Philippe Clement recently learned about Rangers’ impressive record against Ross County but is still anticipating a tough challenge in Dingwall on Sunday.

In 24 meetings between the two clubs, the Light Blues have won 20 with four games drawn, three of which came in the 2016/17 campaign with the most recent in January 2022, when the Staggies’ Matthew Wright scored a stoppage-time equaliser for a 3-3 draw.

The two cinch Premiership clashes this season ended with a 2-0 away win for Rangers last August when Michael Beale was still Gers boss before he was replaced by the Belgian in October, and a 3-1 win for the Govan side at Ibrox in February.

However, Clement will not pay too much attention to the past and said: “I read from their manager that they are super-motivated and want to do something special.

“It is always the case that we have respect for every opponent.

“They played a good game at Ibrox also. We know we need to play a good game to get the three points. We are focused on that now.”

Clement admits preparations have had to change this week after Wednesday night’s game against Dundee at Dens Park was postponed for a second time.

Referee Don Robertson deemed the waterlogged pitch unplayable following a second inspection of the day at 3.30pm.

The first cancellation came last month, 90 minutes before the scheduled kick-off, and the game will be played next Wednesday night on Tayside, although it could be moved to a neutral venue if the weather is again a problem.

Clement said: “We had to change plans. It is a different preparation but no excuse towards the game on Sunday.

“I am not somebody who wants to have excuses if we need to change plans.

“We always adapt to the situation but, of course, if I see things that are not normal I will speak about it.

“I will always adapt to win games with my team, whatever decisions are made we go to win games. That is the mindset. No excuses around that

Derek McInnes was delighted after his side overcame the elements to defeat Ross County and extend their advantage in fourth place.

Kyle Vassell blasted in his 10th goal of the season on 64 minutes to settle a game in which the wind played havoc.

The Rugby Park boss admits it’s an encounter that won’t live long in the memory but insisted his players should savour a crucial three points.

“We knew from the early part of the week that come three o’clock Saturday, we were going to get 60mph winds,” he said.

“It is far from ideal for players to go out and perform, I think it was tough for both sets of players.

“We spoke about the need for concentration, it’s the type of conditions that can make players look silly and you can make mistakes – to get a clean sheet really pleases us.

“I didn’t think there was a lot in the game, I thought we had better control.

“Sometimes these are the best ones, 1-0, getting the job done, playing with a bit of responsibility, real concentration – we weren’t brilliant but we didn’t have to be.

“You don’t really enjoy that type of game but you enjoy the aftermath of it and so we should”

Killie are now in the driving seat for a European place having stretched their lead over St Mirren in fifth to five points.

With defeats for all three teams directly below them in the table, it was a good day for McInnes and his team – something he hopes can become a familiar feeling.

“It has been a good weekend and we could do with a few more like this one to secure that European spot,” he added.

“With six games to go, I still think there’s improvements in us.

“For us to get those improvements, the motivation levels need to stay high and it was high again today.”

Ross County boss Don Cowie felt another lapse in concentration cost his side dearly at Rugby Park.

The Staggies were managing the game well before conceding shortly after the hour-mark.

Vassell’s shot appeared to creep under the grasp of George Wickens and into the net for what proved to be crucial winner.

County are now four points adrift in the relegation play-off position after St Johnstone defeated Hibernian at Easter Road.

“The most frustrating thing was not managing to get something from the game,” Cowie said.

“It was obviously difficult conditions, very testing. Just like the majority of the away games, we managed to stay in the game and be involved in it, then we somehow find a way of conceding a goal.

“That gives the opposition that big lift, we’ve spoken about it in the dressing room, it’s the concentration levels.

“Over the period since I’ve come into the role, I feel like we’ve defended really well in the majority of games, it’s just these wee moments we are switching off.”

Aberdeen caretaker boss Peter Leven hailed his side’s “character” but admitted their performance left plenty of room for improvement, despite a vital 2-1 cinch Premiership victory over relegation rivals Ross County.

The victory, secured thanks to goals from Bojan Miovski and Jamie McGrath, either side of Simon Murray’s header for County, moved the Dons six points clear of their opponents, who remain second bottom.

