Dundee leave with the bragging rights in a tight victory over Dundee United
Dundee defeat Dundee United through a first half strike by Ashley Hay in the Dundee derby. Dundee United had a great early chance but Max Watters blocking his team-mates strike preventing the hosts firing ahead. Keresztes almost had Dundee United ahead, a header from close range but being tipped over by Jon McCracken in goals. Dundee nearly went ahead, a wonderful free-kick into the box by Dhanda but Koumetio flashed his header just wide of goal to keep the match goalless. A very end-to-end start but neither side able to break the deadlock. Both sides looking really lively in the early stages with challenges flying in. Dundee had a major chance to fire ahead, Graham with a ball into the back post which was met by Koumetio who took an extra touch which rattled the side netting. Moments on, Dundee should’ve scored again as Yogane smashed a ball in but Astley who took the shot fired well over. Dundee were awarded a dangerous free-kick just outside the box after a foul on Yogane, Yan Dhanda took the strike on but smashed into the wall which fell to Congreve who fired into the stands. Camara unleashed a strike from distance following a throw-in but his effort fires too high. Sapsford had a chance after 35 mins, a strike from close range which was spilt by McCracken with Watters racing to the ball but McCracken managing to save himself and collect the ball. Ashley Hay was close for Dundee, a strike from distance which flew high and wide despite Congreve being wide and open on the right-hand side. Dundee went ahead late first half, a darting run by Ashley Hay who found himself through on goal which struck it past Dave Richards to put the visitors in front. Into the second half, the home side started to show signs of a goal as Camara from distance took on a strike which was blocked. After brilliant play, Fatah had a chance from the flank but his effort was too high to cause any issues. Despite Dundee United dominating, Dundee were unlucky not to double the advantage, Jones from the edge of the box well stopped with goal-scorer, Hay striking the follow-up but a good stop by Richards. Camara had a massive chance inside the box with his volley being well blocked which was eventually cleared. Luca Stephenson had a fantastic chance, a tame effort from close range which looked to be set to go in but McCracken was down well to deny the ex-Liverpool man. Sapsford shortly later should’ve had the game level, Fatah with a pass into the striker who didn’t unleash first time making it a simple stop for the Dundee number one. Poor play by both Keresztes and Sibbald allowed young Finlay Robertson in but his effort being stopped by Dave Richards in goal which could’ve easily been the nail in the coffin in this game. Dundee regained the bragging rights with after edging past United with a late first-half strike by Ashley Hay for the visitors. A deserved victory in the derby for Dundee as they pick up a valuable three points on their short travel across the road. Dundee United: Richards (6), Esselink (6), Iovu (6), Camara (7), Sapsford (6), Ferry (6), Sibbald (5), Fatah (7), Stephenson (7), Keresztes (7), Watters (7). Substitutes: Graham (6), Trapanovski (6), Stirton (6), Dolcek (6). Dundee: McCracken (7), Astley (7), Koumetio(7), Wright (7), Hay (9), Yogane (8), Congreve (7), Dhanda (8), Graham (7), Jones (7), Hamilton (7). Substitutes: F. Robertson (7), Samuels (6), Digby (6).
