Watt’s late winner in Paisley ends Motherwell slump

St Mirren 0 – 1 Motherwell Motherwell ended their three game winless run when Tony Watt’s added time winner punished St Mirren’s ill discipline. The striker used his experience to get away from his marker and catch a Lennon Miller free-kick to break hearts in Paisley after Alex Gogic was sent off. Ellery Balcombe’s fine save denied Jair Tavares early on, tipping the shot onto the crossbar. Not long after Aston Oxborough denied Conor McMenamin with an almost identical stop. The keeper denied the Northern Ireland international once again in the second half to ensure a clean sheet for his side. Both sides continued to push but Balcombe was on hand to deny Steve Seddon and Aspostolos Stamatelopoulos before the deadlock was finally broken. Discipline cost of the Saints when Gogic was given his marching orders after his dismissal with just minutes to go. The result means Motherwell open up a four point gap on the home side, sitting in fifth and seventh respectively. Attendance: 6,111 Line-ups: St Mirren: E. Balcombe, R. Taylor, A. Gogic, M. Fraser, S. Tanser, M. O’Hara, K. Phillips, E. Bwomono (J. Ayunga 84′), G. Kiltie (R. Idowu 67′), T. Olusanya (M. Mandron 68′), C. McMenamin Substitutes: J. Ayunga, C. Boyd-Munce, A. Iacovitti, R. Idowu, D. John, M. Mandron, E. Mooney, O. Smyth, P. Urminsky Motherwell: A. Oxborough, S. Blaney, L. Gordon, D. Casey, S. Seddon, E. Wilson (H. Paton), A. Halliday (S. Nicholson 83′), Jair Tavares (M. Kaleta 77′), L. Miller, A. Stamatelopoulos (M. Ebiye ’77), T. Watt Substitutes: K. Balmer, E. Ebiye, K. Hegyi, M. Kaleta, T. Maswanhise, S. Nicholson, S. O’Donnell, H. Paton, D. Zdravkoski

Killie added time penalty salvages point against Dundee United

Dundee United 1 – 1 Kilmarnock Kilmarnock’s struggles continued as they were held to a draw in Dundee, meaning they are now six games without a win. Sam Dalby continued his impressive form to give his side the lead only minutes in after replacement keeper Kieran O’Hara’s save landed at the striker’s feet. Kilmarnock equalised through Anderson’s spot kick in the 95th minute after Richard Odada gave away the penalty. Moult should have grabbed the first but his effort went fractionally wide and Dalby was unlucky to hit the post in the first half before his attacking endeavour was rewarded. Dundee United had a penalty claim denied after O’Hara collided with Dalby. Meanwhile Anderson had a chance for the visitors earlier in the game but his went straight into Jack Walton’s arms. Dundee United’s impressive season continues as they maintained their fourth place despite their status as the league’s promoted side. Attendance: 8,402 Line-ups: Dundee United: J. Walton, K. Holt, D. Gallagher, E. Adeboyega, W. Ferry, D. Babunski (R. Odada 84′), V. Sevelj, R. Strain, L. Stephenson (M. Thomson 95′), R. Strain, L. Moult (J. van der Sande 87′), S, Dalby Substitutes: K. Fotheringham, R. Graham, G. Middleton, R. Odada, D. Richards, O. Stirton, M. Thomson, M. Ubochioma, J. van der Sande Kilmarnock: R. McCrorie (K. O’Hara 60′), R. Deas (G. Mackay-Steven 87′), J. Wright, L. Mayo, F. Murray, C. Ndaba, L. Polworth (K. Magennis 87′), D. Armstrong (B. Wales 67′), B. Lyones, B. Anderson, K. Vassell (M. Watkins 87′) Substitutes: O. Bainbridge, J. Burroughs, G. Mackay-Steven, K. Magennis, R. Magennis, K. O’Hara, D. Watson, B. Wales, M. Watkins  

