Image source, SNSSimon Murray (second left) has made the difference for County in the closing stages of the season and the striker's clinical double ensured Rovers' challenge slipped away in the Highland downpour.
Ross County: Laidlaw, Brown, Nightingale, Baldwin, Leak, Harmon, King, Randall Dhanda, White, Murray.
Substitutes: Wickens, Allardice, Sims, Loturi, Henderson, Khela, Efete, Brophy, Reid.
Raith Rovers: Dabrowski, Matthews, Corr, Murray, Dick, Brown, Byrne, Mullin, Stanton, Easton, Vaughan.
Substitutes: McNeil, Thomson, Brown, Watson, Connolly, Smith, Hamilton, McGill, Rudden.
Image source, SNSDylan Easton starts for Raith Rovers while Simon Murray again leads the line for Ross County
Ross County go with the same starting XI for the third game running as they host Raith Rovers in the second leg of the Scottish Premiership Play-off final.
Centre-half Scott Allardice is back on the bench, having been sidelined for all of this year.
Rovers change things up in the wide midfield positions as Josh Mullin and Dylan Easton take over from Aidan Connolly and Jack Hamilton.
Image source, SNSGeorge Harmon hopes Ross County’s first away win since September will ensure there is no repeat of last season’s play-off final drama.
Twelve months ago the Staggies lost the first leg 2-0 away to Partick Thistle then had to fight back from 3-0 down on aggregate in the closing 20 minutes of the second leg before eventually winning on penalties.
This time, however, they go into Sunday's second leg in a much stronger position after a 2-1win at Raith Rovers on Thursday.
"Last season's one was a mental game to be a part of, but hopefully we can make sure we stay in the Premiership for next season,” said full-back Harmon.
"That game showed us momentum is a big thing in football so we just have to focus on ourselves.
"We want to implement our style of football on the game and take it from there. We just want to get the job done. It's in our hands and all we're focused on is what we have to do."
County looked in full command on Thursday when they led 2-0 through a Yan Dhanda penalty and Jack Baldwin's header but Rovers hit back through Sam Stanton late on.
Harmon is confident his side can see out the tie at home, where they have lost only one of their last eight matches.
"It was nice to get a win away from home because we've not been used to that," the 23-year-old added.
"We have beaten some big teams at home this season and this is another occasion we're going to have to make sure we do everything right."
We asked for your views after Ross County won 2-1 at Raith Rovers in the play-off final first leg.
Here's what some of you said:
Pete: If you'd offered most County fans the chance to play a single match for survival, at home, against opposition from the division below, with a one-goal head start, they'd have taken it! Did well in difficult conditions, always going to be disappointed with conceding late on, but a far more positive experience than last year at the same stage.
Shaun: Good performance from County. Raith are a good team, before the match we would have taken any win in the first leg. Great job by Don Cowie, he sent them out with the right mindset. Now we must be focused and professional for the second leg and finish the job. First goal will be important.
Ross County forged a first-leg advantage in the Scottish Premiership play-off final as they outmuscled Raith Rovers at a sodden Stark’s Park.
Rovers' resistance was broken in the second period when VAR spotted a handball from centre-half Euan Murray, allowing Yan Dhanda to crack his spot-kick off the post for a deserved lead.
The Championship runners-up have become renowned for their comeback capabilities. But it was County – in a second successive play-off after finishing 11th in the top flight two years running – who struck again.
A towering header from captain Jack Baldwin saw Don Cowie’s side begin to assert their authority, though Rovers’ never-say-die attitude would rear its head again.
Shaun Bryne’s defence-splitting pass unlocked the previously untroubled County, with Sam Stanton finishing off to add some edge to Sunday’s second leg in Dingwall.
How are you feeling after that?
Ross County leave Fife with a lead, but should it have been more? Are you confident your side can get the job done on Sunday?
Image source, SNSRoss County interim manager Don Cowie told BBC Scotland: "Momentum can change really quickly. It swings, I'm really disappointed Raith get a goal, 2-0 looked a really good score for us.
"All of a sudden the crowd gets up because we give them the opportunity to get back into the game.
"I've seen it back, it looks a clear penalty. It was really positive for us to get the first goal.
"Their fans will remember them scoring that goal, but that takes nothing away from what I saw from my group.
"A really good away performance, our first away win since September.
"You're never safe, we need to learn from it. Moving forward as a club, we need more clean sheets."
Sean McGill
BBC Sport Scotland
Image source, SNSTwelve months ago, Ross County travelled home from the first leg against Championship opposition in a state of shellshock. This time round, they leave with mixed emotions.
Don Cowie’s side will be happy to have escaped with their lead after some scares, but they’ll know they could well have been out of sight.
Their physicality was off the charts as they showed up with a swagger and confidence incongruous with a side that has spent the campaign battling at the bottom end of the table.
Once again, it was County’s defensive issues that let them down. Their last clean sheet came on 5 December in a 3-0 win over Motherwell – a long time to go without a shutout.
Rovers sensed those fragilities at the back and kept chipping away despite a lacklustre performance from Ian Murray’s men.
The manager was effusive with praise for the squad he has built in a rapid turnaround of the club’s fortunes.
Fresh legs provided added quality and impetus just when Rovers the hosts threatened to flag. Their staying power paid dividends again.
How fitting it would be if it was one final comeback that earned the side that have been stunning teams all season a place in the Premiership.
Yan Dhanda may have been caught napping for the Rovers goal, but the Hearts-bound midfielder was still head and shoulders above most players on the park for the majority of the evening
Ross County fans will be hoping the Englishman's swansong on Sunday is a special one.
