Ross County triumphed 2-1 against Hamilton Accies, despite playing nearly half the match with only 10 men.
Alex Schalk’s opener right on the stroke of half-time looked to have given County the perfect platform to approach the second-half, however the visitors received a huge boost just a minute after the break when Jamie Reckord was dismissed.
Accies grabbed a leveller on 67 minutes through Dougie Imrie’s fine header, but Ian McShane’s stunning free-kick 12 minutes from time proved decisive.
County made three changes from the side defeated 2-0 by Celtic the previous weekend. Marcus Fraser was ruled out with a dislocated shoulder, while Jonathan Franks and Chris Robertson dropped to the bench, with the trio making way for skipper Andrew Davies, Jamie Reckord and Dutch attacker Schalk.
Accies were held to a 0-0 draw against bottom-placed Dundee United in their last outing, and manager Martin Canning made two changes to his side, with Darian MacKinnon and Jesus Garcia Tena replacing Grant Gillespie and Michael Devlin.
The wet and windy conditions made things difficult for both teams, with clear-cut chances limited in the early stages. County’s best opportunity came when Schalk laid off forward partner Liam Boyce, who saw his cushioned effort well beaten away by former Staggies goalkeeper Michael McGovern.
Accies had been slow to start, but they gradually grew into the game, with Scott Fox tipping Darren Lyon’s cross-come-shot over the bar, before Ali Crawford curled wide when the Staggies goalkeeper was grounded.
County grabbed the initiative just before half-time though, when Richard Foster’s free-kick was headed down by Andrew Davies, into the path of Schalk who bulleted home from close-range.
It was a great end to the first-half for the hosts, but Accies were handed a lifeline just a minute after the break, when Reckord saw red for tugging Imrie to the ground as he bore down on goal.
Accies enjoyed a fine spell of pressure, with Lucas Tagliapietra’s header hacked off the line by Paul Quinn, before Imrie saw a shot diverted wide by an excellent save by Fox.
There was no denying Imrie on 67 minutes however, when he got on the end of Gramoz Kurtaj’s delivery to guide home a header past Fox.
Just as it looked like things were swinging Accies’ way, County midfielder McShane stepped up to the mark to curl home an outstanding free-kick from 25 yards, with no way back for the visitors.