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The Weekend Scoreboard

Monday, January 26th, 2009

The weekends action in the SPL pretty much followed the form guide. Rangers missed the chance to go clear at the top of the league when they could only manage a goalless draw at Pittodrie. For all the pre-match billing and the importance put on this fixture, it was a dire game.  Rangers rarely threatened the Aberdeen defence with a lackluster display that baffled as well as disappointed. Kenny Miller was partnered up front with the impressive John Fleck, but neither had much to do for most of the game, the only real clear-cut chance for Rangers coming when Langfield failed to hold on to a Lee McCulloch shot – Miller was unable to convert the rebound but had it gone in, it would have been ruled offside anyway. Mackie and Mulgrew all had chances for the Reds, but where not able to convert. The only moment of excitement came when Langfield was injured in the second-half, to be replaced by Bertrand Bossu, whose performances in goal for the Reds – admittedly few and far between – have been less than impressive. But the big Frenchman did well, keeping the scores level on several occasions. So, a point gained or a two points dropped? Well, from an Aberdeen perspective, we’d have to say two points dropped. Let’s be honest, Rangers where not very good and there was always the feeling that if Mulgrew could convert a set piece, or if Mackie had not put his header inches wide of the goal in the second-half, Aberdeen might just have sneaked a win out of this.

For Rangers, we’d have to say the same thing – two points dropped. Leaving Scotland’s top scorer Kris Boyd, on the bench in a game that could have seen Rangers take pole position in the league was strange, as was the lack of any obvious desire on the part of Rangers to win the game.

With Rangers dropping points, Celtic wasted no time in putting last weekends defeat at Pittodrie behind them by getting stuck into Hibernian. Two goals in the opening 10 minutes effectively killing off the game right from the start before Hibs had even managed to cross the half-way line. Dundee United twice had to come back from behind before clinching all three points against a dogged St. Mirren side, while there was little on show for potential Inverness Caley managers Archie Knox and Terry Butcher as the bottom club remained bottom; they went down 3-2 to Hearts. Motherwell and Falkirk fought out a 1-1 draw on a fierce bumpy pitch that keeps both sides as-you-where. The grumpy old man of Scottish football had more to complain about as Jim Jefferies‘ Kilmarnock lose yet another game, this time at home to Hamilton Accies who seems to be doing their chances of survival no harm at all.

Maybe it’s just us, but Kilmarnock seem to be losing a hell of a lot of games these days. When we where doing the weekend preview on Friday, we couldn’t help but notice that there’s quite a few teams that broke a losing run of games when they came up against Kilmarnock.  Considering that Killie actually started the season quite well, the slump in their form is quite dramatic.  Only three wins in their last fourteen games (not counting the two Cup wins), with one drawn game, Jim Jefferies has been on the receiving end of a defeat on no less than 10 times in the last three months.  Regular readers will know of our Kilmarnock ‘Boom-Bust’ hypothesis, which states that for every gash season, Killie have a stormer the season after. At the minute though, a quick glance at the table seems to put pay to that theory. Unless they somehow manage to pull together a series of wins that has them getting – roughly – anywhere from 34 to 27 points from their remaining fixtures, then for the first time in quite a while, Killie will have back to back ‘bust’  seasons.

Looking at the SPL table, we can also see the table splitting roughly into four distinct groups. Celtic and Rangers lead the way (as normal), with a second batch of teams (United, Hearts and Aberdeen) making up a chasing pack for those elusive European spots. From sixth down to tenth, seven points behind the chasing pack we have five teams separated by five points before we finally get down to the sticky end of the league where we find Falkirk and Inverness Caley. Only two points separate these teams – rather worryingly for both, they’re also six points from safety…

Scottish First Division

The St Johnstone games against Dunfermline was called off due to a frozen pitch, but none of the teams chasing the Perth side managed to take advantage. Partick Thistle could only manage a 2-2 draw with Queen of the South while Morton threw away a two goal lead to Livingston (2-2).  Airdrie United finally get a win as they beat Dundee at home (1-0) and Clyde’s Willie McLaren steals the show as the Bully Wee win 2-0 at home to Ross County

Scottish Second Division

The result of the weekend is of course that tremendous win by Stirling Albion. We’d love to say things like ‘ten goal thriller’, but the 2-8 win over Stranraer hints at a very one-sided affair. A good win for Stirling, but for Stranraer the humiliating defeat cements their place at the foot of the table and was also the catalyst for manager Derek Ferguson to depart the club.  In the rest of the games there where wins for East Fife (4-2 over Queens Park) and Ayr United (2-1 against Arbroath), while Raith Rovers slip up away at Alloa (1-0). Brechin and Peterhead played out a 1-1 draw.

Scottish Third Division

In a much reduced card (thanks to postponed games),the terrible run of form suffered by East Stirling continues ever since we gave them our ‘Performance of the Week’ award. Jim McInally’s side have not won a game since, a run which continued as they where pummeled 4-0 at home to Annan Athletic. Cowdenbeath remain top of the league following their 2-1 win over Albion Rovers, Stenhousemuir suffer a surprise defeat at home to Montrose (3-1).  Get a complete roundup of the games thanks to the Scotsman.

