Ross County picked up what could be a vital three points in their fight to avoid relegation with a 2-0 victory over Livingston.
Going into the weekend four points adrift at the bottom of the table, County knew they could not afford to lose against Livi and goals in either half from Alex Iacovitti and Alex Samuel secured a valuable win.
Livingston finished the match with 10 men after substitute Kurtis Guthrie was dismissed following a VAR review with eight minutes to go.
The stakes involved for the Staggies perhaps had an impact on how they started the match, as it was the visitors who did most of the probing.
Certainly it was Livingston who had more possession across the opening 20 minutes, but without much substance as Ross Laidlaw in the home goal barely got a touch of the ball.
Slowly, County then started to find something of a rhythm.
Some neat footwork from Victor Loturi just inside Livingston’s box beat his man, but his low cross was cleared off the line by Morgan Boyes.
Bruce Anderson – County’s conqueror the last time these two met in Dingwall – fashioned a shooting opportunity for himself at the edge of the box in response, but could only clip the side-netting.
Simon Murray then should have scored for the hosts when he met Yan Dhanda’s cross at the back post, only for a combination of Nicky Devlin and the woodwprk to deny him.
However, a similar ball from Dhanda five minutes before half-time led to the breakthrough, as Iacovitti made the most of being totally unmarked to head into the far corner.
County would then make it 2-0 on the hour mark.
Just beforehand, manager Malky Mackay made a triple substitution that involved Samuel coming on, and he would score his first goal for the club.
Again it was Dhanda who provided the assist, crossing for the Welshman to open his account over 20 months after moving to Dingwall – and having spent 10 months on the sidelines with a cruciate injury.
While that gave County a comfortable lead on the scoreboard, things would go from bad to worse for the visitors in Dingwall in the 82nd minute.
Guthrie, not long introduced as a substitute himself, was initially shown a yellow card for catching Keith Watson in the face, but on review by VAR it was upgraded to a red for violent conduct.
That meant it was a comfortable end to the match for County, who closed the gap at the bottom to a single point with results elsewhere.
Standard set for Clement as Rangers tee up Old Firm final clash
Phillipe Clement said Rangers' performance against Motherwell must serve as a reference for the rest of their season after they teed up a Scottish League Cup final clash with Celtic.
Rangers fought back for a 2-1 victory on Sunday, with Cyriel Dessers and Nedim Bajrami on target one day after Celtic trounced Aberdeen 6-0 in the first semi-final.
Dessers converted Connor Barron's cross to level things up in the 49th minute, then Bajrami saw his strike deflect home nine minutes from time to ease the pressure on Clement.
The Gers have endured a difficult Premiership season to date and trail rivals Celtic, who they will face in the League Cup final on December 15, by nine points in the table.
Clement, however, believes they can achieve big things if they replicate the performance they produced at Hampden Park on a regular basis.
"We can go where we want to be, which is the final," he told Premier Sports.
"We had that amazing feeling together with the fans last season and we can battle for that again.
"This needs to be also a reference game for this squad, for this new squad.
"To do what we've been doing a lot last season, to dig in and in every situation to keep our belief, to keep on going, to keep on fighting and to break the wall if we go behind...
"This can be a massive game at the end of the season to have this one as a reference. I want to see, every three days, this mentality."
Aberdeen deliver statement win over Rangers to keep pace with Celtic
Shayden Morris' winner helped Aberdeen defeat Rangers 2-1 to maintain their unbeaten run and stay level on points with Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
The hosts took the lead through Nicky Devlin after 31 minutes at the Pittodrie Stadium before Nedim Bajrami's individual brilliance saw Rangers back on level terms 18 minutes into the second half.
Celebrations soon resumed in Aberdeen as substitute Morris crashed in the winner 11 minutes later.
Victory sees Jimmy Thelin's side move nine points clear of Rangers, who sit in third, as they remain level on 28 points with Celtic, only behind on goal difference.
Celtic continued to add to that superior goal difference with a 2-0 win over Dundee at Celtic Park.
Two goals inside 10 minutes in the second half from Alistair Johnston and Arne Engels gave them a routine victory to keep them unbeaten at the top of the table.
Celtic return to Premiership summit, Rangers edge past St Mirren
Celtic returned to the top of the Scottish Premiership table with a routine 3-0 victory at Motherwell, putting them back above Aberdeen on goal difference.
Brendan Rodgers' Bhoys had been knocked off the summit by the Dons' 1-0 win over Dundee United on Saturday, but they responded by easing to their eighth victory in nine games at Fir Park.
Luke McCowan steered in the opener on his first Celtic start, after Lennon Miller had twice struck the woodwork in the early stages.
Stand-in captain Alistair Johnston then ghosted in to score their second at the back post shortly before the hour mark, with Adam Idah adding a third before Motherwall's Liam Gordon was sent off in stoppage time.
That result piled the pressure on Rangers, who could have ended the weekend nine points adrift of the top two, but they claimed a hard-fought 2-1 victory over St Mirren at Ibrox to stay within six.
Mohamed Diomande's powerful close-range finish put the Gers ahead, but Alex Gogic rose to nod in a St Mirren equaliser midway through the first half.
Vaclav Cerny spared their blushes, though, as he scored the winner following good work from Cyriel Dessers in the 69th minute.
Rangers go to second-placed Aberdeen, who are yet to lose this season, for a huge fixture in the title race on Wednesday.
In Sunday's other Premiership game, teenager James Wilson struck three minutes from time to rescue a point for Hearts in a 1-1 Edinburgh Derby draw at Hibernian.
Mykola Kuharevich had put Hibs ahead on the rebound after Marvin Ekpiteta headed against the crossbar just after the hour mark, but Wilson got the final touch to divert James Penrice's long throw home with stoppage time looming.
The result keeps Hibs rooted to the foot of the table with six points, though they are only behind 11th-placed Hearts on goal difference and still have a game in hand to come.
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