Leven said: “I’m delighted with the three points and the result, but the performance could have been better.

“I thought we started well and then County came into it a bit. I always knew we had the players who could get us the next goal.

“At half time I told them to relax on the ball. They looked nervous at times and they were trying the hard pass when the simple pass was on. They were better in the second half and I thought the subs really impacted the game.

“When Duk is like that, he’s a handful for anybody with his power and pace. He did really well for the second goal.

“The character the boys showed was brilliant. They were fighting for everything and the boys were focused.”

The Staggies are also under interim management and Don Cowie admitted this match was a missed opportunity for his side.

He said: “I thought it was a really good performance and the team responded really well to a poor start.

“The team were perhaps a little bit spooked for 10 minutes, but the response was excellent and we deserved to go in level.

“I felt that we could step on and win it after that, but if you can’t win it you have to make sure you don’t lose it and we have to learn from that.

“Every game you play is an opportunity and we’ve come away with nothing, so there’s a natural disappointment there, but I’m so proud of the team and the way we’ve played.

“It’s a team that’s working hard for each other and there’s real quality in there as well, but we have to build on that.

“We’ve shown over the last seven or eight games that we can be dangerous, but we need to start picking up points away from home and it’s about those fine lines.”

Aberdeen recorded a second straight cinch Premiership victory with a 2-1 home win over Ross County to move six points clear of their visitors, who remain in the relegation play-off place.

Bojan Miovski and Jamie McGrath struck at either end of the match to give their side the points, although the defending that lead to Simon Murray’s 17th goal of the season exposed their soft underbelly.

The home side were quick out of the traps, with Miovski testing George Wickens just two minutes in, only for a debatable offside flag to render the goalkeeper’s save moot.

But the visitors did not heed the warning and were behind after after minutes.

This time it was Junior Hoilett who slid the pass down the side of the County defence and, although Miovski seemed to have been forced wide, his prodded effort trundled through a ruck of players and across the line, despite the despairing late lunge of Loick Ayina.

Perhaps the goal gave Don Cowie’s men a wake-up call as they began to edge back into the game.

Josh Reid was denied a leveller when Murray played him in, only for the wing-back to be foiled by Kelle Roos’ low save.

But Murray brought his side level, first winning a corner off Stefan Gartenmann before heading home unchallenged at the back post from Yan Dhanda’s whipped delivery.

Aberdeen’s bright start was now a distant memory and, while Michee Efete was called offside when he blasted over from close range, it was another warning for the home side.

There were signs of life for the Dons early in the second half, but the Staggies could have been in front in the 65th minute as Dhanda’s powerful drive forced Roos to push over.

The introduction of Duk brought some fresh impetus to the hosts’ attack and he charged on to a long ball that drew Wickens out of his area.

The latter took out the former and the keeper was perhaps lucky to escape with a yellow card after a VAR check.

Leighton Clarkson whipped the resulting free-kick inches wide of an upright.

Duk was involved again when his side took the lead after 78 minutes. His quick spin in the area took out his man and he laid the ball on a plate for McGrath to turn home from six yards.

It could have been three for Aberdeen when Dante Polvara’s vicious half-volley cannoned back off the bar late on and, although they survived a late VAR check for Gartnemann’s challenge on Murray, it was ultimately job done for the Pittodrie men.

Ross County interim manager Don Cowie was in no doubt how important their three points against Hearts will be in the club’s battle to avoid relegation this season.

A double from Simon Murray led the way for the Staggies in a 2-1 victory over the Jambos, who are still sitting comfortably third in the table.

While County remain in the play-off position, the result did move them 10 points clear of Livingston at the foot of the table – and kept them within reach of both St Johnstone and Aberdeen, who they play next.

“Any three points is massive,” said Cowie.

“We were playing against a very good team, comfortably third in the league for a reason, but I’m proud of the group for standing up to that and getting three points.

“I’ve been a little bit disappointed with the way we’ve responded after half-time in games, especially at home, so it was just a case of making sure they came out flying and ready in the second half.

“We expected a reaction from Hearts, so getting a second goal was vital.

“Hearts are an excellent team. Beating them here has to give us confidence going into the last eight games of the season.

