Ross County had goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw to thank as they held Kilmarnock to a 0-0 draw in the Scottish Premiership at Rugby Park.

Osman Sow's tame penalty was comfortably saved by Laidlaw, ensuring the points were shared.

Kilmarnock almost took the lead in the first half when Rory McKenzie's effort cannoned back off the post.

Angelo Alessio's men remain seventh in the table, while County move level on points with Aberdeen in fifth.

County are now unbeaten in their last three Scottish Premiership games.

Killie do everything but score

One thing a manager can't do is put the ball in the net. He can only entrust that job to his players, and have his team in such a structure as to create enough chances to warrant a goal or two. In that sense, a frustrating afternoon for Alessio who is, nonetheless, turning in a pretty promising body of work so far in his first season in Scotland.

You don't tend to get too much time in the modern game and after the horror show of Connah's Quay Nomads in Europa League qualifying, there were plenty among the home fans who wanted Killie's Italian Job to be the shortest football movie in the history of sporting cinema. But the director didn't panic, nor did his backers behind the scenes, and all of a sudden the credits are revealing just one defeat in their last five Premiership showings. A much prettier picture than just a few weeks ago.

Patience was the pre-requisite against the Highlanders, who had a fine first few minutes but failed to find a foothold despite impressive cameos from Michael Gardyne and Ewan Henderson.

The star turns were at the other end, with Rory McKenzie revelling out on the right and smacking a fine first-half effort off the post. The tall, imposing figure of Sow led the line pretty well up front, for the first half at least, but his good work would be undone just after the hour. A team not burying their chances absolutely can't afford to miss a penalty. But Sow's effort was weak and predictable and rolled limply into the awaiting body of County keeper Laidlaw, who had already dived the right way in anticipation.

There were far better saves earlier, in particular from a point-blank Alex Bruce header and a well-struck effort from the unlucky Sow. And before the break, Laidlaw was again on hand to tip Bruce's header just past the post, the same piece of woodwork Liam Millar just missed with from a decent shot a few minutes previously.

With Kilmarnock's killer touch missing, County nearly stole all three points, with substitute Brian Graham having an effort blocked on the line late on, and then heading over in the dying seconds.

A previous manager at Rugby Park once famously told me that if I was after entertainment, I should go to the cinema. If all 0-0 draws are like that, Bobby, I'll keep taking my chances at the football.

Man of the Match - Ross Laidlaw

There were several contenders in a Kilmarnock jersey. Gary Dicker and Alan Power kept things ticking over nicely in midfield, the full-backs Niko Hamalainen and Stephen O'Donnell were solid defensively and got forward well, McKenzie zipped about with energy and nearly scored.

But the standout performer for me was in the Ross County goal. Ross Laidlaw had one of those days when he simply refused to yield, even when faced with a penalty. The less said about Sow's spot-kick the better, but the keeper still had to save it. He deserves further praise for a couple of good saves in the first half, and two crucial stops in the second from Alex Bruce and Sow. As the last line of defence, he did his job superbly well and is one of the main reasons Ross County head back to the Highlands with a point, unbeaten in their last three league outings.

'I don't blame Sow' - reaction

Kilmarnock manager Angelo Alessio: "I don't blame Osman Sow - we missed two penalties on Wednesday. Maybe in the training sessions we will practice penalties!"

Ross County co-manager Steven Ferguson: "It says it all about our progress. We're only looking for marginal gains and the fact we've kept a clean sheet down here on the Astroturf is something we've not done for a while."