Marcus Fraser's dramatic injury-time strike earned a precious Scottish Premiership win for struggling Ross County over St Mirren.

The Highland side suffered two heavy defeats before the international break but took the lead through Ross Stewart.

Saints came in on a run of three league losses and found an unexpected leveller as Tony Andreu struck.

But Fraser's late intervention sealed all three points for the hosts.

St Mirren sit a point off bottom spot in 10th, while County move to seventh.

County's persistence pays off

County co-manager Stuart Kettlewell had appealed for fans not to blow the club's recent form out of proportion, following a 4-1 defeat by Livingston and a 3-0 loss to Aberdeen. However, even he would have admitted that a positive result against St Mirren was vital for any kind of turnaround in fortunes.

This certainly seemed to be the case from kick-off, with the hosts dominating possession from the first whistle. Although St Mirren never looked entirely out of control, debutant Ewan Henderson fired a shot just wide of the right post in the 14th minute while Jonathan Obika looked increasingly isolated in the County half.

However, the tide seemed to turn just after the half-hour mark when County's Iain Vigurs was forced to go off injured. St Mirren took notable confidence from the change and just moments later Kyle Magennis skipped by Fraser to crack an exquisite shot off the frame of the County goal.

As the half drew to a close the travelling side continued to apply pressure to their host's box and on the 42nd minute a breakthrough appeared to have arrived when Sean McLoughlin latched on to a loose ball after a scramble from the corner, only for Obika to knock it over the line from an offside position.

County greeted half-time with delight and after regaining their composure during the short break the Highland side took the match to St Mirren as they had done at the start of the game.

Harry Paton was the first to show any real intent just three minutes into the second period, with a shot on the edge of the St Miren box that forced Vaclav Hladky in to an exceptional save to push the ball wide of his goal.

Five minutes later the Czech shot-stopper was called in to action again when a lingering Stewart lunged in to the air to head home a back-post header following a cute cross from Billy Mckay, only for the St Mirren goalkeeper to desperately dive to the ground and keep the ball from crossing the line.

Stewart would eventually get his goal on the hour mark when a Richard Foster cross from the left wing once again found the County forward alone at the back post. The 23-year-old took his time to take a touch and calmly fire home his seventh goal of the season.

County would have surely thought they were finally on their way to victory, but once more St Mirren showed exceptional spirit.

Just four minutes after the breakthrough goal, Magennis again fizzed inside from the left wing beyond a helpless Fraser and cracked a shot off the County woodwork. And eight minutes on it was Andreu who pulled St Mirren level with a tepid free-kick that not only bounced under the opposing wall but right through Ross Laidlaw's legs and arms and into the back of the net.

After a tormenting 90 minutes of constant frustration, County looked as though they would have to settle for a point against a foe that was happy to match their determination to avoid sitting bottom of the Premiership table.

However, in the dying moments of the game a late cross from Josh Mullin drifted into the St Mirren box unopposed only for Fraser to dive with an outstretched leg and tap the ball in.

Man of the Match - Kyle Magennis

BBC Scotland's Eilidh Davies at the Global Energy Stadium

The midfielder had some of the best chances in this game. Early on he had the first opportunity for the visitors on three minutes, sending a shot from outside the box wide.

Throughout the match he continued to get into dangerous positions and always looked like he could score whenever he had an opportunity in front of goal.

'We shouldn't have lost. It's as simple as that' - reaction

Ross County co-manager Steven Ferguson: "The character of our team was fantastic to score so late and win the game. It is a good way to win and a lot of the games are going to be like that this season. We did not get carried away by losing the last game and we won't get carried away with this win.

"We are trying to get a culture here where we keep going until the final whistle and Marcus [Fraser] is our captain and played a captain's role with the goal."

St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin: "We hit the woodwork and pinned Ross County back. We just didn't take our chances. We shouldn't have lost the game. It's as simple as that.

"When it's 1-1 going into added-on time then we should be able to see it out. We have enough experience to manage it better."