Derek Adams picked up his first three points since returning to Ross County courtesy of an 84th-minute Jordan White goal in a 1-0 win against St Mirren.
It was County’s first win in almost three months, moving them above Aberdeen and Motherwell in the Premiership table.
Adams continued to implement his new-look style, with the Staggies showing strong intent to play at a higher tempo than they had earlier in the campaign.
Most notable was the different approach Yan Dhanda took – instead of primarily looking to pass with his renowned technique, upon receiving the ball he was determined to run at St Mirren defenders and carry County into the final third.
Still, the first chance of the game came from a defensive error, as Marcus Fraser attempted to head the ball back towards his goalkeeper just a few minutes into the match, only for White to intercept and bear down on goal.
He looked well-placed to hit the target, but the shot wound up being a simple stop for Zach Hemming to make.
The visitors would settle into the affair, earning more possession as the half went on, and Alex Gogic went close with a header at a corner late in the first half, only just missing the target as he was falling backwards.
Still, the second half would begin in much the same way as the first did, with Connor Randall very nearly putting the finishing touch on a well-worked passing move, only for his shot from the edge of the box to bounce back off the face of the post before being cleared.
Randall was guilty of missing what to that point was the best chance of the game on the hour mark, picking up a clever flick into space by White and going through one-on-one only to send the ball a long way over the bar.
Going into the final 10 minutes, all three results still seemed possible.
Conor McMenamin would test the glovework of Ross Laidlaw by cutting inside from the right channel and taking aim, but the Staggies stopper was able to dive to his right and push the ball safe.
There would be a goal, White converting from close range at a James Brown corner to score the first goal of Adams’ third stint in charge of Ross County – and seal the first win.
