Kilmarnock 1-2 Ross County

Liam Boyce scored one and created another as Ross County fought back to beat Kilmarnock and pip the Ayrshire side to ninth place in the Premiership.

Killie took a first-half lead when Greg Kiltie pounced on Martin Woods' mistake.

But after the break Boyce met Marcus Fraser's cross at the near post and looped a finish into the far corner.

And the Northern Irishman turned provider by threading a pass for Rocco Quinn to roll past Conor Brennan.

It is a victory which secures County an extra £45,000 of Scottish Professional Football League prize money because of the slightly higher placing.

That could be the difference which allows them to sign an extra player, which they will need to do a few times over the close season given they have just released 14 from their squad.

One of them - Richie Brittain - was in tears as he left the Rugby Park pitch after seven years with Dingwall side.

Kiltie fired Killie ahead just before the break

Wins in the penultimate week of the season allowed Kilmarnock manager Gary Locke and his Ross County counterpart Jim McIntyre to relax knowing Premiership safety was guaranteed.

Locke opted to start Kiltie, goalkeeper Brennan and Aaron Splaine - an 18-year-old who operated in the centre of midfield like a seasoned professional despite only making his senior debut.

Splaine displayed nifty touches to ghost away from markers, as well as a surging desire to push forward and test former Killie stopper Antonio Reguero with some fierce drives.

One of those shots almost doubled the lead soon after Kiltie's opener, but the soon to be out of contract Spaniard dived to show potential suitors he can still save the best of them.

Kiltie's strike made Woods pay for a sloppy pass on the edge of his own box, and the guilty County midfielder barely had time to put his hands on his head in dismay before Josh Magennis had squared the ball for Kiltie to finish.

A few minutes earlier Woods could have been the hero; the former Doncaster man's speculative strike from distance pushed onto the upright by Northern Irishman Brennan.

Ross County's Boyce was already in double figures for the campaign and the forward nearly increased his tally from a curling free-kick which Brennan had to be smart to tip wide.

He would not need to wait much longer for his goal, somehow looping Fraser's cross in at the far corner to take the wind out of a young Killie side's sails.

The hosts, with an average age of 22 in their starting line-up, conceded again when Boyce played in Quinn to finish low past Brennan for his first goal of the season.

And that ensured a winning end to the season for the Highlanders.

Quinn tucked away County's winner