SIMON SLAYS

Deadly Murray and strike pal Jord flex their muscle to kill off any hope of a Raith revival

SURVIVAL by the skin of their teeth 12 months ago. Safety secured with plenty to spare this time round.

Ross County produced a second successive Premiership play-off escape act as they flexed their top-flight muscle to kill off Raith's dream and ensure Don Cowie will become a permanent boss in the Premiership.

And for much of that they can thank Simon Murray whose double here took the striker to a remarkable 23 goals for the season.

Murray and strike partner Jordan White were too strong, too good and too streetwise for Raith to handle as the gulf between the Premiership and Championship was laid bare in the 6-1 aggregate thumping.

How different to 12 months earlier when the Staggies looked down and out before producing a miracle to claw back a 3-0 deficit on Partick Thistle in the final 19 minutes.

The scenes at the end were the exact same as the Staggies young team poured onto the park to mob their hero Murray and celebrate survival.

And Cowie, who will now thrash out a deal to take on his first permanent job, said: "I'm delighted.

"It was a difficult situation we were in and I thought the boys handled it really well.

"Credit to Raith, they made us work for it. I know the score suggests it was straightforward but that definitely wasn't the case. In the first half they put us under a lot of pressure but I said to the boys at half-time that the next 20 minutes would be the most important.

"Simon Murray has been impressive the whole season but it's about the whole group.