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A textbook display of counter attacking football saw Dundee United edge a five-goal thriller away to Ross County.

The Staggies started brightly but their momentum was halted when Nadir Ciftci rounded Mark Brown to net.

Stuart Armstrong did likewise after a flowing United break, then Ciftci curled in a third for what was looking like a comfortable win.

But Yoann Arquin and Darren Maatsen scored either side of a Liam Boyce red card to set up a frantic finale.

It was a frustrating night for County, who tested visiting goalkeeper Radoslaw Cierzniak on a number of occasions, but remain bottom of the Scottish Premiership.

Yet while lax in defence, United showed their class up front, scoring three well-worked goals to climb to second in the table one point behind Celtic.

County had been punished in their previous two games for starting slowly but, after United's Chris Erskine tested keeper Brown with a low shot, the home side were the brighter of the two sides.

Joe Cardle picked out Steven Ross in space inside the box, but his first touch was poor and he could not get a decent shot away.

The league's bottom club were soon punished for their profligacy, though, when United took the lead.

Armstrong burst free on the left and found Erskine, who had matched his run through the middle. Paul Quinn got a foot to his through ball, but only shunted it into the path of the lurking Ciftci, who rounded Brown to score.

Armstrong rattled a shot against Brown's legs before Ross cleared a Ciftci header off the line, while Cierzniak had to gather a Tony Dingwall shot.

County started the second half on the front foot but were 2-0 down within two minutes after a stunning United counter.

Sean Dillon and Erskine combined to find Ciftci, whose backheel found Calum Butcher. He slid a perfectly weighted pass between two defenders, allowing Armstrong to burst past the keeper and roll into the unguarded net.

A third goal followed shortly afterwards after another slick move carved the County defence open.

Butcher won the ball deep and fed Erskine, who flicked a clever pass into the path of Ciftci. The forward stepped across his marker before curling in his second goal.

County did not let their heads drop, though, and Dingwall's stinging shot drew a fine save from Cierzniak.

Reward did finally come when Arquin pounced on John Souttar's misdirected header and drove the ball low past the goalkeeper.

The County substitute stayed on his feet when he could have gone down in the box under a challenge from Cierzniak, and he failed to finish when presented with another decent chance.

Boyce then saw red for a lunge at Paul Paton, but Maatsen kept the game alive when he crashed the ball in off the underside of the bar to reduce the deficit further.

It was a storming finish, and United substitute Gary Mackay-Steven was denied in time added on with a shot from close range.