St Johnstone vs Arbroath – Match Preview
St Johnstone and Arbroath go head-to-head this weekend in a huge encounter at the top of the Scottish Championship. These sides have met twice already this campaign. St Johnstone won the first encounter 3-0 at McDiarmid Park. Jack Baird, Jason Holt and Stephen Mallan got the goals for the hosts. However, in the most recent meeting, Arbroath won 3-1. Joshua McPake scored for the visitors inside 5 minutes, but Arbroath scored 3 goals in 11 minutes to secure the 3 points. Findlay Marshall scored a brace and Gavin Reilly also got on the scoresheet for Colin Hamilton’s side. St Johnstone come into this fixture off the back of a disappointing 0-0 draw against Ross County in Dingwall, who currently sit bottom of the league. Despite dropping 2 points, Partick Thistle and Arbroath both drew as well, so the Perth outfit remain 5 points clear at the top of the Scottish Championship. In their last outing, Arbroath drew 1-1 at home to Airdrieonians, who sit second bottom. Arbroath broke the deadlock on 66 minutes through Arran Pettifer, but after being reduced to 10-men after Jack Wilkie was sent off with 10 minutes of normal time to go, Lewis Strapp found the equaliser for the visitors. Neither side above Arbroath have gained any ground on them, so as a result, Colin Hamilton’s side remain 4 points behind Partick Thistle in 2nd and 9 points behind their opponents for this weekend St Johnstone. The hosts for this weekend have scored the most goals so far in the Scottish Championship, by a healthy margin. Simo Valakari’s side have found the net 42 times, 12 more than Patrick Thistle who have scored the second most. Arbroath sit 15 behind on 27 goals scored. In terms of goals conceded, St Johnstone have conceded the fewest with 17. The Red Lichties have conceded 24 thus far. St Johnstone forward Joshua McPake is leading the way in terms of goals in the Scottish Championship. The 24-year-old Scotsman has 13 goals in only 19 games and has also provided 2 assists. Arbroath’s top scores so far this campaign is on loan midfielder Findlay Marshall. The 19-year-old Scotsman has made a massive impact in a short period of time. In the league, Marshall has 8 goals and has also provided 2 assists. Jason Holt’s reaction to St Johnston’s draw against Ross County: “We showed a different side to ourselves. It felt like we weren’t as free-flowing or smooth as in previous weeks, but we do need to show different sides to ourselves because no game in this league is going to be the same. “There are times you need to battle and earn the right to play first, which was probably the case on Saturday. “It was a tough game and I thought Ross County battled well. In the second half, I felt we were more in the ascendency and controlled larger spells of the game. “We had a few good chances that, on another day, we could have scored. We’re disappointed not to win the game but, when you strip it back, it could be an important point for us.”
Nancy urges patience amid growing pressure
Wilfried Nancy has indicated that he will need to be given the appropriate time to flourish during recent press conference. Nancy has gotten off to an abysmal start as Celtic boss with only two wins to his name after seven matches, but the Frenchman insists that he has been judged far too quickly. And with another defeat to Motherwell on Tuesday evening, the pressure is building rapidly, and supporters will be quick to express their emotions if they fail to get anything from this weekend’s Old Firm derby. Today, during Nancy’s press conference, which lasted an astonishing 25 minutes, he was clear that the criticism has come thick and fast, but believes there is more to come from his side. He said: “Give me time and you’re going to see what I do. You can already see what I did before because I didn’t start yesterday. I’m going to be a liar if I say, everything is happy, everything is good. No, it’s not the case, but I knew that before. “That’s why I’m calm during all the questions you ask me. I’m not pleased to hear people don’t like me, but they have the right to say it because in terms of results, this is not what we want. Tomorrow is a big game. But the context is that I’ve only had 13 training sessions with my team. Usually, we have four weeks of pre-season. “It’s totally normal that you guys kill me, I’m fine with that because I know where I want to go. Judge me in a few weeks or months. If you want to judge me now, you can do it. I didn’t have the results we wanted; it’s a fact, I cannot deny that.” Nancy’s appointment was made with a long-term plan, but the early weeks of his reign have been far from good enough. He expresses that the lack of time on the training ground has had an impact on how he implements his ideas to the squad. But the visit of rivals Rangers, now feels a must win, and Nancy will know that if he can snatch anything from this fixture it would offer some sort of confidence to himself and the team, while on the other hand a defeat would only add to the pressure on his position.
Dundee sign exciting youngster
Dundee Football Club have completed the signing of 21-year-old forward Joe Bevan, who joins The Dark Blues on a two-and-a-half-year deal from English top flight outfit Burnley. The transfer is subject to international clearance. Joe, who will wear the number 27, has previous experience playing in Scotland. The exciting prospect started his career with Kilsyth Athletic and Camelon Juniors, before going on to sign for Albion Rovers, where he spent two seasons. Following his time in Scotland, Joe joined English side Burnley after a successful trial in January 2024, one year later, the Scotsman remained in England, signing for Carlisle United on loan, where he made 14 appearances. Joe has spent the first half of the 2025/26 campaign playing for the Burnley U21s, where he made 11 appearances and scored 4 goals. Steven Pressley on the signing: “There was a lot of interest in Joe, we had to move quickly to secure him. He’s a player with real high potential, and we feel he has a big future ahead of him. We’re very pleased to have him join the squad, and to work on his development.”