“We’ve taken eight points at home, and I’m really happy with that, but now we’ve got to transfer that to away games because we’ve got two very tough games coming up.”

Jambos boss Steven Naismith, meanwhile, was frustrated over VAR’s involvement in the match.

Video referee John Beaton recommended an on-field review to Grant Irvine when Lawrence Shankland was deemed to be in the way of County keeper George Wickens from an offside position at a free-kick, which Stephen Kingsley sent into the back of the net.

“When the free-kick goes in, there are 15 minutes to go so I’m confident we would score again,” Naismith said.

“I thought that was a poor decision, and it was a big moment. I don’t understand why it was chalked off.

“The fourth official said that the goalie had to look around Shanks to see the ball, but I think it’s a really poor decision.

“We could have done better in the game, and what cost us was poor defending. How we defended gave us a big challenge as the game went on.”

Simon Murray starred as Ross County secured a vital 2-1 win against Hearts in Dingwall.

The former Hibernian striker scored either side of half-time to put the Staggies in a commanding position.

Despite hitting the woodwork multiple times and having one goal ruled out for offside, Hearts could only muster a single goal in response through Yutaro Oda in stoppage time.

The Staggies were hit by an early setback before a ball had even been kicked as Connor Randall – who had only returned from injury against Hibernian midweek – was forced out of the starting line-up after the warm-up, replaced by Max Sheaf.

Early on, Jordan White may have been guilty of one of the misses of the season. Murray did brilliantly on the right flank to get past his marker and send a low cross into the middle, where White stretched for the ball and somehow managed to loop it over the bar from just a yard or two out when it looked easier to score.

Hearts would create the better chances as the half went on, with Kenneth Vargas seeing his thunderous his effort crash back down off the crossbar, but it was County who would take the lead two minutes before the interval through Murray.

A wonderful ball from Yan Dhanda sent the tenacious forward through on goal and though Murray’s initial attempt was saved by Zander Clark, he responded quickly to score at the second attempt.

Murray claimed a second four minutes after the restart, smashing Josh Reid’s cross past Clark to make it 2-0.

Hearts tried to find a way back into the contest and put their hosts under considerable pressure, with Alan Forrest hitting the woodwork after fashioning just enough space to shoot inside County’s box.

The visitors thought they had one back when Stephen Kingsley scored directly from a free-kick, only for VAR to recommend a review for Lawrence Shankland standing in an offside position – with the goal then disallowed.

They finally cut the deficit in stoppage time, when Oda expertly finished past Wickens via the inside of the post.

Hearts could not find a second to equalise though, and County were able to celebrate a crucial victory to boost their survival fight.

Hibernian boss Nick Montgomery was left furious that a refereeing mistake cost his side all three points against Ross County.

Hibs had come from behind to lead, with Myziane Maolida and Adam Le Fondre scoring after Josh Sims’ opener, only for Yan Dhanda to strike with practically the final kick of the game and rescue a 2-2 draw for County.

Montgomery, though, felt that the final goal stemmed from a County throw-in that should have gone Hibs’ way, and was frustrated that what he saw as a mistake by the officials proved so costly to his team.

“We just lost two points we shouldn’t have lost,” he said.

“We dominated the game in the second half and got back into the game, and should have won it.

“A Ross County defender heads it out for our throw-in. I think everyone can see that, and their defender starts heading backwards – but somehow they pick up another ball 10 yards down the pitch, throw it back in and we concede.

“We have to pick out several moments for not defending that, but we lose two points and it’s really disappointing and frustrating.

“We have to be responsible for not defending our box, even though we should not have had to.

“We should be good enough to win anyway, but we also should not have to defend the throw-in.

“We’ve got another game before the international break at home, so we’ll prepare for that now and aim to get three points on Saturday.”

Montgomery’s opposite number Don Cowie, meanwhile, felt County showed plenty of character to come back and salvage a point when it looked as though they would come away empty-handed.

“It backs up what I already know about the character of the group,” Cowie said.

“It looked like the game had got away from us, but you have to keep going. That point could be invaluable come the end of the season.

“We’re disappointed to let our lead slip from half-time, but we showed great character to get a point in the end.

“That’s the last three home games where I’ve felt comfortable at half-time, so it’s something I’ve got to look at.

