25-yard free-kick for the second. Mark Brown saved Wotherspoon's penalty but Stevie May fired Saints' third. And Dave MacKay made it four with a nicely struck free-kick to leave County still searching for their first league points of the season. Key to the Dingwall side's hopes of getting off the mark at McDiarmid Park was the return of their captain Richie Brittain from suspension. He backed out of a pre-contract move to St Johnstone to remain with County and would not of been surprised to hear boos from the home support upon his every touch. But they say every cloud has a silver lining, and for Saints it came in the form of midfielder Murray Davidson re-signing for another year to fill the gap in the centre of the park and help make the recent Europa League qualifying loss to Minsk a distant memory. It was the 25-year-old who battled brilliantly to evade two challenges before cutting the ball back for Hasselbaink to net in off the post with a wonderful back-heel. Almost immediately, Scott Boyd was booked for a late challenge on Saints striker May and Wotherspoon curled the resulting free-kick wonderfully into Brown's top corner. Perth-born Wotherspoon had a fantastic chance to kill off the game from the spot after being fouled by Ben Gordon, however his poor penalty was saved by Brown. Marauding Davidson runs were becoming a regular occurrence and Hasselbaink put him clean through only to see his shot dragged wide. The pace, energy and creativity of Hasselbaink, Wotherspoon, Davidson and May were just too much for a visiting team struggling to find their form from last season. The Staggies would have been relieved it was only 2-0 at half-time, but May soon changed that after the restart as he cut inside to thump a low shot past the outstretched arm of Brown. That goal will only give Peterborough United - who have had two bids for May rebuffed - more food for thought. As Saints continued to dominate, Boyd conceded another free-kick on the edge of the box and this time St Johnstone captain MacKay stepped up to guide the ball beyond the keeper. The home fans had more reason to deride Brittain near the end when his effort sailed high over the bar. Ross County manager Derek Adams admitted his team were far too easily outmuscled by rampant St Johnstone. Saints won 4-0 at McDiarmid Park, with two goals in each half, and County are still without a Premiership point after three games. "St Johnstone are physically stronger, with the experience they have in their back four," Adams said. "They're not the prettiest guys but they do the ugly side of the game very well." Within 20 minutes the hosts were two goals to the good thanks to some excellent finishing by Nigel Hasselbaink and David Wotherspoon. Peterborough target Stevie May and Dave Mackay added two more goals in the second half. However, the visitors rarely threatened the home goal. "St Johnstone were far better than us and deserved to win the match," Adams continued. "They've got a vastly experienced side. They passed, created chances and probably bullied us on the park. "We didn't play well defensively and offensively we didn't cause them trouble." Following defeats to Celtic and Partick Thistle, it is the first time Adams has lost three games in a row as a manager. "We were rock solid last season with the second best defensive record," he said. "We changed personnel today and other players have come in. They haven't performed well enough and we have to get back to doing the basics right. "The older players that were here last season have to pull up their socks."
Ross County
Manager	Derek Adams
Starting 11	1: Mark Brown, 3: Benjamin Gordon, 5: Scott Boyd 1, 6: Branislav Micic, 7: Ivan Sproule, 8: Richard Brittain, 10: Rocco Quinn, 11: Melvin De Leeuw 1, 17: Steven Ross 1, 22: Steven Saunders 1, 23: Graham Carey
Bench	20: Michael Fraser, 2: Mihael Kovacevic, 4: Stuart Kettlewell, 9: Orhan Mustafi, 14: Darren Maatsen, 18: Mark Klok, 21: Brian McLean
Saint Johnstone
Manager	Tommy Wright
Starting 11	Steve Banks, Dave Mackay 1, Tam Scobbie, Patrick Gregg, Frazer Wright, Steven Anderson, Steven MacLean, David Wotherspoon 1, Nigel Hasselbaink 1, Steve May 1, Murray Davidson
Bench	Zander Clark, Chris Millar, Gwion Edwards, Liam Caddis, Gary Miller, Brian Easton, Rory Fallon