Ross County opened their Betfred Cup campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win against Elgin City at Victoria Park.
The Staggies dominated their League 2 opponents but had to wait until the second half to get the goals which secured victory.
The Elgin goal was leading a charmed existence following sustained pressure from Ross County in the opening 15 minutes with the trickery of Michael Gardyne causing the Black and Whites backline with Declan McManus going close with a header before Gardyne saw his shot saved by Kyle Gourlay in the visitors’ goal.
For all County’s pressure, however, Elgin remained a threat on the break and from one corner Darryl McHardy had a great chance to open the scoring but the defender headed over from close range.
County continue to press for an opener and Gourlay saved a McManus header before Jamie Lindsay struck the post for the home side but Elgin reached the break without conceding.
That all changed on the hour mark, however, as the home side’s pressure finally paid off.
McManus got the all-important goal, but it was his captain Marcus Fraser who created it, driving past a couple of defenders before picking out his team-mate to score.
County put the game beyond Elgin with seven minutes remaining when substitute Josh Mullin fired past Gourlay after Elgin had failed to clear the danger in the penalty area.