Aberdeen’s woes continue as Kilmarnock score four
Venue: Rugby Park Date: 26/12/24 Time: 15:00 Aberdeen’s abysmal form continued as Kilmarnock made sure they returned north without a win in seven games. In the face of a difficult season, Kyle Vassell stepped up to open the scoring for the home side, meeting Fraser Murray’s cross but needing a second stab at the ball to get it over the line. David Watson surrounded by three Aberdeen defenders finished a Danny Armstrong cross to deflate Jimmy Thelin’s men. Substitute Innes Cameron put paid to the visitors’ hopes with a deft chip after Murray continued to dazzle for Derek McInes’ side. Bruce Anderson’s finish in added time ensured it would be an even longer trip back to Aberdeen, who should have no qualms about the final score. The signs were there from the off with the Dons looking unrecognisable from the side that had been neck and neck with Celtic just weeks ago, David Watson putting the first big chance of the game wide was the start of an onslaught. Duk made a goal line clearance to prevent Joe Wright from putting Killie ahead. Nicky Devlin had a chance for the visitors but could not put his attempt on target. Bobby Wales continued his breakout season with an impressive performance but his cross late in the first half was unfortunate to not find a target to prod in a second. Dimitar Mitov continued to show why he has been an inspired signing despite the poor run of form, a fantastic save keeping out Murray from distance. The Kilmarnock forward could have scored not long after his first but could not direct his shot goal bound. With three points in their pocket the home side moved to within five points of the play off places. Attendance: 6, 846 Line-ups: Kilmarnock: R. McCrorie, C. Ndaba, J. Wright, L. Mayo, B. Lyons, F. Murray (O. Bainbridge 89′), L. Polworth (K. Magennis 84′), D. Watson, D. Armstrong (L. Donnelly 84′), K. Vassell (c) (B. Anderson 84′), B. Wales (I. Cameron 84′) Substitutes: B. Anderson, O. Bainbridge, J. Burroughs, I. Cameron, L. Donnelly, G. Mackay-Steven, K. Magennis, R. McKenzie, K. O’Hara Aberdeen: D. Mitov, J. MacKenzie, A. MacDonald, S. Rubezic, N. Devlin, G. Shinnie (c) (K. Nisbet 68′), S. Heltne Nilsen (A. Palaversa 61′), T. Keskinen (L. Clarkson 60′), J. McGrath, Duk, P. Ambrose (S. Morris 61′) Substitutes: R. Doohan, J. McGarry, G. Molloy, S. Morris, K. Nisbet, L. Clarkson, A. Palaversa, D. Polvara, E. Sokler Referee: Calum Scott
Celtic hand Motherwell a Boxing Day pummelling
Venue: Celtic Park Date: 26/12/24 Time: 15:00 Motherwell were powerless to prevent a Celtic rout as the Glasgow side ended the day with a twelve point lead at the top of the table. Aston Oxborough was the guilty party as he caught an oncoming Yang Hyun-Jun to gift Celtic a penalty minutes before the first half ended which Arne Engels duly converted to open the scoring. Celtic’s unrelenting pressure continued to pay dividends when Daizen Maeda doubled the home side’s advantage, reaching Liam Scales’ glancing header first with a headed ball of his own. Perhaps more fortunate with their third, Oxborough could do nothing when Nicolas Kuhn’s shot from outside the penalty area was deflected by Kofi Balmer. Reo Hatate added the cherry on top as he mazed past Motherwell’s defenders to fire in the fourth and final goal of the evening. An ever present Maeda came close to breaking the deadlock early on, when he found himself in the path of McGregor’s deflected shot but couldn’t get the beating of Oxborough. Calamity soon followed when the Japanese forward attempted to slot the ball past the keeper but was denied by an outstretched leg as bodies flew in to deal with the follow up, the visitors able to clear their lines. Maeda was once again involved to cut a low ball across to Idah but the striker’s attempt lacked the conviction to give his side the lead. Motherwell came close when Marvin Kaleta’s header from a cross was accidentally saved on the line by his teammate and former Celtic player Tony Watt. Engels was dangerous on set pieces throughout but his free kick in the