Dundee United vs Dundee Match Preview
The Dundee Derby returns this weekend as Jim Goodwin’s inform Dundee United side take on Steven Pressley’s Dundee side who come into this fixture off the back of back-to-back league wins at Dens Park. The last meeting between these sides came in late August this year at Dens Park, where United won 2-0. Summer signings Sapsford and Dolcek scored the goals to give the visitors all 3 points. Results have been very even in the past 7 meetings, 3 have ended in a draw, Dundee have won 2 and so have Dundee United. Dundee United come into the fixture off the back of a 3-1 win away against bottom of the league Livingston, which now means that they are currently on a run of 5 games unbeaten, 3 draws and 2 wins, which started with a 0-0 draw against high-flying Motherwell, then a 2-1 win against the champions Celtic, a 1-1 draw against David Gray’s Hibernian, a 1-1 draw against Aberdeen at Pittodrie, and that 3-1 win in Livingston in their last outing. As a result, The Tangerines now sit in 6th place, above Aberdeen in 7th on goal difference, who lost 2-0 at Easter Road in their last outing, and 1 points above Falkirk in 8th, who lost 1-0 at Dens Park in their last match, albeit having played a game more than both. Dundee come into this fixture off the back of back-to-back league wins for the first time under Steven Pressley and for the first time since March 2024, where they beat Aberdeen at Dens Park then went on to beat St Johnstone in Perth. The Dees now sit in 9th position, 1 point ahead of St Mirren in 10th, albeit having played 2 games more, and 6 points ahead of Kilmarnock in 11th. Should Dundee beat Dundee United this weekend, they would move only 3 points behind their city rivals. However, it will be far from easy based on their away form. The Dark Blues have only picked up 3 points on the road this campaign, 3 draws and 7 losses, which is the worst record of any team thus far. Both sides have only kept 3 clean sheets in 20 matches in the league so far, only Livingston have less with 1 in 19. In terms of goals scored in the league, Dundee United have found the net on 28 occasions, whilst Dundee have only found the net 18 times. Only St Mirren, who have scored 16, have scored fewer thus far. Jim Goodwin on Dundee United’s display against Livingston: “I’m delighted with the overall performance. “The result was the most important thing, but from start to finish we were pretty seamless. “Going in at half-time with just a one-goal advantage was disappointing given the dominance we had in the opening period. “This was the first time we’ve started really quickly and kept that performance going for 90 minutes. “That’s the bar that we have to set now. We have to follow that performance up with another really important performance on Saturday. “We know what Saturday means to the supporters.” Steven Pressley’s on Dundee’s win against Kilmarnock: “We played so well in the first half and went in 1-0 down. I said to them in the dressing room ‘there can be no hard luck stories tonight, we need to make sure we get what we deserve from the game’. They reacted brilliantly. “There’s been so much growth in them recently. We had a really good result against Falkirk and coming into this game, I stressed we hadn’t recorded back-to-back victories in 20 months. “We’re nowhere near where we need to be. We’re progressing, showing some positive signs, but football can change so quickly. But tonight was a really significant for us, a monkey off the back with the 20 months, and the players can take a great deal of confidence.”
