Kilmarnock boss Alex Dyer praised his players’ mentality after they ended a run of three consecutive Scottish Premiership defeats by winning 3-1 against Ross County.
Killie lost defender Stuart Findlay after only nine minutes but showed great character and team spirit to defeat a struggling County.
Eamonn Brophy headed home the impressive Mitch Pinnock’s cross after 14 minutes to give Killie the lead before Tom Grivosti flicked home an equaliser.
Kilmarnock were the dominant side after the break and Nicke Kabamba fired home a penalty after Pinnock was fouled before Chris Burke added gloss to the scoreline with a third.
Dyer said: “It was an excellent win after going down to 10 men, the lads really showed what they’re about. There’s a great team spirit and the boys worked really hard for each other.
“We reacted well to the dismissal. Gary Dicker slotted into defence before I changed it at half-time and moved Gary back into midfield. It was harsh on Brophy who was playing well and scored his goal.
“I was quite calm when we lost Stuart. We managed it against Hamilton and got a good result and it was the same sort of game today.
“We’ve worked really hard all week so it’s a nice day for the players and staff. It’s not always that we’ll go down to 10 men but at least we know we can handle it.”
The decision to send off Findlay looked extremely harsh as he appeared to touch the ball and Dyer revealed Kilmarnock will appeal against the decision.
He said: “He definitely touched the ball twice. I’ve looked back at it two or three times and there is contact on the ball. I will appeal it and hope for the best.”
It was a dreadful afternoon for Ross County, who were distinctly second best despite their man advantage for over 80 minutes.
The Staggies have gone over two months without recording a league win and manager Stuart Kettlewell admitted it is not good enough.
“It’s one of the worst results in the 12 years that I’ve been associated with this club, it’s unacceptable,” he said. “It lacked spirit, it lacked heart and it was everything I was against in football.
“We didn’t lay a glove on Kilmarnock, they won every second ball. We always ask our players to play with grit and determination but that was lacking today.”
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