second half could not dip in time to test the man between the posts. Line-ups: Celtic: K. Schmeichel, G. Taylor (Alex Valle 78′), L. Scales, C. Carter-Vickers, A. Ralston, Paulo Bernardo (R. Hatate 63′), C. McGregor (c), A. Engels (L. McCowan 72′), D. Maeda, A. Idah (K. Furuhashi 63′), Yang Hyun-Jun (N. Kuhn 63′) Substitutes: K. Furuhashi, R. Hatate, N. Kuhn, L. McCowan, L. Palma, V. Sinisalo, A. Trusty, Alex Valle, S. Welsh Motherwell: A. Oxborough, S. Blaney, K. Balmer, D. Casey, E. Wilson, L. Miller (c), H. Paton (S. Nicholson 72′), M. Kaleta (S. O’Donnell 79′), T. Maswanhise (Jair Tavares 79′), T. Sparrow (A. Halliday 63′), T. Watt (A. Stamatelopoulos 63′) Substitutes: M. Ebiye, L. Gordon, A. Halliday, K. Hegyi, S. Nicholson, S. O’Donnell, A. Stamatelopoulos, D. Zdravkovski, Jair Tavares Referee: Ross Hardie
St Mirren Time Strikes Again as Boyd-Munce Scores Late Winner
St Mirren recorded their first league win over Rangers since Christmas Eve in 2011 as Caolan Boyd-Munce struck late to earn his side 3 points on Boxing Day. In Paisley, St Mirren looked to make it three wins on the bounce after back to back wins against St Johnstone and Ross County respectively. Meanwhile Philippe Clement’s Rangers would be eager to continue their fine run of form in their penultimate fixture before the Old Firm derby next Thursday. St Mirren started the game on the front foot. Declan John, fresh off the back of signing a contract extension with the Buddies left James Tavernier in his mist as he darted down the line. His cross, however, was of no trouble to Jack Butland in the Rangers goal. In the 25th minute, it was the home side who created the first clear cut chance. Marcus Fraser whipped in a cross which met the feet of Greg Kiltie. The midfielder controlled it but his shot was blocked by a well-positioned Dujon Sterling. Noticeable frustrations on the pitch for the away side. Vaclav Cerny in particular was not shy in urging his side on. Some resolute defending from Marcus Fraser and Alex Gogic resulted in a quick counter attack and an exquisite pass from Oisin Smyth sent Olusanya through on goal. Leon Balogun looked to have pulled up with what looked like a hamstring injury but managed to recover and clear the danger for his side before being substituted for Dutch defender Robin Pröpper. Jack Butland would be next to fall foul to St Mirren’s quick counter as he wiped out an onrushing Greg Kiltie. Much to the disgruntlement of the home crowd only a yellow was brandished but their side earned a penalty. Oisin Smyth stepped up and calmly slotted past Butland and put his side ahead after half an hour. Tensions toppled over on the sidelines with Rangers boss Philippe Clement receiving a yellow card for voicing his frustrations. Hamza Igamane saw his shot land straight into the arms of Ellery Balcombe and a series of St Mirren corners ended the half with the home side one goal to the good. Half Time: St Mirren 1- 0 Rangers Half time changes by Rangers saw the introduction of Nicolas Raskin and Danilo which ignited the away side. Less than a minute was played before James Tavernier fired a cross along the St Mirren six yard line but there were no takers. The Ibrox side continued to pile on the pressure with Balcombe in the home sides’ goal having to be on high alert but it was not long before they found the equaliser. A succession of corners led to a mix up in the St Mirren box and Danilo managed to squeeze his shot into the goal, levelling the game. Shots from Igamane and Danilo were expertly saved by Balcombe, followed quickly by a rocket from Vaclav Cerny which rattled the outside of the post had the hosts riding a fine line. Robinson looked to his bench and brought on Jonah Ayunga and Alex Iacovitti to try and get his team back into the game as they contained pressure from their visitors. In what seems to be a common theme, St Mirren came to life in the last 10 minutes. A corner of their own whipped in by goalscorer Oisin Smyth almost caught Butland off guard but the stopper will have been glad to see the ball hit the frame