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County fielded a younger than usual side in this league fixture, and they found it hard going against a strong Queen of the South side which contained four players with first team experience.
The Dumfries side were the more dominant team in the first half with their experience and physical presence making a difference. Having said that there were few clear cut chances at either end but the County lads found themselves closed down very quickly and had to work very hard to keep up with their competitive opponents.
The second half saw the game open out a bit more with County getting more into the game. They had a couple of half chances which Ryan Rutherford and Scott Wilde were unable to convert, as had Queen of the South at the other end.
County were starting to gain in confidence but unfortunately on two occasions found out the hard way that you cannot afford to make mistakes against an experienced side.
First of all, a failure to clear in defence was punished by an alert Queens forward, and then later on a misplaced pass in midfield led to a second and decisive goal for the home side.
County continued to battle away and made a decent impression in the second half, but were not quite able to put enough pressure on the opposing defence.
Queen of the South probably deserved their win, but County can take heart from a spirited display. They left out some of their more experienced youth players to give others an opportunity at this level.
Tough matches like this provide a valuable learning experience and lets some of the younger players see the standard they are to aim for.
Ross County: Stefan Gonet; Sam MacLaughlin, Martin Canning, Gary Ewing, Ryan Witkowski, Don Cowie, Martin Sanderson, Bryan Dlugonski, Lee Williams, Scott Wilde and Ryan Rutherford. Subs: Steven Edwards, Allan Lees, Martin Kenny, Alex Lamb and Darren Jack.
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County's Under-18 side made the long trip to Dumfries in a mid-week fixture and came home with a well-deserved win.
Top scorer Steven McKay netted two more goals to make his tally so far this season to 14 in what was an impressive all-round team performance.
County got off to a perfect start in five minutes when McKay, running on to a Sanderson pass, went through the defence and rounded the 'keeper to score a well-taken goal. County built on this and continued to look dangerous.
Midfielder Alan Lees then played a fine pass to a sharp looking Martin Kenny but his effort was aved by the 'keeper.
County had a strong claim for a penalty turned down when McKay took on the defence and it seemed like he was clearly brought down, but the referee waved play on.
In the second half just one goal down, Queens were not out of it but County seemed to be in control and restricted the home side's goal attempts to a few long range efforts.
County continued to look for the important second goal and it arrived in the 70th minute when Mark Makhouli made good progress down the right wing and his low, driven cross was turned into his own goal by a luckless defender.
From this point on County dominated and passed the ball about really well. Substitutes Brian McLeod and Bryan Duglonski came on for Sanderson and Makhouli and shortly afterwards Ryan Rutherford replaced the hard-working Martin Kenny.
A third goal looked really likely and it came near the end when County forced a corner after good link-up play by McLeod and Cowie. Cowie's well-flighted corner was met by Steven Edwards whose powerful header crashed off the crossbar and Steven McKay was alert enough to head in the rebound to make it 3-0.
Ross County: Stefan Gonet; Ryan Witkowski, Lee Williams, Martin Sanderson, Sam McLaughlin, Steven Edwards, Don Cowie, Alan Lees, Mark Makhouli, Martin Kenny and Steven McKay. Subs (all used): Brian McLeod, Bryan Duglonski and Ryan Rutherford.
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Queen of the South came close to scoring in the first ten minutes: first, when County 'keeper Stefan Gonet saved from Patterson; and, immediately after this Queens' trialist hit the post when well placed.
County best efforts in a strangely ineffective first half came when Ryan Witkowski had a shot saved by the keeper, and then a fine crossfield pass from Gary Ewing found Steven McKay and his cross ran across the goalmouth without anyone getting a touch.
The second half saw an improved performance from County and a fine run down the left by Steven McKay saw Don Cowie just fail to connect with his cross. Stefan Gonet then had to save well after some hesitancy in defence, but County continued to have more of the possession and a fine cross from Allan Lees was only just out of reach of the stretching
This was followed by good crosses from Don Cowie then Gary Ewing but nobody was able to take advantage of them.
Queens looked useful on the break and Caldwell had a shot blocked.
County's Ryan Witkowski was finding space to get forward on the right and a good run by him ended in a corner which was cleared. Bryan Dlugonski then broke through from midfield but from ten yards out pulled his shot wide.
Ten minutes from time Queen of the South shocked County when Boyle cut in from the right and hit a fine shot past Stefan Gonet to put them 1-0 up.
In 84 minutes County had a great chance to level it, when Steve McKay was tripped inside the box. However Steven Edwards' penalty was saved by the keeper. Edwards was off target again in the next minute when his shot just cleared the crossbar after a corner.
County came even closer still with two minutes to go when Cowie's free kick from just outside the box came off the crossbar and was scrambled away. A frustrating result for County against a team which they had recently beaten comfortably away from home.
Ross County: Stefan Gonet, Ryan Witkowski, Gary Ewing, Sam MacLaughlan, Steven Edwards, Martin Sanderson, Martin MacBeath, Michael MacInnes, Ryan Rutherford, Don Cowie and Steven MacKay. Subs (all used): Alan Lees, Bryan Dlugonski and Craig Campbell
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