Rangers sign off 2025 with narrow 2-1 win over St Mirren
Rangers finish the calendar year of strongly with a first win over St Mirren in over a year and leave themselves inside touching distance between league leaders Hearts and rivals Celtic. Rangers started strong, showing intensity and energy all over the pitch, and their hard work paid off as Jayden Meghoma and James Tavernier played a sharp move giving Meghoma space to perform a terrific cross which found Thelo Aasgaard and allowed him to head home. Mikey Moore almost doubled the lead before half-time, but Shamal George was alert enough to tip it onto the crossbar. Just after the interval, the League Cup winners almost equalised, a slip from John Souttar put Jack Butland right into action with Mikael Mandron’s effort being denied. Moments later, an inviting cross from Youssef Chermiti found Emmanuel Fernandez lurking at the back post to put it through George’s legs and into the back of the net. A comfortable evening for Danny Rohl’s side evaporated quickly, a VAR call for handball against Emmanuel Fernandez saw referee Ryan Lee point to the spot, but Marcus Fraser’s dull spot-kick was saved easily by Butland. But this wasn’t the end for the visitors, in the 82nd minute, the Buddies scored after Butland parried Miguel Freckleton’s effort into the path of Mandron. The late goal brought St Mirren right back into the match, but it was too little too late. And with many chances not taken, Steven Robinson’s side will disappointed not to take more away from Ibrox on this occasion, but going into the 2026 calendar year with a League Cup in the trophy cabinet I don’t think too many fans will be too ruthless about this one. For Danny Rohl, his biggest test awaits, as he visits CelticPark in a match that means so much in this crazy title race. Rohl, said: “Our belief is there. When we look at the moment, except from the 2-1 defeat, we took a lot of points. We had some great performances; we had also some performances where not everything was good. Now we go with confidence. It’s a huge game, but we are prepared for this. I think this is what we want to see. “In this game it’s important that we are strong. I think it’s important that refs are strong in this game as well. If we do this, we will have a fantastic game.” As the season enters a vital stage, Rohl will know that margin for error is small, but with recent results going in the right direction progress in this title race remains alive. Rangers: Butland 8, Tavernier 6, Souttar 6 (Nsiala 79, 3) Fernandez 7, Meghoma 6, Raskin 7, Diomande 7 (Curtis 91, 1) Aasgaard 7 (Barron 68, 4), Moore 7 (Aarons 68, 3) Gassama 6, Chermiti 7 (Danilo 79, 2) St Mirren: George 4, Richardson 5, King 5, Fraser 4, Freckleton 6, John 5, Gogic 5, Phillips 5 (Donnelly 87, 1) Idowu 3 (McMenamin 57, 5) Mandron 7 (Mooney 87, 1) Ayunga 3 (Nlundulu 37, 4).
Arsenal vs Aston Villa Match Preview
Arsenal will look to get revenge on Aston Villa when they come to the Emirates on Tuesday night. The last time these two sides met was early this month, when Aston Villa won 2-1 courtesy of a stoppage time winner from Emiliano Buendia. The last meeting between these sides in North London finished 2-2. Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz scored to put The Gunners 2-0 up, but two quick-fire goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins gave Aston Villa a point. In their last outing Arsenal beat Brighton 2-1 in North London, courtesy of a goal from their skipper Ødegaard and an own goal from Rutter. Brighton did pull a goal back in the 64th minute, but in the end, it was only a consolation. The Gunners remain top after 18 matches, but both Manchester City and Aston Villa are breathing down their necks. Manchester City sit 2 points behind in 2nd and Aston Villa only sit 3 points behind in 3rd. Aston Villa beat Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in their last outing to extend their impressive winning run to 11. Joao Pedro gave Chelsea the lead on 37 minutes, in a half which they dominated, however, in the second period, Unai Emery’s side turned the game around. Ollie Watkins equalised in the 64th minute and scored again in the 84th minute to give Unai Emery’s side all 3 points. As per @HandofArsenal, a reliable ITK, German forward Kai Havertz has been included in the Arsenal squad to face Aston Villa tonight, a decision will be made soon on his selection for the official match day team sheet. In continuation, English defender Ben White has an ‘outside chance’ of making the squad. Polish defender Matty Cash and French midfielder Boubacar Kamara will be unavailable for selection for Aston Villa as both are suspended. Arsenal have kept the most clean sheets in the league so far this season (9), while Aston Villa rank 9th (5). Arsenal have scored the 2nd most goals so far on 33, 10 behind Manchester City, while Aston Villa sit in 6th on 5. Arsenal have won 13 and drawn 2 of their last 15 matches at the Emirates Stadium. In that time, Mikel Arteta’s side have scored 35 goals and kept 9 clean sheets. Despite that, Aston Villa have been impressive on the road in the league so far. Unai Emery’s side have won 5, drawn 2 and lost 2 of their 9 games so far. Mikel Arteta on Aston Villa: “We have a really tough match. We know their level, what they are doing, but it’s a beautiful game as well to prepare and play. “They merit to be there. Look at what they are doing and how consistent they’ve been, and what Unai has done with the club. I think they fully deserve that credit because they are doing it on the pitch where you have to show your level.” Unai Emery on Arsenal: “They signed players last summer to have two players in each position,” he stated. “They are playing and competing fantastic; they have been so, so strong at everything. How they are building the team, each year they are getting stronger and stronger. It is the biggest test we are going to face this season.”
