Date	Saturday, 17 October 2026
Competition	Scottish League Division 1
Fixture/Score	Queen of the South 1:7 Ross County
Venue	Palmerston Park
Referee	Graham Grainger
Ross County
Manager	Stuart (Ketts) Kettlewell
Starting 11	1: Bradley Foster, 3: Lewis Strapp 1, 4: Akil Wright 1, 6: Connor Randall 1, 7: Richard Chin 1 1, 9: Brian Graham 2 (1 pen) 1, 11: Kieran Phillips, 15: Dylan Smith, 16: Chris Hamilton 1, 19: Luke McCarvel, 23: Ross Docherty 1
Bench	30: Nickolas Suman, 5: Lewis Reid, 10: Jamie Lindsay, 17: Ricco Diack, 20: Jack Turner, 22: Adam Emslie, 28: Jamie Williamson, 43: Josh Reid, 45: Calum Brown
Queen of the South
Manager	Nicky Clark
Starting 11	Deniz Mehmet, Shaun Want 1, Niall Rogerson, Taylor Charters, Caleb Goldie 1, Zander Mackenzie 1, Alexander Hutton, Nicky Clark, Jack Stott, Liam Smith 1, Connor Young
Bench	Brodie Dair, Cole Coughlin, Ruari Ellis, Ben Johnstone, Josh Kelly, Shaun Petry, Rocco McColm, Benjamin Luissint, Billy Gray
Attendance	845
Match Report	Ross County Goal Scorers: Richard Chin (4') Chris Hamilton (8') Akil Wright (10') Connor Randall (23') Ross docherty (43') Brian Graham (82' 85' Pen.) Ross County Substitutions: Adam Emslie for Luke McCarvel (65') Ricco Diack for Kieran Phillips (65') Josh Reid for Lewis Strapp (74') Jack Turner for Ross Docherty (74') Jamie Lindsay for Richarn Chin (74') Ross County Cautions: Richard Chin (52') Lewis Strapp (67') Brian Graham (74') Queen of the South Goal Scorer: Liam Smith (70') Alexander Hutton Substitutions: Ruari Ellis for Jack Stott (46') Cole Coughlin for Nicky Clark (80') Brodie Dair for Alexander Hutton (86') Queen of the South Cautions: Shaun Want (74') Caleb Goldie (85') Zander Mackenzie (87') Report by Euan Maxwell for the Press & Journal. Queen of the South 1 Ross County 7 Ross County manager Stuart Kettlewell hailed his side for hitting more than 80 goals in competitive matches this season. The high-scoring Staggies hit seven against sorry Queen of the South at Palmerston to make it five wins on the bounce in League One. It was a ruthless performance from the third-tier leaders – following an 8-0 league victory against the same opposition at home earlier in the campaign – and Kettlewell was delighted his team have now scored 81 goals in 22 games in all competitions. Kettlewell, in charge of a County side aiming to bounce back from successive relegations this term, said: “I don’t know if sometimes people just think that you click your fingers and you get to that number. We’ve been working tirelessly hard. “The players have been working tirelessly hard to right wrongs from over the last couple of seasons and to very quickly try to build a bit of confidence. “The bit I enjoy most is that they are all types of goals and all different goalscorers that are pitching in. “My highlight was possibly the fifth goal, just because of how we work and what we ask of the players. “If you have a look at our positions on the pitch and where they’ve started to where they finish, it’s great because there’s a trust in what they’re doing. “It just highlights the confidence the players are playing with. But as I say, you don’t get that for nothing. You’ve had to work exceptionally hard.” The visitors signalled their intent after just two minutes, and had scored three inside 10 minutes – with the Palmerston faithful quickly beginning an exodus. Firstly, County skipper Brian Graham made a clever pass through to Richard Chin, who beat a static offside trap as the home defenders ground to a halt and slotted past home stopper Deniz Mehmet. The Staggies doubled their advantage six minutes later when a poor defensive clearance from Niall Rogerson fell to currently goal-daft defensive midfielder Chris Hamilton and he made no mistake with an easy finish. Akil Wright then made it three when he rose highest to guide in a free header from a corner-kick. The fourth goal arrived after 23 minutes when a pinpoint delivery into the box found Connor Randall completely unmarked, allowing him to score a header of his own. With Queens seldom getting near the County goal in the opening period, two minutes before the interval, the Staggies struck again, when a ball over the top found Ross Docherty, who expertly lobbed the onrushing Mehmet. The hosts found their consolation in the 70th minute when Liam Smith did brilliantly to burst into the box and drill a low shot into the bottom corner. However, Ross County reasserted their dominance to score their 80th goal of the campaign in the 82nd minute. Mehmet initially made another fine save, but Graham was sharpest to fire home the rebound. Three minutes later, the rout was completed when County sub Josh Reid was fouled inside the area by Queens right-back Caleb Goldie and referee Graham Grainger pointed to the spot, an opportunity visiting skipper Graham took to net his second. County gaffer Kettlewell had warned Queens would be desperate to make amends for their 8-0 thrashing in Dingwall last month. The gaffer – who praised opposition goalkeeper Deniz Mehmet for four or five “unbelievable” saves to limit further damage to the home side – said: “I’m sure those words would have been used in the Queens dressing room. They were a wounded animal and they didn’t want that to happen to them again. “Our job is to try and make that happen. Football’s not that simple that you can just run away with games of football all the time. “We always show respect to the opposition. It’s never a bit of rubbing their nose in it. “We want to score as many goals as possible and put on a show. “The players were exceptional again and showed how good they are.” Despite the big win, Kettlewell revealed his backline were gutted to have allowed Queens’ goal and missed out on another clean sheet. He added: “The defensive players are gutted. “They’re obviously delighted to win the game, but they want those clean sheets as much as they can possibly get them.”