Highland Football League

We where hoping that Fort William might win a game at last and get themselves off the foot of the table for the first time since, like, 1972 or something. This weekend they tried their best against Buckie Thistle, perhaps finally getting the rub of the green to record a historic victory. Well, the good news is that Fort William did manage to score, but sadly the seven goals they conceded meant the points where not to be; Buckie’s Craic MacMillan was on hand to score five of the seven goals. Inverurie Locos prepared for their Scottish Cup showdown with Motherwell on Wednesday with a 1-1 draw against a tough Fraserburgh side, while Wick Academy, the most remote football team in the UK, record a 3-0 win over Rothes.

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A Diamond performance and ‘Well do well

Monday, January 19th, 2009

To hell with ‘fair and balanced reporting’, we’re so thrilled at the win at Pittodrie yesterday that it’s impossible to write this without a hint of gloating or bias. So, to para-quote Bjorge Lillelien: Billy McNeill! Jock Stein! Kenny Dalglish! The Lisbon Lions! Martin O’Neill! Gordon Strachan! Gordon Strachan, can you hear me: your boys took one hell of a beating!

Far be it from me to turn this site into some tacky ‘Red Top’, but that headline just had to be written. Yes, it may have taken Aberdeen seven years to scratch the itch, but at last the Reds get a much needed victory – nay, thumping – over the Bhoys. Rangers await us next week and on the form shown yesterday, we reckon that the Huns are in for a trashing too. Bring ‘em on I say. You can read all about the spectacular result via the local Aberdeen press  or you can read all about Charlie Mulgrews’s massive weapon  or another one about Diamond exposing himself  but you get the drift I’m sure.

Strachan remains defiant but he’s got to be getting worried; Rangers, despite all their talk of crisis and ‘two for one’ sale offers, have managed to reduce Celtic’s once impressive lead to only two points. You can say what you like about Rangers deserving better but the truth remains: despite their performance both in the boardroom and on the pitch, Rangers are still up there, chasing the leaders and continuing to be as dangerous as they always are. They’ve got to keep Boyd – at least for this season – in order to keep the pressure on their city rivals as well as giving the rest of us an exciting conclusion to the rest of the campaign.

If the win over Celtic came as a bit of surprise, the thrashing of on-form Dundee United by Motherwell made us check about three different news sources just to make sure that the result was correct. The 4-0 defeat – at Tannadice remember, where United have only conceded 12 goals at home before yesterdays game – put an end to The Terrors’ good run and an end to Leveins 100-game milestone. It’s certainly a good result for Motherwell, whose form this season, compared to last, leaves a lot to be desired. ‘Well manager Mark McGhee is in danger of running away with himself we feel but sure, let him enjoy the moment. Some of the words used to describe yesterdays events at Tannadice include ‘demolish‘  , ‘rout‘  and ‘sorry‘.  I don’t think there’s much more to add to that (I’ll leave it up to The Arab Blog), except to say that thanks to that win at Tannadice, Aberdeen jump into third spot in the SPL.

Elsewhere, another manager no doubt feeling the pressure is Inverness‘ Craig Brewster. His side went down 1-0 to Hamilton on Saturday. Earlier on we heard Terry Butcher saying Brewster needs more time,  and now Dougie Imrie has got in on the act  but something has to be done up north before Caley drift too far from the rest of the pack. They’re now a point behind Falkirk and six behind Hamilton in 11th and 9th place respectively. There’s time to turn it around yet, but the results have to start coming anytime soon.

Rangers‘ Kris Boyd continued his impressive season, scoring twice  as he helped his side in a comfortable 3-1 win over Falkirk.  Hibernian overcame St. Mirren 2-0, Rob Jones and Derek Riordain securing the points  and Jim Jefferies goes radge once again as his side, Kilmarnock lose at home to Hearts  as Bruno Aquiar and Christos Karipidis hit the back of the onion sack.

In the First division, four draws, one win, and only 5 goals scored in five games makes this weekend one of the lowest scoring weekends for quite some time. Ross County where the only side to record a victory beating last season’s losing Scottish Cup finalists Queen of the South 1-0. The league table remains pretty much ‘as is’, St. Johnstone leading Dunfermline by five points. Airdrie United remain bottom.

First Division Results

Dundee 0-0 Morton
Dunfermline 1-1 Airdrie Utd
Livingston 1-1 Clyde
Partick 0-0 St Johnstone
Ross County 1-0 Queen of South
 

Second Division league leaders Raith Rovers keep on winning – their 2-1 win over bottom side Stranraer  extending their lead as second-placed Ayr United go down 2-0 at Stirling Albion. Elsewhere, Arbroath lose at home to East Fife and the points where shared at Peterhead (2-2 v Alloa), Queen’s Park (0-0 v Brechin).