of his goal before going behind for a goal kick. 6 minutes of added time followed the introduction of Paisley youngsters Callum Penman and Evan Mooney, who sparked a new lease of life into the home crowd. They roared their side on and in the 93rd minute they reaped their reward. Ayunga hunted the ball down and dispossessed Sterling. The striker made a driving run down the left hand side before squaring the ball to Mooney who had composure beyond his years. Controlling the ball and laying it off perfectly to Caolan Boyd-Munce and the midfielder placed the ball into the bottom left hand corner. The Buddies held on and secure their third win in as many games. Full Time: St Mirren 2- 1 Rangers In a quick turnaround, the Paisley side end 2024 with a home match against Dundee on Sunday and Rangers make the short trip to Fir Park to face Motherwell. Standout Performer: Ellery Balcombe– Every shot thrown at him he was of equal measure and if it wasn’t for some of his lightning quick reactions his side may well have had a mountain to climb as they were put under pressure by their visitors in the 2nd half. The stopper commanded his area well and took the pressure off his back line when needed. Teams: St Mirren: Balcombe (GK), Fraser (C), Taylor, Gogic, John (Penman, 83”), Bwomono (Iacovitti, 63”), Phillips, Smyth, Kiltie (Ayunga, 63”), Idowu (Boyd-Munce, 74”), Olusanya (Mooney, 83”) Rangers: Butland (GK), Tavernier (C), Sterling, Balogun (Pröpper, 19”), Jefte (Yilmaz, 78”), Barron (Raskin, 46”), Diomande, Cerny, Bajrami (Danilo, 46”), Hagi, Igamane (Dessers, 82”) Referee: David Dickinson Attendance: 7175
Retiring Gayle breaks Hearts in Edinburgh derby
Venue: Tynecastle Park Date: 26/12/24 Time: 12:30 Hibernian fans will be begging Dwight Gayle to reconsider his retirement at the end of the season after his derby winner pushed the Leith side to just four points off the play-off places. Using all of his nous, the 35 year old met Nicky Cadden’s fantastic cross with the slightest touch to take the ball past Craig Gordon. A Kye Rowles own goal put Hibs in front after just nine minutes, deflecting Josh Campbell’s header past a helpless Gordon. The visitors looked to have shot themselves in the foot when Rocky Bushiri’s own goal allowed Hearts to draw level against the run of play after the defender mishit his attempt to clear Lawrence Shankland’s header. Despite being under the cosh for large parts of the game, Neil Critchley’s men had opportunities to get themselves on the scoreboard beforehand. Musa Drammeh could not put James Penrice’s cross on target, heading far wide of Jordan Smith’s goal. His next attempt was improved, albeit slightly, hitting the target but failing to trouble the keeper. Aside from the header leading to the goal, Shankland endured a frustrating afternoon, firing a couple of shots straight into Smith’s arms. Hearts were fortunate not to go two when Gordon spilled Nicky Cadden’s low driving shot from outside the box, the home side’s blushes spared by Hibs not having a poacher to profit from the mishap. The Scotland international quickly made amends using almost every part of his body, denying Chris Cadden with his legs and later flinging himself to meet goal bound attempts from Campbell and Elie Youan before his chest kept Cadden out once again. With the defeat Hearts drop back to 11th in the table, just two points off the bottom. Attendance: 18,726 Line-ups: Hearts: C. Gordon, J. Penrice, K. Rowles, C. Halkett (L. Boyce 85′), D. Oyegoke, B. Baningime (M. Boateng 78′), C. Devlin, B. Spittal (Y. Dhanda 70′), L. Shankland (c), M. Drammeh (K. Vargas 79′), J. Wilson Substitutes: M. Boateng, L. Boyce, Z. Clark, Y. Dhanda, A. Forrest, A. Forrester, J. Grant, A. Salazar, K. Vargas Hibs: J. Smith, J. Iredale, R. Bushiri, W. O’Hora (L. Miller 77′), N. Cadden (J. Obita 85′), J. Newell (c), (Kwon Hyeok-Kyu 69′), N. Triantis, C. Cadden, J. Campbell, E. Youan (D. Gayle 68′), M. Boyle Substitutes: L. Amos, J. Bursik, D. Gayle, J. Hoilett, Kwon Hyeok-Kyu, D. Levitt, L. Miller, N. Moriah-Welsh, J. Obita Referee: Nick Walsh