Scottish Premiership
Ross CountyRoss County1RangersRangers3

Ross County 1-3 Rangers

By Chris McLaughlinBBC Scotland in Dingwall

A moment of madness from Ross County goalkeeper Scott Fox helped Alfredo Morelos to a double and Rangers to the three points in Dingwall.

Morelos had already headed the visitors ahead when the goalkeeper's Cruyff turn foxed the sliding Colombian striker.

But Fox took an age to clear and Morelos stole in to take possession and roll the ball into the empty net.

County recovered after the break, Thomas Mikkelsen headed a reply, but Eduardo Herrera secured Rangers' win.

Rangers' fifth straight away league victory takes them up to fifth in the Scottish Premiership, equal on points with Hamilton Academical and Hibernian.

County's third league defeat in a row ended a run of three draws between the sides and leaves the hosts still waiting for a victory over Rangers in seven meetings.

If Rangers were to be awarded points for the speed and intensity of their starts, they would probably be top of the table already and so it was again in Dingwall.

Inside the first minute, they carved the County defence wide open and Morelos blasted over the bar.

The main danger was coming down the right-hand side as Daniel Candeias toyed and tormented Ryan Dow and whipped in cross after cross.

At this stage, the home side were were simply hoping Rangers would continue to be off target when the chances fell.

The inevitable opener came just after the half-hour mark as James Tavernier looped in a high cross that was met by the head of Morelos and it nestled neatly into the right-hand corner of the net.

Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos celebrates after scoring against Ross County
Alfredo Morelos has scored five times since joining Rangers this summer

Rangers' pressure continued and, while a second was predicted, nobody inside the Global Energy Stadium could possibly have guessed the manner of its arrival.

It was a calamity of quite epic proportions and one from which Fox may take some time to recover.

Marcus Fraser passed the ball back to his goalkeeper, but Morelos anticipated and decided to press.

Fox dummied his pass to leave the striker swiping fresh air, but instead of clearing, the goalkeeper let the ball linger at his feet, forgot the Rangers striker was behind him and, when Morelos nipped in and passed the ball into the empty net, the Laurel and Hardy moment was complete.

Before the break, Rangers had calls for a penalty waved away when Jason Naismith challenged Morelos inside the box and his strike partner, Kenny Miller, took a sore one from a flailing Andrew Davies elbow.

County manager Jim McIntyre had thrown on Mikkelsen for Jamie Lindsay before half-time. The result was an out ball that eased the pressure on his defence but also provided a new focus in the forward areas.

The reward came when the Danish striker ghosted in between the Rangers central defence and guided a header past goalkeeper Wes Foderingham after a great cross from Craig Curran.

After that, the battle won out over the football as the game swung from end to end.

Rangers worked to keep their shape and their patience in the face of a home side buoyed by the goal and now full of fight.

As the home fans started to make their way to the exits, Herrera converted inside the box after neat build-up play involving Bruno Alves and Lee Wallace.

It was a much-needed and deserved win for Rangers, who head into the international break with morale well and truly boosted.

Line-ups

Ross County

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Fox
  • 3Naismith
  • 15DaviesBooked at 45mins
  • 2Fraser
  • 6Kelly
  • 18LindsaySubstituted forMikkelsenat 38'minutes
  • 25O'Brien
  • 7GardyneBooked at 81mins
  • 8ChowSubstituted forDraperat 61'minutes
  • 9DowSubstituted forKeillor-Dunnat 52'minutes
  • 11Curran

Substitutes

  • 4Routis
  • 10Schalk
  • 17Draper
  • 19Mikkelsen
  • 31McCarey
  • 40Keillor-Dunn
  • 42Tumilty

Rangers

Formation 4-4-2

  • 1Foderingham
  • 2Tavernier
  • 4Cardoso
  • 22Bruno Alves
  • 5Wallace
  • 21Candeias
  • 8Jack
  • 10Dorrans
  • 19KranjcarSubstituted forPeñaat 64'minutes
  • 9MillerSubstituted forHerreraat 61'minutes
  • 20MorelosSubstituted forRossiterat 81'minutes

Substitutes

  • 6Wilson
  • 7Dálcio
  • 15Herrera
  • 17Hodson
  • 18Rossiter
  • 25Alnwick
  • 27Peña
Referee:
Craig Thomson
Attendance:
6,400

Match Stats

Home TeamRoss CountyAway TeamRangers
Possession
Home44%
Away56%
Shots
Home8
Away14
Shots on Target
Home2
Away3
Corners
Home5
Away6
Fouls
Home17
Away17

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Ross County 1, Rangers 3.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Ross County 1, Rangers 3.

  3. Post update

    Attempt missed. Graham Dorrans (Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.

  4. Goal!

    Goal! Ross County 1, Rangers 3. Eduardo Herrera (Rangers) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Lee Wallace.

  5. Post update

    Corner, Ross County. Conceded by Daniel Candeias.

  6. Post update

    Corner, Ross County. Conceded by Ryan Jack.

  7. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Michael Gardyne (Ross County) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

  8. Post update

    Michael Gardyne (Ross County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  9. Post update

    Foul by Carlos Peña (Rangers).

  10. Post update

    Foul by Davis Keillor-Dunn (Ross County).

  11. Post update

    Jordan Rossiter (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  12. Post update

    Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Ross Draper.

  13. Post update

    Delay over. They are ready to continue.

  14. Post update

    Delay in match Marcus Fraser (Ross County) because of an injury.

  15. Booking

    Michael Gardyne (Ross County) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  16. Post update

    Foul by Michael Gardyne (Ross County).

  17. Post update

    Daniel Candeias (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  18. Substitution

    Substitution, Rangers. Jordan Rossiter replaces Alfredo Morelos.

  19. Post update

    Foul by Michael Gardyne (Ross County).

  20. Post update

    Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

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As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Aberdeen4400105512
2Celtic431082610
3St Johnstone431083510
4Hamilton42118537
5Rangers42117527
6Hibernian42118717
7Motherwell420267-16
8Hearts411236-34
9Ross County410348-43
10Kilmarnock401337-41
11Dundee401338-51
12Partick Thistle400449-50
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