Boyce keeps cool in fierce war of nerves

LIAM BOYCE produced a priceless late winner from the penalty spot to hoist Ross County above Dundee after a fraught and tensionpacked tussle in Dingwall.

The Northern Irishman kept his cool in the final minute after Michael Gardyne was brought down in the box.

But tempers flared as both sides finished the match with ten men after County’s Jim O’Brien and then Dundee’s Danny Williams were dismissed in the final ten minutes of a nervy encounter.

Jim McIntyre’s hosts leapfrogged Paul Hartley’s men into eighth place after securing only their second league win since a Highland derby triumph on Hogmanay — and are now six points above bottom side Inverness Caley Thistle.

‘Even in adversity at the end, down to ten men, we ground it out,’ said McIntyre. ‘It’s a great result but we are not there yet. We have Hamilton next and we need two or three more wins.’

Some fans held protests against McIntyre after a week when the desire of some of his team had been questioned, but the County boss added: ‘We’ve a group of players here who care and they showed it.’

It was a grim ending for Dundee, who slumped to a fifth consecutive defeat.

After Hartley failed to show for post-match interviews, No2 Gerry McCabe said: ‘It’s always a sickener when you lose a goal so late, but I don’t think you could fault the effort of the players tonight.

‘We got a positive response after last Friday’s (7-0) defeat to Aberdeen.

‘Both sides would probably have settled for a point but, unfortunately, we conceded a penalty in the dying seconds. We’re on a bad run just now but there are seven games to go, seven cup finals.’

County had an early chance as O’Brien’s cross from the right saw Gardyne head wide. But it only took seven minutes for their bright start to translate into an opener.

O’Brien spotted Boyce making a run into the box and he jinked his way past Kevin Gomis before cutting back for Tim Chow to stroke home from eight yards.

Dundee’s Darren O’Dea then headed wide from Paul McGowan’s cross in the 13th minute, before a Mark O’Hara strike was tipped over the bar by Scott Fox.

Another County attack saw Boyce skew an attempt just wide. Home captain Andrew Davies received a yellow card for a late challenge on Henrik Ojamaa just as County lost Martin Woods to injury, with Chris Routis his replacement. O’Dea was next in the book for chopping down Boyce.

County’s injury troubles were mounting and Davies became the second to exit after only 35 minutes, hobbling off to be replaced by Jay McEveley.

Soon after, it was Dundee keeper Scott Bain’s turn for treatment after being caught by a County boot.

Five minutes before the break, Bain was in the thick of it again after a mix-up, but Craig Curran’s attempt to capitalise got caught up in the wind and was cleared.

The first half closed in controversy when Dundee drew level from the penalty spot.

Marcus Haber’s flick-on sent Ojamaa racing into the area and when he tumbled as he surged past Marcus Fraser, referee John Beaton pointed to the spot. County protested, but O’Dea powered the penalty high past Fox.

When Routis then launched a ball into the penalty area, Boyce’s towering header was touched on to the crossbar by Bain.

And he rose to the challenge again just after the restart, tipping away O’Brien’s ambitious lob.

Soon after, there were howls for a home penalty as James Vincent mis-kicked a clearance in his own box, with County players adamant it struck the Dundee man’s hand.

The hosts went agonisingly close just before the hour when Jason Naismith’s cross was met by a glancing Boyce header, only for the ball to spin wide.

There were fresh penalty claims from County who accused McGowan of handling under pressure but Beaton was dismissive.

County’s impetus was halted in its tracks after 80 minutes when O’Brien went down in the area at pace under Kevin Holt’s attentions and received a second booking, this one for diving.

The ten men had to decide whether to stick or twist, before opting to press for a winner.

That bold approach was to pay off handsomely, albeit Gardyne was heading away from goal when he was brought down in the box by O’Hara.

Boyce, with great calm, sent Bain the wrong way for a crucial victory.

The drama was not over as O’Hara was booked for diving in the home box and then, amid the type of melee becoming commonplace in Scottish football these last few days, Williams saw red for a second booking for dissent.