Kilmarnock fell to their third defeat in a week as Ross County bounced back from a midweek loss to record a crucial win that puts them within two points of the Scottish Premiership top six.
The visitors dominated the early stages in Dingwall, but Marley Watkins' first-half shots were both saved by Jordan Amissah when one-on-one.
County punished slack Kilmarnock defending in the 35th minute, when Kieran Phillips was quickest to react to Jordan White's spilled effort.
That was the hosts' only real chance of note in the entire game, but the defensive effort, led admirably by Kacper Lopata, helped keep Kilmarnock at bay.
The other chance they had also ended up in the back of the net, as Nohan Kenneh steered in from close range after some comical play in the Kilmarnock backline, but VAR saved the visitors as a foul was spotted in the build-up.
Country are up to eighth while Kilmarnock remain 10th and, while they are only six points off the top half, manager Derek McInnes admitted that, if his side had any top six aspirations, this was a game they needed to win.
Looking below them, they remain three points above 11th-placed Dundee and six points above bottom-dwellers St Johnstone.