Following their midweek defeat at Ibrox, Rangers bounced back to beat Aberdeen 2-0 in a fairly routine match. The reigning SPL champions maintained their place at the top of the table thanks to goals from Kenny Miller and Vladimir Weiss. With Aberdeen boss Mark McGhee coming under ever increasing pressure as his side continues to struggle to secure positive results, a trip to Ibrox just four days after a crushing defeat to Hibernian was the last thing he would have wanted. And it was no surprise that The Dons were immediately on the back foot.
Keen to bounce back immediately, Rangers pressed Aberdeen from the first whistle and when two up just after half an hour. Miller stooped to direct Weiss’ cross past the stranded Jamie Langfield for the first and then the on-loan Man City winger found himself in the right place to fire home John Fleck’s blocked shot home for the second.
Rangers looked to be cruising and the half time lead could have been more. Steven Whittaker was brought down in the area by Zander Diamond and things started to look really ominous for the visitors. Langfield managed to guess the right direction from the spot kick and that saw Aberdeen to half time just two goals down.
After the break Miller and Weiss were both denied by Langfield as the ‘keeper did everything he could to give his side a chance. Unfortunately for him, none of the ten outfield players looked in the mood to take on Walter Smith’s side. A rare venture up field saw Paul Hartley winning a free kick but Sone Aluko fired well over the target. Gregg Wylde, one of only six substitutes named by the Champions, went closest to grabbing Rangers’ third with fizzing shot but in truth, one would have been enough such was Aberdeen’s complete lack of attacking ambition.
On Sunday, Celtic restored their deficit behind Rangers to just one point thanks to an injury time winner from Gary Hooper. The Bhoys took on St Mirren in Paisley in what was a largely forgettable affair.
Where Rangers were galvanised by their midweek defeat, Celtic were lacklustre and only really got going as time started to run down. A couple of half chances went begging in a first half that was all hustle and bustle with - no end product coming from either side - only for the game to spring to life minutes into the second half. Buddies striker Michael Higdon smashed a drive from 30 yards that Fraser Forster beaten but not the crossbar.
The effort seemed to lift everyone involved in the match and Neil Lennon almost immediately introduced Daryl Murphy. The substitute was soon in on the action, teeing up a header for Hooper that was well saved by the St Mirren ‘keeper. At the other end, Gareth Wardlaw forced a smart save from Forster but for the most part it was Celtic that were pressing for the winner. St Mirren were simply forced to defend resolutely and just as it looked like the job had been completed with a deserved point being earned, Hooper struck. Paddy McCourt darted into the box off the left and teed the ball up to the 22-year-old. His shot effort struck Potter but the ball rolled back to him and he poked it home at the second time of asking to wrap up all three points for the visitors.
Behind the Old Firm, Hearts slipped into third place thanks to a 2-0 win over St Johnstone. Kevin Kyle fired the Jambos in front on 64 minutes when he converted a penalty awarded for a handball by Jamie Adams. The game had been an even contest up until Mike Tumilty pointed to the spot and had Saints taken one of the chances they had created, they could very well have gone on and won the match. Victory was wrapped for Jim Jefferies’ men in injury time when Ryan Stevenson latched onto Calum Elliott’s searching pass and finished with a low drive.
Hearts were able to climb into the European places because their Edinburgh rivals defeated Motherwell at Easter Road. Hibernian, fresh off their 3-0 win at Ibrox, continued their apparent revival by becoming back from a goal down to take all three points against the ‘Well. Nathan Blackman had fired the visitors in front with a penalty but Hibs were back on level terms through Derek Riordan. Riordan, returning from the suspension picked up in the Edinburgh derby, then put the home side into the lead with his second of the game just before the half hour. In the hour that followed, no goals were scored although Steven Saunders was harshly adjudged to have been offside just when he thought he had bagged the equaliser. Four yellow cards were dished out in injury time as the match got scrappy but no one saw red and Colin Calderwood’s men hung on for their second league win in a row.
Elsewhere, Kilmarnock continued their good run by coming away from Tannadice with a point. Having won their previous three games 3-0, Killie took on Dundee United riding quite the wave of momentum and that momentum took them into the lead through Conor Sammon. The in-form striker drilled home the opener after 22 minutes but less than 60 seconds later, Johnny Russell reacted first to Prince Buaben’s clever pass and brought the scores level. Both sides pushed for a late winner with David Goodwillie and Jon Daly both feeling they should have done better as the match ended all square.
Hamilton remain rooted to the bottom of the SPL table following their 3-1 home loss to Inverness Caley Thistle. Thistle remain unbeaten away from home in the league so far this season thanks to goals from Adam Rooney and Jonny Hayes that all came within fifteen minutes of the second half starting. Hamilton had taken the lead through Dougie Imrie’s cool finish from a long clearance but a defensive blunder allowed Terry Butcher’s side pack into the game. David Elebert failed to control a misplaced pass and the ball bounced through to Rooney to finish. Minutes later, the striker crossed from the left for Hayes to give Caley Thistle the lead and just as quickly the win was sealed with the pick of the goals. Returning the favour of the second goal, Hayes looked as though he had overcooked his cross only for Rooney to twist his neck to reach the ball. His header looped over Tomas Cerny and into the bottom corner to complete the impressive Inverness performance.
Results
Saturday
Dundee Utd 1-1 Kilmarnock, Hamilton 1-3 Inverness CT, Hibernian 2-1 Motherwell, Rangers 2-0 Aberdeen, St Johnstone 0-2 Hearts
Sunday
St Mirren 0-1 Celtic
Tags: Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee United, Hamilton, Hearts, Hibernian, Inverness Caley Thistle, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Rangers, Scottish Premier League, St Johnstone, St Mirren