Last updated on .From the section Scottish Championship

Billy Mckay scored the first of two Ross County goals in a strong first-half showing

Ross County beat Ayr United in Dingwall to leapfrog their opponents at the Scottish Championship summit.

Billy Mckay fired in the opener after 23 minutes and Josh Mullin doubled the home lead before the break with a 25-yard stunner.

Lawrence Shankland pulled one back - his 10th goal in the league this term - five minutes into the second half.

Ayr pressed hard but could not level and relinquished top spot. They now sit second, a point behind the Staggies.

Ross County co-manger Steven Ferguson: "We had things to deal with throughout the game that weren't easy but thankfully the group of players put their bodies on the line second-half and we managed to hold the lead we had got from the good performance in the first half.

Ayr United manger Ian McCall: "I think Ross County merited their 2-0 half-time lead - we were very poor. We changed it a wee bit and we were very dominant in the second half and we had three or four opportunities to score the second goal and if we'd got one quick enough we'd have fancied ourselves to win it."