Ross County 2-0 Kilmarnock

Two Liam Boyce goals gave Ross County victory over Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership.

Boyce took advantage after Michael Gardyne's cross had only been half-cleared, a right-foot shot flying high into the net.

And the Northern Irishman finished with his left after the break, again from inside the box.

He could have had a hat-trick but Jamie MacDonald did enough to put the striker off when he went through on goal.

Boyce banging them in

Boyce, who scored a derby hat-trick against Inverness CT last week, is a player who tends to score in bursts and on this form is an irreplaceable asset for County.

For the first he was patient in the build-up, twice waiting to pick the right pass near the edge of the box, then moving to the perfect position to meet Gardyne's low cross after Kilmarnock could not clear.

He almost fluffed the second with a wild swipe but regained his composure to clinically power the ball into the net after good work from Alex Schalk.

A few minutes later, Boyce could have had a second successive hat-trick but the ball sliced off his boot and wide when through on goal.

But five goals in two games is a fabulous return and has County off and running in this Premiership campaign.

Boyce (far left) eventually found his feet to score his and County's second

Successive wins

Consistency was something Ross County boss Jim McIntyre wanted to improve on and back-to-back wins will delight him at this stage of the season.

Boyce will grab the headlines but the clean sheet will please his manager as much as his goals.

When they had to - which was not as often as Killie boss Lee Clark would have liked - County players threw their bodies in the way and they played the game in their opponents' half for long spells.

Killie don't quite click

Clark's Killie have one win from three matches

Trying to integrate too many new players is perhaps the trouble for Clark and patience may be required. Luke Hendrie and Charlee Adams were the latest debutants, with the Ayrshire side having made 15 summer signings.

Clark was offensive, with Kris Boyd and Souleymane Coulibaly starting in a front two. Jordan Jones threatened on the left a few times and Boyd had chances but it did not quite click.

There was enough to suggest this Kilmarnock side are capable once the squad settles but Clark will be looking to get more points on the board sooner rather than later.

Post-match reaction

Ross County manager Jim McIntyre: "When he does things sharp, Liam Boyce is a real handful.

"The wide players are giving him a lot of service at the moment. I'm sure he'd be the first to acknowledge that.

"All players thrive on confidence and goalscorers do. Before he got his goals, he was playing really well off the front because he's such a clever player.

"We've got a trust in Liam that we can play him in several positions, but ultimately his best is up front where he bangs in the goals.

"It's important we won at home having lost here last time against Dundee."

Kilmarnock manager Lee Clark: "We started quite brightly. We've given an awful goal away and lost a bit of momentum with that.

"We haven't given the service to our two strikers that their two strikers got.

"The games was won and lost in those areas. They've got to have that service. We played too many long balls.

"Do some of them have to do better? Without a shadow of a doubt. Have some of them done well? Yes."