“Naturally the opposition is going to respond, but we need to be ready for that and we need to get better at that.”

Yan Dhanda scored a last-gasp equaliser as relegation-threatened Ross County secured a 2-2 draw against Hibernian in the cinch Premiership.

The Staggies had gone in front in the 43rd minute through Josh Sims, who was left with a tap-in at the back post from Simon Murray’s cross, but Hibs powered back through goals from Myziane Maolida and then Adam Le Fondre.

That was not all, though, as in the ninth minute of added time Dhanda popped up to convert Murray’s cross and salvage a point for the hosts in Dingwall.

County had what looked like a golden opportunity to break the deadlock in the first half when they got a three-on-one advantage inside the Hibs half.

Sims, however, could not pick out Eamonn Brophy in the middle – a moment that summed up the goal threat in the match to that point.

Hibernian suffered a blow when Lewis Miller was forced off through injury around 10 minutes before the interval, but they tried not to let that hamper them too much, with Will Fish sending the next attempt at goal wide of the mark before Maolida forced George Wickens to dive to his right to keep the ball away from goal.

Just a couple of minutes before the interval, though, the Staggies took the lead.

Murray’s cross was initially aimed towards Connor Randall, but when David Marshall came out to try and collect it the ball flew past everyone to Sims, who was left with a tap-in at the back post.

The lead was relatively short-lived, with Hibs pulling back level within 10 minutes of the restart.

Elie Youan slipped Maolida through on goal, and much like in the last match between the two sides he made no mistake in slotting past Wickens.

The visitors dominated possession in the second half, making it difficult for County to reply, and so it was perhaps no surprise when Hibs took the lead in the 77th minute.

Jordan Obita put in an inch perfect cross for substitute Le Fondre, who duly converted at the back post.

There was one final twist in the tale though as, with practically the last kick of the ball, Dhanda announced his return from injury by finding the bottom corner.

Nick Montgomery watched resurgent Hibernian defeat Ross County 2-0 to climb into the top six of the cinch Premiership and then challenged them to stay there for the rest of the season.

Hibs slipped into the bottom half of the table after eight league games in a row without a victory from early December.

They were recently five points outside the top six, but the win over County, achieved through second-half goals from Myziane Maolida and substitute Dylan Levitt, made it seven points from three games over the past week and took them above Dundee and into sixth place.

Hibs are now unbeaten in five matches in all competitions and appear to be back in contention for a European place.

“We’re happy to be back in the top six and definitely won’t be complacent,” said Montgomery.

“Momentum has been building for the last couple of weeks and we have to keep performing to the standards we’ve set over the past week. It’s been a big week, three games, and we’re unfortunate not to end it with nine points.”

Montgomery admitted Hibs looked “leggy” at the end of a week in which they had also defeated Dundee and drawn away to Hearts, but he felt they were “professional” overall and well worth their victory over County.

“I think it was a well-deserved win,” he said.

“We scored the first goal and, from that point, David Marshall had one big save (from Eamonn Brophy) to keep it at 1-0.

“Then the second goal killed the game and, from then on, we had three or four more chances to score.

“The performance was really professional. We could have made it easier for ourselves, because we had a lot of chances that went begging.

“But we take 2-0 and a clean sheet against a Ross County team who came to frustrate us, with a lot of time-wasting in the first half.

“They’re fighting for their lives, so they made it really difficult for us. We had to be patient and continue playing, so it was nice to get the goals.”

County manager Don Cowie lamented the error from George Wickens that allowed Hibs to break the deadlock in the 59th minute after the on-loan Fulham goalkeeper spilled a cross from Dylan Vente, with Maolida pouncing quickest to prod home the loose ball.

“I felt the game swung on an error from our goalkeeper, unfortunately,” he said.

“He’s been excellent for us since he came to the club. He has held his hands up, it’s a pretty basic error.

“I felt at that time, 60 minutes into the game, we were starting to quieten the crowd and I was happy with where we were at that moment in the game.

“We still had enough time to obviously try and rectify the error and Eamonn (Brophy) had a good chance which he didn’t take.