Image source, SNS
Image source, SNSDon Cowie saw enough in Ross County's 2-2 draw with 10-man Aberdeen to pick the same XI.
It means the dangerous attacking trio of Yan Dhanda, Jordan White and Simon Murray will test the Rovers backline.
Raith Rovers: Dabrowski, Corr, Murray, S Brown, Dick, Matthews, Stanton, Byrne, Connolly, Vaughan, Hamilton.
Substitutes: McNeil, J Brown, Smith, Mullin, Easton, McGill, Rudden.
Ross County: Laidlaw, Nightingale, Baldwin, Leak, Brown, Randall, King, Harmon, Dhanda, White, Murray.
Substitutes: Wickens, Sims, Loturi, Henderson, Khela, Jenks, Efete, Brophy, Reid.
Image source, SNSRoss County will be "better prepared" for the Premiership play-off final compared to last season, says former Staggies defender Richard Foster.
The Dingwall side squeezed past Partick Thistle this time last year, finding themselves 3-0 down with fewer than 20 minutes to go in the second leg before a rousing comeback.
With Don Cowie's men set to face Raith Rovers in Thursday's first leg at Stark's Park, Foster believes County will be "too strong" for the Championship runners-up.
"I think they came down to Firhill last year and probably thought this won't be that difficult," he told BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.
"'We'll kind of ease through this game and then we'll win it at home.'
"I know that's how it panned out, but they got a real scare and up until about 20 minutes to go where there were three goals down.
"When they go to Kirkcaldy to play Raith, I think they'll be better prepared and know what to expect a bit more.
"Despite the disappointment of being in the 11th place, I still feel Ross County will be too strong for Raith Rovers, having watched Raith this season and also watched them just there against Thistle.
"That's no disrespect to Raith. I think they've had a really, really good strong season.
"The manager's got them playing really good football, but I just think the Premiership side, the goals that Ross County have got on their team, I think will see them through the play-offs."
Image source, SNSWill Nightingale said Ross County have experienced "brilliant highs" under interim manager Don Cowie as they look to secure their Premiership status in the play-off final.
Cowie, who started his playing career at County in 2000, was appointed caretaker on 9 February following Derek Adams' dismissal and has won four of his 15 matches in charge, including a first-ever victory over Rangers.
As the Dingwall side prepare for Thursday's first leg at Raith Rovers, defender Nightingale said: "We have had that disappointment there, but at the same time we've also had some brilliant highs within the past couple of months - especially since Don has come in.
"He's brought so many good moments to the fans and the club and he's just reinstated that, hit that reset button. The squad's in a good place and we're feeling positive and we just need to make sure we bring our best and we believe in ourselves."
Nightingale hit the woodwork twice in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Aberdeen where a win would have made County safe.
"We were very disappointed, we won't deny that, we're honest lads," he added.
"The first one was probably a bit unlucky and then the second one, I must have played it over in my head about a thousand times - why I didn't up it at that corner, this way, that way?
"I back myself to score those situations. I'm disappointed but I have an opportunity to put that right Thursday and I'll be doing everything I can to make sure that happens."
Image source, SNSInterim manager Don Cowie insists his side must be "mentally prepared" for the first leg of the play-off final against Raith Rovers.
For a second year running the Highland side must defend their top-flight status against Championship opposition, with the first leg at Stark's Park on Thursday night.
And Cowie has urged his men to bounce back from the disappointment of dropping into the play-off spot on the final day of the Premiership season.
"It's a big game so you have to be prepared and ready for it," Cowie said. "That's why it was important yesterday to have the day off [on Monday], just to reset the mindset, to come in here fresh. Now it's just focusing on Raith on Thursday.
"They're a team that's going to be confident. They pushed Dundee United all the way for the majority of the season. They've got really good options, especially in midfield and forward areas.
"They're going to have a big home crowd, so they're going to be feeling really positive about the game. We need to be ready for that and prepared for what's coming and then put our own stamp on the game."
If County were to suffer relegation, they would be the second Highland team this season to go down, following Inverness Caledonian Thistle's loss to Hamilton Accies in the Championship play-off final.
"I'm disappointed for Caley," Cowie added. "It's a team that I played for as well. As much as they are our rivals, it's a club that means a lot to me in terms of what they did for my career, so it's never nice to see what's happened there.
"I'm sure they'll bounce back. Now it's up to us to make sure that it doesn't happen to us as well. We need to be at our best against a very good Raith for that to happen."
Ross Morren
Fan Writer
The play-offs - here we go again.
We had our fate in our own hands going into the final day of the league season. A win against Aberdeen would have guaranteed Premiership survival, but it wasn't to be.
Don Cowie’s players gave absolutely everything but came up just short. As the full-time whistle went, they slumped to the ground in devastation.
But they will need to pick themselves up and prepare to face Raith Rovers on Thursday. The Kirkcaldy side have had an excellent season where they pushed Dundee United all the way at the top of the Championship.
They showed great character to overcome Partick Thistle on penalties in the semi-final on Friday night and will provide a stern test for the Staggies.
County will hope their experience from the play-offs last season gives them an advantage going into the two legs.
The squad Cowie has at his disposal and the options available are far stronger compared to the injury-ravaged pool Malky Mackay had at this stage last season.
If players such as Simon Murray and Yan Dhanda can replicate the form they’ve shown in recent weeks, they should cause Rovers problems.
On Thursday night we'll be keen to avoid a repeat of the first-leg performance from last season where County found themselves on the wrong end of a 2-0 scoreline against Partick Thistle and down to 10 men in the first 45 minutes.
If we can get out of Kirkcaldy with a positive result, the players should be confident they can get the job done in the second leg in Dingwall.
