Liam Boyce scored his sixth goal of the season to earn Ross County a 1-0 victory in a tight encounter with Partick Thistle at Victoria Park.
Boyce struck in the 18th minute when he finished a cross from Jamie Reckord with a powerful header.
Thistle tried hard to get back into the game and County goalkeeper, Scott Fox, was called into action to pull off a couple of decent saves, denying Sean Welsh and substitute Robbie Muirhead.
The victory moves County to within a point of third-placed Hearts.
Kilmarnock fought back to beat St Johnstone 2-1 at Rugby Park but it took an own goal to earn their first home win of the season.
A header from Josh Magennis in the 40th minute restored parity after the midfielder David Wotherspoon’s 16th-minute opener for the McDiarmid Park side.
But all the points remained in Ayrshire when Rory McKenzie’s cross from wide on the right in the 59th minute struck the Saints left-back Brian Easton before looping over keeper Alan Mannus and bouncing into the net off the post.
Dundee United ended their recent losing run as they battled to a 1-1 draw with Inverness at Tannadice. Jackie McNamara’s side had suffered a run of four successive league defeats going into this game with John Hughes’s side and took an early lead through the on-loan Wigan, and ex-Inverness, striker Billy McKay.
But United were denied victory when Josh Meekings headed home for the visitors early in the second half to leave the Tangerines still sitting second from bottom.
Dougie Imrie grabbed the only goal of the game as Hamilton edged to victory in the Lanarkshire derby against Motherwell.
In the Championship, Rangers beat Dumbarton 2-1 with Martyn Waghorn scoring two second-half goals to take his tally to 11 for the season. He scored with a 25-yard strike in the 63rd minute before converting from the penalty spot 10 minutes later after Gregor Buchanan was sent off for a last-man foul on Kenny Miller.
Garry Fleming pulled one back for the Sons with a penalty in the last minute after Danny Wilson was adjudged to have fouled Frazer Wright in the area.
Liam Henderson’s free-kick gave Hibs a 1-0 win at Livingston to move the up to third in the table, nine points the Ibrox side with a game in hand. Second-placed Falkirk dropped points with a 1-1 draw at 10-man Alloa. Alloa had defender Jason Marr sent off after 68 minutes but fought back to score a last-minute equaliser and cancel out John Baird’s second-half penalty, with Colin Hamilton scoring from inside the box.