“I saw enough from my team in terms of the effort and work-rate and togetherness. It’s now about trying to add a bit of quality to that.”

Myziane Maolida and substitute Dylan Levitt struck in the second half as Hibernian defeated relegation-threatened Ross County 2-0 at Easter Road to climb into the top six of the cinch Premiership.

The home support had to be patient as County kept them at bay until a mistake from goalkeeper George Wickens gifted them the opener just before the hour mark.

The victory extended Hibs’ unbeaten run in all competitions to five games and allowed them to move above Dundee and back into the top half of the table. County remain second bottom, six points clear of last-placed Livingston.

Hibs boss Nick Montgomery named the same side that started Wednesday’s 1-1 draw away to city rivals Hearts.

There were two changes to the County team that started Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at home to St Mirren as James Brown and Jack Baldwin replaced Loick Ayina and Simon Murray.

Despite their lowly league position, the Staggies settled well into the match and kept their hosts at arm’s length early on.

The only time they looked in any real danger in the first half was in the 17th minute when Wickens had to make an impressive double save to deny Maolida and then Emiliano Marcondes.

At the other end, midfielder Victor Loturi created an opportunity for himself in the 25th minute when he intercepted a slack pass from Marcondes inside the centre circle and surged forward towards the edge of the box but his shot was beaten away by goalkeeper David Marshall.

Hibs made a change for the start of the second half as Levitt came on for Nathan Moriah-Welsh in central midfield.

Within a minute of the restart, the Edinburgh side almost went ahead when Maolida slipped a pass into the box and Marcondes sent a low shot towards goal from 10 yards but Wickens was equal to it.

The hosts fashioned another opening when Martin Boyle – after being released down the right by Lewis Miller – cut the ball back perfectly for Dylan Vente but the forward chose to dummy it on the edge of the six-yard box and the opportunity was gone.

Another delivery from the right led to the deadlock being broken in the 59th minute. Vente ran on to a pass from Levitt and whipped in a low cross that was spilled on the edge of the six-yard box by Wickens and Maolida reacted quickest to poke home the loose ball for his fourth goal since arriving from Hertha Berlin in January.

County almost equalised in the 71st minute when Brandon Khela’s ball in from the left found Eamonn Brophy in a central position seven yards out but the striker’s effort was brilliantly kept out by Marshall.

Levitt sealed the win in the 86th minute when he received a pass from fellow substitute Elie Youan just outside the box, advanced towards goal and slotted low past Wickens from 13 yards.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson felt his side should have been awarded a penalty in their 1-1 draw at Ross County.

The Buddies had to come from behind after an Alex Gogic mistake allowed Jordan White to slot past goalkeeper Zach Hemming early on, but Robinson felt a possible handball from Ross County’s Ryan Leak should have been checked by VAR.

Toyosi Olusanya salvaged a point late on for St Mirren, but Robinson said: “There was a blatant handball and I believe it wasn’t checked.

“That happened before the foul, so I don’t understand why that would be.

“I can’t control that, but it seems quite obvious from what we’ve seen and what we’ve been told.

“We were not at the top of our game, there were three or four players who were below what they have been recently, but we showed great character to get back into it and get a point – and it could have been three with the chance at the end.

“We didn’t start well. We made a mistake, which is so uncharacteristic of Alex, but he showed great mentality to play the way he did after.

“Ross County scored with their only shot on goal, which came from our mistake. But we didn’t play as well as we can.

“The subs gave us a real impetus when they came on. A point away from home is a point gained. If we can take seven points from this week it would be fantastic for us.”

Ross County interim manager Don Cowie looked at the result as two points dropped after they had enjoyed the lead for so long in the match.

“It was two points dropped, especially when you’re leading with five minutes to go,” Cowie said.

“It wasn’t the greatest game or the best performance from us but when you’re leading at that stage you have to get the points.

“I thought we defended very well until the goal.

“St Mirren are a very good team with a lot of players who can hurt you but I thought we kept them pretty quiet so it’s frustrating.

“The message before the game was to build on Saturday and we’ve done that by adding a point. It’s a step in the right direction, taking four from six, and we want to add to that against Hibs now.”

Toyosi Olusanya’s last-gasp strike for St Mirren denied Ross County three points that would have moved them out of the relegation play-off place in the cinch Premiership.