Scott Arfield could be set for the exit door as the Falkirk hero searches for game time
Falkirk midfielder, Scott Arfield may be on the verge of departing his boyhood club as the Falkirk man is in demand of extra playing time Arfield joined the Bairns back in February, helping guide his side back to the Premiership for the first time in 15 years. Scott was certainly a key player in the Championship last season, making 13 appearances where he netting on nine occasions which they went on to clinch the title following a 3-1 victory in a dramatic last game of the season against at the time, already relegated Hamilton which forced Livingston into a play-offs spot. The ex-Burnley man has only started four times in the top flight in the opening 19 games for John McGlynn’s side as the Falkirk star searches for more game time with a move becoming a real possibility. Arfield began his career in 2008 at Falkirk where he became a big player, being a regular starter before making a move down south to Huddersfield in 2010 after the Bairns were demoted to the Championship with a goalless draw with Kilmarnock sealing their fate. The midfielder spent three years with Huddersfield where he then went on to join Burnley. The ex-Huddersfield man has a short trial with the Lancashire side, impressing in a 3-0 victory over Cork City. Scott scored 9 goals within 49 appearances where he soon went on to secure promotion to the English Premier League in 2014. The Falkirk born man scored on his Premier League debut in a fascinating clash with Chelsea. Four years on, Arfield made his return to Scotland, joining Rangers. Arfield made his European debut in 2018 against FK Shkupi before making his league debut against Aberdeen. During his five-year stint in Govan, Arfield made over 200 appearances for the Ibrox outfit, netting 43 goals along the way. Scott Arfield then went to have a short spell in the USA with Charlotte before having one year at Bolton before making his return to Falkirk where Arfield was eager to make up for their relegation 15-years-ago in which they were successful, gaining promotion back to the top flight.
Derek Johnstone calls for greater intensity from Rangers during half time draw
Former Rangers legend Derek Johnstone demonstrated an astonishing rant on the Rangers squad after recent below par performances Rangers have been poor for majority of the campaign so far, sitting nine points behind league leaders Hearts. Danny Rohl, the successor of former boss Russel Martin, seems to be getting results domestically, even with the lacklustre performances on show. And with the match between Motherwell and Rangers being level at half time, Derek Johnstone, who was conducting the half-time draw, took the chance to express his and many other Rangers supporters’ emotions at this current time. Johnstone focused on the team’s lack of leadership and effort. He said: “At this club, you have to give everything. I don’t see that happening today.” He also spoke about the lack of fight for one another out on the pitch. Johnstone, who is deemed as one of Rangers most successful strikers, scoring 210 goals in 544 appearances for the club, left a passionate comment that energized the Ibrox crowd. Johnstone said: “No surrender” in an emotional manner to the Gers fans. Rangers won the match, with the only goal coming from Thelo Aasgaard in the 67th minute.