St Johnstone draw extends Dons’ winless run to five

Aberdeen 1 – 1 St Johnstone Leighton Clarkson rescued a point as Aberdeen’s draw with St Johnstone saw them cede further ground to Celtic. St Johnstone raced to an early lead through Makenzie Kirk’s opener just five minutes in before Clarkson ensured the spoils were shared. The visitors impressed in difficult conditions, Adama Sidibeh denied a winner by an excellent Nicky Devlin block. Jimmy Thelin’s men have struggled in recent weeks and had few chances on the night. Substitute Duk providing the assist but unable to drive his side to the three points. Aberdeen are now winless in their past five games and with two games in hand, Rangers could narrow the five point gap between the sides. Attendance: 15,880 Line-ups: Aberdeen: R. Doohan, J. McGarry (N.Devlin 46′), G. Molloy, S. Rubezic, J. Milne (T. Keskinen 71′), S. Heltne Nilsen (A. Palaversa 46′), J. McGrath, L. Clarkson, S. Morris (Duk 46′), K. Nisbet (V. Besuijen 77′) Substitutes: P. Ambrose, V. Besuijen, N. Devlin, Duk, T. Keskinen, A. MacDonald, A. Palaversa, T. Ritchie, E. Sokler St Johnstone: J. Rae, D. Wright, K. Cameron, J. Sanders, L. Neilson, J. Holt, S. Sprangle, M. Smith (A. Sidibeh 63′), B. Kimpioka, N. Clark, M. Kirk (G. Carey 88′) Substitute: G. Carey, A. Essel, F. Franczak, D. Keltjens, M. Kucheriavyi, J. McPake, A. Sidibeh, R. Sinclair

Shankland’s Dundee double lifts Hearts off bottom of the table

Hearts 2 – 0 Dundee Lawrence Shankland ended his goalless drought to help his side to strong win over Dundee. Two and half months after his last goal, the Hearts captain’s header arced over a static Jon McCracken and doubled his tally just ten minutes later. Musa Drammeh had a chance of his own by he could only send Blair Spittal’s cross wide in the first half. Dundee’s Oluwaseun Adewumi could not build on his impressive midweek outing against Motherwell, sending one of his side’s few opportunities sky high. Antonio Portales also unable to find the target with his header. McCracken was granted a get out of jail free card when his mishit clearance fell into the path of Drammeh, but was ruled marginally offside. Attendance: 18,737 Line-ups: Hearts: C. Gordon, J. Penrice, K. Rowles, C. Halkett, D. Oyegoke, M. Boateng, C. Devlin, B. Spittal (K. Vargas 76′), L. Shankland, M. Drammeh (J. Grant 76′), J. Wilson (A. Forrest 67′) Substitutes: Z. Clark, Y. Dhanda, A. Forrest, A. Forrester, J. Grant, Y. Oda, A. Salazar, M. Tait, K. Vargas Dundee: J. McCracken, B. Koumetio, A. Portales, R. Astley, F. Robertson (E. Ingram 46′), M. Sylla, J. McGhee, J. Mulligan (J. Vetro 84′), O. Adewumi (S. Murray  46′), L. Cameron, S. Palmer-Houlden (S. Tiffoney 61′) Substitutes: S. Braybrooke, T. Carson, E. Ingram, S. Kelly, C. Main, S. Murray, H. Sharp, S. Tiffoney, J. Vetro

Celtic dispatch Hibs to stretch points gap to nine

Celtic 3 – 0 Hibernian Celtic continued their undefeated league streak with a 3-0 win over an improved Hibernian side, moving nine points clear at the top of the table. Arne Engels met Alistair Johnson’s low cross to open the scoring after just six minutes. The hosts put the game to bed in the second half thanks to a Joe Newell own goal from a Luke McCowan corner before Kyogo Furuhashi’s deft chip sealed the three points. It could have been more Luke McGowan hitting the crossbar soon after the opener with Adam Idah guilty of not putting away an clear-cut chance. Hibernian’s had their chances, Newell blasting a good opportunity over the bar before Kasper Schmeichel denied Mykola Kukharevych in a one on one. The result leaves Hibs at the bottom of the table after Hearts defeated Dundee. Line-ups: Celtic: K. Schmeichel, G. Taylor, L. Scales, A. Trusty, A. Johnston, A. Engels (R. Hatate 73′), C. McGregor, L. McCowan (Paulo Bernardo 73′), D. Maeda (Yang Hyun-Jun 67′), A. Idah (K. Furuhashi 67′), N. Kuhn (J. Forrest 46′) Substitutes: C. Carter-Vickers, J. Forrest, K. Furuhashi, Paulo Bernardo, R. Hatate, A. Ralston, V. Sinisalo, Alex Valle, Yang Hyun-Jun Hibernian: J. Smith, J. Iredale, R. Bushiri, W. O’Hora, J. Obita, L. Miller (C. Cadden 83′), J. Newell (D. Gayle 82′), N. Triantis, E. Youan (J. Hoilett 82′), M. Kuharevich (J. Campbell 27′) Substitutes: M. Boyle, J. Bursik, C. Cadden, J. Campbell, J. Doyle-Hayes, D. Gayle, J. Hoilett, D. Levitt, N. Moriah-Welsh