Jordan White had given the hosts a first-half lead in Dingwall, making the most of an Alex Gogic mistake to put the Staggies ahead in the 12th minute.

St Mirren fought valiantly for an equaliser but they had to be patient, with Olusanya’s goal eventually coming in the 90th minute.

There was just one change between the two starting XIs – Eli King coming into Ross County’s line-up in place of Teddy Jenks.

The visitors had not settled when a mistake at the back gifted Ross County the opening goal in the 12th minute.

Gogic attempted to pass the ball back to his goalkeeper, only for White to nip in ahead of Zach Hemming and round the Buddies goalkeeper before rolling the ball into an empty net for his sixth goal of the season in all competitions.

County had to be on their guard to prevent a quick St Mirren response, with keeper George Wickens diving to his right to keep out Caolan Boyd-Munce’s deflected strike.

It was a similar story at the start of the second half, with Lewis Jamieson this time cutting inside from the right flank and forcing an acrobatic stop from Wickens.

St Mirren continued to put the pressure on their hosts and as the clock ticked down, Stephen Robinson threw on some fresh legs to give the visitors fresh impetus going forward.

It worked as Keanu Baccus’ header sent Olusanya goal-side of Loick Ayina to finish into the bottom corner in the last minute.

Ross County remain 11th, while St Mirren move to within a point of fourth-placed Kilmarnock.

Dundee boss Tony Docherty was purring over the performance of his team after they beat Ross County 2-0 in the cinch Premiership.

The Dark Blues took all three points thanks to a Scott Tiffoney double, with his manager singling the winger out for special praise.

Tiffoney was signed from Partick Thistle last summer and Docherty feels the 25-year-old has now fully adapted to life in the top tier.

The Dundee manager said: “I am absolutely delighted. I keep seeing the team improving and now you can see the strength of us in keeping the clean sheet.

“Ross County are a good team and I knew it wouldn’t be an easy game.

“But the quality of the goals from Scott Tiffoney and then the defending as a team was really pleasing.

“I’m delighted for Tiff. He works so hard. There has been an adaptation period for Tiff coming up from the Championship. He got his rewards today for the efforts he puts in.

“I see the amount of work he puts in during the week and I’m delighted he gets the reward.”

Interim Staggies boss Don Cowie insisted there were positives to take from the game.

He said: “I thought we were good, it was a good away performance.

“We did a lot of things that I really enjoyed and really liked, but we switched off twice in 90 minutes and we got punished.

“Dundee will be very happy in the manner of getting the goal right on half-time. From our point of view it was really frustrating, but the message at half-time was to keep doing what we were doing.

“I really enjoyed what I was seeing and we did that, but we got punished. We’ve got to learn from that.

“It’s about not feeling sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to just keep doing what we are doing and working away. If we keep putting performances like that in, the results will come.

“I’m confident. It’s going to be difficult because there are a lot of good teams in this league.

“We have to be ready going into every game. I have seen improvements from Wednesday night, we worked really hard against Rangers.

“In this game I thought we worked hard and passed the ball really well at times.

“The players are a little bit down after the game because they put a lot into it, and probably felt they deserved at least a point.”

Dundee made it back-to-back cinch Premiership wins with a comfortable victory over Ross County at Dens Park.

Scott Tiffoney was the Dark Blues’ hero with what proved to be a decisive double as the win took Tony Docherty’s side within three points of St Mirren in fifth.

County had chances but failed to take them, with Don Cowie’s strugglers now facing a huge match next week against rock-bottom Livingston who moved to within three points of County with their shock win over St Mirren.

The hosts were the first to threaten in the third minute when Luke McCowan linked with Lyall Cameron, who fizzed a low 25-yard shot just inches past the post.

The Staggies responded immediately with Eamonn Brophy hitting a speculative long-range effort that flew over Dundee keeper Trevor Carson’s bar.

Brophy had another opportunity when he made space for himself inside the home box but his fierce shot was blocked at his near post by Carson.

Dundee then put together a well-worked string of passes that ended with another Cameron shot that was deflected over the bar thanks to a last-gasp intervention by Staggies defender Michee Efete.