Crystal Palace 0-1 Tottenham: Spurs Manage to Win Against Unlucky Palace to End 2025 on a High
Archie Gray scored his first ever goal as Spurs got a win away at Selhurst Park despite struggling for large parts of the game against Crystal Palace. Palace have two wins and three losses in their last five league games and sit ninth in the table after 17 games. Tottenham have just one win along with a draw and three losses in their last five in the league and sit 14th in the table with 22 points. Palace made four changes to the team that lost on penalties to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup, Walter Benitez, Chris Richards, Jaydee Canvot and Eddie Nketiah were replaced by Dean Henderson, Nathaniel Clyne, Will Hughes and Justin Devenny. Spurs made two changes from the team that lost at home against Liverpool, Cristian Romero and Xavi Simons who were both sent off in that game were replaced by Kevin Danso and Richarlison. The first real incident happened just five minutes in as Jean-Philippe Mateta played through the on-running Devenny who was tripped blatantly by Danso, the Spurs defender was booked and after a VAR review the yellow card was upheld. Palace again pressed forwards as Hughes and Devenny linked well, Devenny’s shot from just inside the box was blocked and fell to Mateta again, but it was stopped by Spurs keeper Gugliemo Vicario. Spurs put the ball into the net after 17 minutes with their first real chance of the game, Mohammad Kudus picks up a slack header and a couple of nice passes between him and Lucas Bergvall they then find Archie Gray whose cross found the head of Richarlison, however Bergvall was found to be offside by VAR and the goal didn’t stand. Palace would then go up the pitch and Adam Wharton would win back possession and played an exquisite pass to Mateta who took a decent shot at goal with the ball stuck under his feet but drifted wide. Another chance came for Oliver Glasner’s team as they won another free kick taken by Yeremy Pino, his cross deep to the back post was headed back across goal by Maxence Lacroix and met by Mateta who headed over from about five yards. As we passed the half hour mark the game was extremely one sided with Crystal Palace holding the majority of the possession, but Tottenham were defending very well. Palace again went close just a minute later as left wing-back Tyrick Mitchell’s cross was met by Devenny, but his header went straight at Vicario. Djed Spence plays a blind pass on the edge of his own box that goes straight to Wharton who is able to hit a curling left foot shot but again it was a fairly easy stop for the goalkeeper. The one-way traffic continued, this time it was Hughes who had a shot go over the bar after more good work down the Palace left from Devenny and Mitchell. Tottenham unbelievably took the lead as they managed to get a corner that was curled into the far post by Pedro Porro, it was knocked back across goal by both Randal Kolo Muani and Richarlison before the vital touch by Gray for his first senior goal to give the visitors the lead. As we hit half time Tottenham had grown into the game more but were undeservedly ahead with that Archie Gray header. Palace should have had a few goals by this point in the game, but they couldn’t find the definitive finishing touch. The early moments of the second half were dominated by Crystal Palace, mirroring long spells of the first half but again the final touch evaded them. Palace’s first shot of the second half came after 55 minutes a cross by Pino was headed by Clyne and his header found Devanny around eight yards from goal who had to hit it on the spin, but his shot flew over the bar. As we passed the hour mark, the trend of the game continued as Palace remained on the ball a lot, having just over 70% of the possession but still looked lost once they reached the Tottenham penalty area. Spurs were just clinging on desperately to their one goal lead. Yet again Crystal Palace go close from a header, a Wharton cross headed back across goal by Jefferson Lerma and Lacroix this time puts it wide as it was almost beyond belief at this point that Palace hadn’t scored. Again, Spurs are able to break up the pitch once and put the ball in the net, a long ball by Porro found Kudus, a one-two with Gray and Kudus plays a wicked outside-of-the-foot cross for Richarlison. However again VAR denies Spurs a goal and the deficit is back to just one. A Wharton corner was met six yards out by Marc Guehi, and he became the latest Palace player to miss the target from a close-range header. Spurs have another flurry up the pitch again a long ball towards Kudus whose lay-off finds Richarlison but his shot is straight at Palace keeper Henderson. A Spurs free kick taken by substitute Joao Palhinha was headed goalwards by another sub Radu Dragusin but it flew over the goal. Spurs again went close as another sub Wilson Odobert hit the post with a powerful shot after good work from Palhinha to win back the ball and get it into Odobert’s path again. Spurs had one last chance late into injury time as Odobert got the ball to substitute Brennan Johnson who cut it back for Rodrigo Bentancur but his powerful shot was saved well by Henderson. The game finished with a 1-0 win for Tottenham in a game they deserved to lose, Palace had the majority of possession and chances, but they couldn’t get enough of their attempts on target and the ones that did hit the target were easy to save. This result took Tottenham up to 11th place as they face another away game as Thomas Frank goes back to his old club Brentford