Fluid Falkirk down Rovers

Falkirk turned in a dominant performance against a lacklustre Raith Rovers to move eight points clear at the top of the Scottish Championship. Alfredo Agyeman’s poked double and a Keelan Adams’ header made it five wins from their last six in what John McGlynn described as a ‘professional job’ from his side. The home side were not short on chances either, Calvin Miller and Ross MacIver unable to add to the goals. Raith struggled under the intensity of the press, guilty of losing possession in the final third as Jack Hamilton struggled to get the better of his opposing defenders. Injuries did not help either as captain Scott Brown and Fankaty Dalbo went off before half-time with Falkirk losing Gary Oliver just fifteen minutes in. Intensity from the off was the name of the game for the hosts as they continued to cause Raith no end of trouble down the left hand side, Ethan Ross and Sean Mackie repeatedly combining to create chances. Whilst they failed to add another in the first-half, they looked comfortable in possession and far more likely to add a second than to concede. Alfredo Agyeman, coming off the back of a Man of the Match performance against East Kilbride, made sure they did just that. The winger was electric as part of an attacking front line that interchanged with ease to drag the Rovers’ defenders out of position. After Adams had put the game to bed, Raith struggled to create any meaningful opportunities despite the efforts of substitute Korede Adedoyin. Now sat in eighth, they will look to bounce back in the upcoming derby against Dunfermline. Falkirk rotations deliver Like the T-1000, John McGlynn’s side seem to be able to take a variety of forms in attack. Agyeman is just one example of the way players are able to slot in and out of ‘an exciting team’ whilst maintaining their league leading standards. Ethan Ross and Calvin Miller were not able to grab goals themselves but they tired the Raith Rovers defence out to no end. The manager was equally pleased by the way the side performed despite losing Oliver so early on, with Ross MacIver putting in a strong showing on the night. It is far too early to tell who will top the table come the end of the season but off the back of tonight’s performance, Falkirk could certainly mix it with plenty of Premiership sides. Rovers fail to find spark A repeat of their victory over Falkirk in September was always going to be a tough ask for the visitors but they will come away thinking they could have had a better crack at it. Left in possession in their own half, Raith were unable to match the creativity of their opponents, Jack Hamilton comfortably dealt with my the defence. More worrying yet was the failure to take advantage of their set-pieces, a much needed outlet for goals when coming up against dominant sides. Losing two players early certainly didn’t help but by that point they had already gone a goal down and looking less threatening by the minute. Whilst they are teetering above the relegation play-off place, they are also level on points with three other sides and a win next week could see them shoot up to sixth. Attendance: 6,248 Line-Ups: Falkirk: N. Hogarth, S. Mackie, L. Henderson, L. Graham, K. Adams, A. Nesbitt (M.McKenna 81′), B. Spencer, E. Ross (C. Morrison 73′), C. Miller (F. Yeats 73′), A. Agyeman, G. Oliver (R. MacIver 15′) Substitutes: C. Donaldson, O. Hayward, R. MacIver, F. McCafferty, L. McCann, M. McKenna, C. Morrison, F. Yeats Raith Rovers: M. Dabrowski, L. Dick, E. Murray, P. Hanlon, S. Dabo (L. Stevenson 28′), R. Matthews, S. Brown (K. Montagu 24′), L. Gibson (J. Mullin 46′), S. Stanton (L. Jamieson ’67), D. Easton, J. Hamilton (K. David 67′) Substitutes: S. Byrne, K. David, C. Fordyce, L. Jamieson, A. McNeil, K. Montagu, J. Mullin, F. Pollock, L. Stevenson Referee: Graham Grainger