The Dark Blues continued to press, with Jordan McGhee the latest player to have a pot shot at goal but his attempt flew well wide of County keeper George Wickens’ left-hand post.

McGhee then came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock when he was first to a superb Owen Beck cross but his header was acrobatically tipped over the bar by Wickens.

Dundee were enjoying the majority of possession but they survived a huge scare just after the half-hour mark when Carson had to come to the rescue with a great reaction save to deny Staggies striker Simon Murray, whose point-blank header seemed destined for the back of the net.

Instead, it was the home side who finally made the breakthrough in the 45th minute when Dara Costelloe slipped a pass into Tiffoney to send him in on goal and the winger kept his cool, hitting a clinical finish past Wickens.

Dundee doubled their advantage in the 65th minute when the ball broke to Tiffoney on the edge of the County box and the winger took full advantage, hitting a low shot past Wickens and into the bottom corner of the net.

County huffed and puffed for a way back into the game but Dundee comfortably held on to take all three points.

Rangers moved level on points with cinch Premiership leaders Celtic with a 3-1 win over Ross County but their profligacy prevented them going top.

The Light Blues took the lead in the fifth minute through striker Cyriel Dessers and the home side then hit the woodwork twice amid an onslaught.

However, the second-bottom Staggies, with Don Cowie in charge for the first time following the departure of Derek Adams last week, unexpectedly levelled in the 25th minute with a Simon Murray strike.

Dessers grabbed his second in first-half added time to placate the Gers fans frustrated at the missed chances but there were more opportunities passed up in the second half before defender John Souttar eventually headed in a third late on.

After eventually catching up on fixtures with Celtic, the Govan side are level on points and goal difference with the Hoops but have scored four fewer than their Old Firm rivals.

Another huge crowd rolled up to Ibrox knowing a three-goal win against a club who had never beaten Rangers in 23 attempts would see the lead at the top change hands.

Philippe Clement made seven changes from Saturday’s 2-0 Scottish Gas Scottish Cup win over Ayr United.

Ridvan Yilmaz, John Lundstram, Tom Lawrence, Ross McCausland, Todd Cantwell, Rabbi Matondo and Dessers all returned while Cowie brought in Eamonn Brophy, Michee Efete, Ryan Leak, Josh Reid and Victor Loturi.

A sense of expectancy hung heavy in the air.

Dessers struck early, taking a pass from captain James Tavernier and fending off the attention of defender Leak before lobbing the ball over stranded Staggies keeper George Wickens and the Light Blues were up and running.

Wickens soon had to tip a powerful shot from Tavernier past the post for a corner, which the startled Dingwall side survived.

In the 10th minute Dessers latched on to a raking pass from left-back Yilmaz and beat Wickens only to see the ball rebound off the post.

Then Matondo raced onto a defence-splitting pass from midfielder Lundstram and curled the ball past the far post before Wickens tipped a shot from the wide man onto the bar and over.

Lawrence, Souttar, Tavernier and Dessers had further efforts of various quality before Murray stunned the home fans into silence with a confident volley from six yards from a delicious Brophy cross.

The mood inside the stadium darkened.

The Gers crowd looked on in astonishment as Leak stopped Dessers’ close-range shot after Wickens had spilled a Cantwell drive but the enigmatic striker made up for it by heading in a Tavernier cross seconds before the break which changed the atmosphere again.

January signing Oscar Cortes, the 20-year-old Colombian signed on loan from Lens, replaced Matondo at half-time and in the 52nd minute had a decent drive parried clear by the over-worked Wickens, who soon tipped a long-ranger from Cantwell past the post.

The pressure on the County goal was relentless but just after the hour-mark the Gers fans were relieved to see Efete head a County corner over the bar when he should have worked keeper Jack Butland.

Wickens made further saves from Lundstram, Lawrence and Dessers before the latter was replaced by Portuguese striker Fabio Silva.

In the 74th minute Cortes missed the target from 12 yards and, amid a myriad of attempts on the County goal, Wickens denied Cantwell and Cortes again.

But in the second of seven added minutes Souttar headed in a Tavernier cross but there was to be no later drama and the chance to strike a psychological blow was gone.