CONNOR SAMMON, having proven his worth on both sides of the border as well as on international fields, might easily be closed to new ideas and firmly set in his ways.

At the age of 30, though, the on-loan Hearts striker adheres to the ethos you are never too old to learn.

Playing and training alongside Kris Boyd, the Dubliner will tell you, is a bit like being back in the classroom. In short trousers on Saturday, Sammon certainly mimicked his prodigious strike partner with a keen streak of opportunism for the opening goal.

It fell to Boyd himself to mirror those instincts with the Dingwall winner five minutes from time, grasping a victory of immense value and importance to Killie's survival chances.

Sammon isn't the first and won't be the last to extol the virtues of the record-breaking former Rangers and Scotland goalscorer but conveyed his admiration almost in wide-eyed fashion.

"Boydy is someone I've long admired," Sammon said. "When I had my first spell at Kilmarnock, he had been at the club previously and was already spoken off as a legend. His record is incredible.

"It's nice to see that day-in, day-out on the training ground. He is very clever and all it takes for him is one little sniff, as we saw today. I'm enjoying playing alongside him and learning and picking up things off him as well.

"He's a focal point and a real target for us to play off and, for me, in a supporting role, I knew I could gamble on making runs knowing he has that presence, the clever touches and the little flick-ons. Long may it continue."

Sammon refused to look much beyond next weekend's clash with Partick Thistle despite an obvious temptation to look upwards towards the last genuinely available top six place.

"This is a big result for us, with it being so tight in the league and with so many teams fighting it out," he admitted. "We knew it would be a tough and tricky game but, going in at nil-nil at half-time, we knew we had a chance.

"Getting the quick goal in the second half was nice and then to nick it late on was brilliant as well.

"We are taking it one game at a time because it's easy to get ahead of yourself. The older you get and the more experienced you know you just need to keep your feet on the ground."

Boyd's broader scoring exploits are well-documented but this was his seventh goal in 10 outings against the Staggies - all in Kilmarnock colours - and as damaging a body-blow as he has inflicted on the Dingwall club.

A player often derided for a lack of work-rate in his younger years could already have been satisfied with an industrious performance before the 85th minute winner, tucked away in typical cool, calm fashion.

There must have been a powerful sense of déjà vu for Jim McIntyre and everyone else of a Ross County persuasion, less through Boyd's contribution than in the manner of defeat.

How often this season have the Dingwall team sustained an initial body-blow and then bounced back, only to succumb to a classic sucker-punch?

The pattern and scoreline certainly mirrored home defeats to St Johnstone and Motherwell so far in 2017, while Aberdeen, in the Scottish Cup, also struck late in Dingwall to inflict defeat.

What frustrates the fans and management more than anything is the unfulfilled potential evident in the ranks.

County are almost making an art form of peppering opponents' penalty boxes without proportionate return before committing costly defensive lapses.

The hosts' ranks were weakened through injuries to influential Andrew Davies and fellow defender Jay McEveley. County were then hit by a fresh setback when goalkeeper Scott Fox pulled up with a hamstring injury, while midfielder Martin Woods broke down before the half hour mark.

What unfolded was an often tousy match, where County rued a succession of missed chances before disaster struck early in the second half.

Killie won a throw on the right and Kris Boyd's head-flick caught the home defence napping, before Sammon pounced with a left foot shot into replacement keeper Aaron McCarey's right hand corner.

County were back level after 58 minutes as Liam Boyce hit his 15th goal of the season with a low strike from just inside the 18-yard line.

The Dingwall men retained the upper hand with another Schalk shot tipped over spectacularly by Woodman before Kenny Van der Weg's volley rattled off the top of the bar.

It was that kind of day for County and disaster lay just around the corner.

Boyd, claiming his 201st top flight goal in Scotland, latched onto a Longstaff ball missed by Quinn and tucked away the chance with typical calm.

Ross County's Boyce, recalled by Northern Ireland for the World Cup qualifier against Norway, was unable to celebrate his scoring contribution.

"It was a very frustrating day," the 25-year-old admitted. "I think Kilmarnock came to our ground to sit-in and try to play on our mistakes. They were two bad goals we conceded and it is just so frustrating having dominated the game.

"At times we're over-complicating it when we should keep it simple and there's other times we need to make that extra pass. We're just not making the right decisions at the minute."