So, that’s the weekend behind us. There’s been plenty of action across Scotland’s football grounds this weekend, with lots of goals and one or two surprise results.
The SPL
In the SPL, Aberdeen continued their fantastic run of home form with a good first half performance against a Falkirk side that just didn’t get going. The 2-1 win (Lee Miller with both goals and former Aberdeen striker Stevie Lovell scoring for the Bairns) sealed a win that seemed comfortable in the first half, less so the second when shades of the Aberdeen of old returned. Nevermind though, it’s another 3 points on the board for Jimmy Calderwood.
The early game of the day saw Dundee United and Rangers serve up another high-scoring ding-dong of a game. Like we said in the preview on Friday, games between these two rarely disappoint and Saturdays encounter was no exception. Kris Boyd got on the score sheet again, but it took an equalizer 15 minutes from time to secure the points for Rangers. Walter Smith would not have been happy with that result; Rangers have now only gained four points from a possible nine in the last three weeks, not the sort of form that you want when you’re chasing your biggest rivals.
The good news then for Rangers was that Celtic also dropped points. The 1-1 against Hearts in Glasgow came, like the game at Tannadice, thanks to a goal 15 minutes from the end of the game. Andrew Driver put Hearts in front on the half hour. Celtic then huffed and puffed their way to a share of the points when Stephen McManus equalised. Celtic’s lead then remains four points, but Strachan must be feeling the pressure a wee bit now.
Hibernian piled more misery onto Hamilton with a deserved 2-0 win, Derek Riordan and captain Rob Jones getting on the score sheet. St Mirren beat Inverness 2-0 to extend their recent run of form. The win has the two sides swapping places, with Hamilton three points adrift at the bottom. Motherwell and Kilmarnock play this evening.
First Division
In the first, there was another good win for Clyde. Their 1-0 win over Dundee was not a friendly affair – both sides where reduced to 10 men. Airdrie United lost 2-1 away at Partick Thistle, their cause not helped by a McLaughlin own-goal that won the match for Thistle. Queen of the South lost another game at home, this time to Dunfermline, while new Livingston manager Paul Hegarty got off to a flyer with a convincing 4-1 over Ross County in Dingwall. League leaders St. Johnstone needed a late Kevin Rutkiewicz goal to overcome a resolute Morton side.
Division Two
There’s no change at the top of the Second division. Raith and Ayr both won (against Queens Park and Alloa respectively), while Brechin’s game at Stranraer was postponed. Arbroath had a convincing win over Peterhead, the 4-0 win over the Balmoor side pushing them into 7th place, and mid-table safety. Lichties manager John McGlashan must be congratulated for the way he has steered the club into the right direction following a pretty disastrous start to the season.
Division Three
The Third division had three players sent off in five games, suggesting a scrappy Saturday, the sort you’d expect really at this level. Stenhousemuir maintain their lead at the top of the Third division. The 1-0 win over Albion came thanks to an Ian Thomson goal, but the match was soured with the dismissal of Stennie’s Steven Ferguson near the end of the game. Montrose where also down to 10 men towards the end of the game. Cowdenbeath, their opponents had already scored the goal that would win them the match, the Blue Brazil not making the best use of their advantage to finish the game off completely. Dumbarton sailed past Forfar by three goals to nil, while Berwick Rangers picked up their first win in ages against a 10-man Annan Athletic.
The Highland League
Of the games that survived the weather in the North and North-east, Deveronvale extended their lead at the top of the ScotAds Highland League. In a match with many bookings, a single goal by Deveronvale’s McGowan proved enough to beat Lossiemouth. Fraserburgh won 3-1 away at Brora, Inverness side Clachnacuddin and Nairn County played out a good 2-2 draw (Nairn equalising in the last minute) while Huntly overcame local rivals Keith thanks to goals from Richard Craig and Michelle Lombardi.
With Fort William’s game against Cove Rangers called off, it was up to Buckie Thistle to provide the goals this weekend, with their 6-0 demolition of Rothes more than making up for the unusually quiet weekend in the Highland League.
Lastly, our congratulations go out to Forres Mechanics, whose oft-cancelled Scottish Cup game against Dalbeattie Star finally went ahead. The Highland League side emerged 4-2 winners after extra-time. The win puts the Highland League side into the Fourth round of the competition.
Related posts:
- The Monday Ballbag
- The Monday Ballbag – Scottish football round-up
- Scottish Cup Fourth Round (Part 2)
- The Scottish Football Four to Follow
- Scottish Fitba Weekender
Tags: Highland League, Scottish Cup, SFL, SPL, Weekend Roundup