Airdrie’s highland heroes put in a performance to remember as they smashed four past Ross County to leapfrog the Staggies into ninth place in the Championship table.

Following a free weekend, Aaron Taylor-Sinclair’s Diamonds made the long trip north refreshed, revitalised, and ultimately rampant as four different scorers found the net in the club’s biggest league win of the season.

There were three changes to the starting line-up which lost at Raith Rovers a fortnight ago, Lewis Strapp, Craig Ross and Dom Thomas returning in place of Sean McGinty, Scott Constable and Jake Hastie.

With both sides desperate for a result as they bid to avoid the drop to League 1, a cagey encounter could have been expected – but that lasted only five minutes as Strapp marked his return with an early goal, following in to head home after Jamie Barjonas had twisted to get away an audacious shot which Trevor Carson could only touch on to the post.

Barjonas almost got a second assist three minutes later, but his teasing cross just evaded Charlie McArthur.

Stuart Kettlewell’s side showed their threat on 14 minutes, Kieran Phillips rising to meet a cross from the right, but the striker headed narrowly wide.

Airdrie punished the miss with another goal of their own, Chris Mochrie controlling after Declan Gallagher had blocked Strapp’s cross, then passing the ball through the legs of the former Scotland international and into the back of the net.

An attacking spell for the hosts followed, but Harry Stone was confidently taking cross balls and free-kicks while McArthur and Craig Ross defended everything on the ground with gusto.

Jay Henderson saw a 36th-minute free-kick delivery headed just wide by Gallagher, before namesake Euan drew a superb save from Carson at the other end after linking with Mochrie.

Carson was in action again three minutes later, diving to keep out Cole McKinnon’s header, but the keeper was powerless when the ball broke back to the Diamonds midfielder who drilled home a low angled shot to make it 3-0.

The home side threw everything forward in an attempt to reduce the deficit before half time, but apart from a late Phillips strike which flew past the post, the visiting defence stood up to everything the Staggies threw at them.

The half-time introduction of Len O’Sullivan, Jayden Carbon and Uche Ikpeazu swung the attacking possession in Ross County’s favour, but again Airdrie were able to frustrate their hosts with some heroic defending.

The lively Carbon was first to be foiled as McKinnon got back to dispossess the midfielder on 49 minutes, and the Diamonds somehow forced a close-range header wide of the post on the hour-mark.

Two minutes later Connor Randall did ripple Airdrie’s net after a one-two with Phillips, but the defender was clearly offside as he received the pass and the goal was chalked off.

Head knocks to Barjonas and Strapp did nothing to weaken the Diamonds’ resolve, and Stone continued to pluck high balls effortlessly out of the air as the home side quickly ran out of ideas.

Off-target efforts from Phillips and Ikpeazu ended the hosts’ control of the second half, and the game opened up once again, Charlie Telfer seeing a shot charged down after substitute Gavin Gallagher had surged forward.

Telfer was on the end of a poor Jamie Lindsay challenge for which the midfielder only received a caution before being immediately substituted.

County sub James Scott saw a looping header land on the roof of the net on 78 minutes before Diamonds defender Adam Devine showed him how to finish, bursting into the box to get on the end of a defence-splitting Telfer pass and stroking the ball into the net for his second goal in as many matches.

There was work for Stone to do to keep his clean sheet as the keeper got down to claw away a late Ikpeazu strike, and Henderson sent a 20-yard free-kick inches over the bar with the final attempt of a thrilling match.

The result takes Airdrie two points clear of today’s opponents with a game in hand – and with four teams clustered just six points ahead, the Diamonds will be hoping for some more positive results in the weeks ahead.