Queen of South 0 : 1 Ross County - County take giant step towards safety

Ross County eased their relegation fears from the Scottish First Division with a well deserved 1-0 victory at Queen of the South.

Michael Gardyne`s first-half finish takes County three points clear of second-bottom Cowdenbeath with just two matches remaining.

Stephen McKenna forced the first real save of the encounter after 19 minutes, visiting `keeper Michael McGovern doing well to parry his six-yard header to safety.

Andrew Barrowman and Stuart Kettlewell then tried their luck for County before Gardyne broke the deadlock in the 29th minute with a well-taken effort into the top corner from 12 yards.

The visitors enjoyed a handful of chances to add to their lead before the break but were left to rue some wayward finishing.

That pattern continued after the restart as Iain Vigurs and Gardyne, twice, fired off target.

Barrowman later fired over from six yards before Garry Wood missed another late chance to add a second in injury time.