Ross County 2
Dundee Utd 3
League (Premiership)

Match Report

Source unknown.

The Staggies started brightly but their momentum was halted when Nadir Ciftci rounded Mark Brown to net.

Stuart Armstrong did likewise after a flowing United break, then Ciftci curled in a third for what was looking like a comfortable win.

But Yoann Arquin and Darren Maatsen scored either side of a Liam Boyce red card to set up a frantic finale.

It was a frustrating night for County, who tested visiting goalkeeper Radoslaw Cierzniak on a number of occasions, but fell agonisingly short of securing something from the encounter.

County had been punished in their previous two games for starting slowly but, after United's Chris Erskine tested keeper Brown with a low shot, the home side were the brighter of the two sides.

Armstrong burst free on the left and found Erskine, who had matched his run through the middle. Paul Quinn got a foot to his through ball, but only knocked it into the path of the alert Ciftci, who rounded Mark Brown to score.

County started the second half on the front foot but were 2-0 down within two minutes following United counter attack.

Sean Dillon and Erskine combined to find Ciftci, whose backheel found Calum Butcher. He slid a perfectly judged pass between two defenders, allowing Armstrong to burst past the keeper and roll into the unguarded net.
United added a third after 58 minutes.

Calum Butcher won the ball and found Erskine, who flicked a clever pass into the path of Ciftci. The forward stepped across his marker before curling in his second goal.

County continued to press, and Tony Dingwall's stinging drive brought a fine save from Cierzniak.

The home side’s persistence finally brought reward when Arquin pounced on John Souttar's misdirected header and drove the ball low past the goalkeeper.

The County substitute stayed on his feet when he could have gone down in the box under a challenge from the United keeper, and he failed to finish when presented with another decent chance.

Darren Maatsen kept the game alive when he crashed the ball in off the underside of the bar to reduce the deficit further in the final minute.