Scottish Premiership: Aberdeen 0-4 Ross County

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Ross County's Alex Schalk (left) celebrates his goalImage source, SNS
Image caption,

Alex Schalk (left) won a penalty and scored County's second goal

Ross County ended the season on a high as runners-up Aberdeen suffered a humiliating third straight defeat.

Alex Schalk won a penalty when he was tripped by debutant goalkeeper Aaron Lennox and Brian Graham hammered in.

Dutchman Schalk scored with a spectacular overhead kick after good work by Graham and Martin Woods.

Boyce headed in his 20th goal of the season, set up by Graham's cross, before Woods' long-ranger rounded off what could have been more emphatic win.

It was only County's second league victory since lifting the Scottish League Cup in March as Aberdeen ended a promising campaign with six defeats in their last eight matches.

Veteran midfielder Barry Robson was given rousing reception and a guard of honour before the game after being made captain to mark his final game after three years at the club.

Not that there much for the Dons supporters to get excited about when the match got underway as their side lacked a cutting edge in attack in the first half.

Then there were the problems at the back that have been all too evident since Danny Ward returned to Liverpool in January after Jurgen Klopp called a premature end to the goalkeeper's loan period.

Image source, SNS
Image caption,

Aberdeen veteran Barry Robson received a guard of honour before kick-off

Scott Brown and Adam Collin have been poor replacements and Australia Under-23 goalkeeper Lennox didn't have the best of debuts.

He made a couple of decent early saves, but his kicking was poor and, to make matters worse, he conceded the penalty from which County claimed the breakthrough.

With pace and trickery, Schalk evaded a couple of tackles before being tripped by Lennox while cutting across the box, earning Lennox a yellow card.

Graham did the rest by lashing the resulting spot kick into the roof of the net and the former Dundee United striker also played a part when the Highlanders grabbed their second.

Woods worked a short corner before delivering a deep cross beyond the back post, where Graham turned it back across the danger area. Schalk still had a lot of work to do but showed his ability with a delightful overhead scissor kick to send the ball flying in to the net.

After more intelligent play by Woods, Michael Gardyne drifted back into space to accept the midfielder's pass only to squander the opportunity by taking a fresh air swipe at the ball.

Boyce missed another great chance before he finally scored with a close-range header after more great set up play by Graham.

Woods was rewarded for his performance with a wonder strike from 30 yards that sailed into the net to round off a stunning win for the Staggies.

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