Second Division Results

Arbroath 0-2 East Fife
Peterhead 2-2 Alloa
Queens Park 0-0 Brechin
Raith 2-1 Stranraer
Stirling 2-0 Ayr
 

Stenhousemuir, former runaway leaders of the Third Division slip against Dumbarton as they lose 1-0. The defeat allowed new leaders Cowdenbeath to extend their narrow lead at the top of the table, though only by the one single point as the Blue Brazil, eager to make their return to the Third Division last just the one season, could only draw 1-1 with bottom side Elgin City. East Stirling win 3-2 at home to Forfar and Annan Athletic continue to stay in the middle of the table following their 3-0 away win at Montrose.

Third Division Results

Albion 2-1 Berwick
Dumbarton 1-0 Stenhousemuir
East Stirling 3-2 Forfar
Elgin 1-1 Cowdenbeath
Montrose 0-3 Annan Athletic

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The Monday Wrap

Monday, December 15th, 2008

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.

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The Weekend Preview – 22nd November

Friday, November 21st, 2008

We had the much awaited friendly with Argentina on Wednesday, a game which ended in a 1-0 win for the visitors. It’s wasn’t a great game, truth be told, though the goal by Maxi Rodriguez was a cracker. The score line surprised us – we had feared the scoreline would have reflected the South American’s dominance in the game, but like we said earlier on in the week, Argentina ain’t all that and a bag of chips.

Whether the final score says something more about Scotland’s performance than Argentina’s we’re not sure, but in any case, all the hype is over, Terry Butcher can continue holding grudges for a few more years while the rest of us get back to what we love best: league football.

SPL Game of the Day – Rangers vs Aberdeen

Outside of the Old Firm derby, this game is probably the most charged fixture in the Premier League. Some of this certainly stems back to the early to mid 80’s when Aberdeen regularly beat Rangers to both League and Cup wins. To illustrate, consider that between September 1980 to about September 1988, Aberdeen did not lose in 30 of  the 33 meetings between the sides. Since then it’s been mostly one way traffic though, but Aberdeen have a habit of pulling results out of the bag just when they need them; consider the last game of season 2007/08 when Aberdeen’s 2:0 win at Pittodrie ended Rangers’ title campaign and sent the trophy to Parkhead, while a 1-1 draw earlier in the season made Aberdeen the first team to take points of the ‘Gers, something that Walter Smith will be hoping to put right tomorrow.

Rangers have history on their side in this fixture. A League Cup game in 1995 was the last time Aberdeen beat Rangers at Ibrox, Billie Dodds’ two goals sealing the victory, but for the last League win you’d have to go back to 1991 when the Dons won 2-1.

There’s not much to say about Rangers really – their season is progressing according to form and – again – tradition. Unbeaten since that shock win against St. Mirren back at the start of October, they’ve ploughed a steady furrow, the 0-0 with Motherwell the other week perhaps a surprise to many. Rangers lost influential midfielder Kevin Thompson for up to eight months due to a cruciate ligament injury inflicted during their 4-0 win at Kilmarnock, but there’s plenty of backfill in the middle of the park for Rangers, including of course talisman captain Barry Ferguson, to give Jimmy Calderwood plenty to think about.

Aberdeen are still without Bertrand Bossu, Tommy Wright, Stuart Duff and Jamie Smith, while Darren Mackie will undergo a late fitness test to see if he’s available for selection. For the first time since Scott Severin’s 2 minute cameo against Lithuania in 2006, Aberdeen had one of their own playing for Scotland – striker Lee Miller came on for the second half in the midweek friendly against Argentina and had few chances, but found the going tough against the more experienced (and skilful) Argentinian defenders.

Rangers trail Celtic by four points and with the Hoops playing second-from-bottom St. Mirren, don’t expect the gap between 1st and 2nd to close any time soon. Aberdeen’s defence has been noticeably absent, if not incompetent of late. Losing a two goal lead against Hibs was bad enough, and Rangers are a different proposition altogether. Kris Boyd just cant stop scoring at the minute, so Aberdeen would do well to keep him in check. Aberdeen have been accused of raising their game for the Old Firm, but it’s hard to see anything other than a Rangers win in this game though.

Remaining SPL Fixtures

Dundee United will be hoping to pick up their season again following the defeat to Kilmarnock last week; the Terrors play bottom side Hamilton, whose season is going from bad to worse. Defeat last week at Celtic, however narrow was not made any easier following a terrible decision by the referee to award a penalty to Celtic, even though the challenge happened some 2 yards outside of the box. United’s defeat allowed Hearts to jump into third spot following their narrow win over Inverness Caley up in the Highlands. Csaba Laszlo’s Hearts take on a Falkirk side slowly finding its feet in this seasons competition.  Motherwell play Hibs, who did well to come back from 2 goals down against Aberdeen last weekend. The club have signed striker Jonatan Johansson, perhaps reinforcing the view (held by the club themselves) that star player Steven Fletcher is on his way out of Easter Road come the Januari transfer window. Inverness Caley make the longest journey in the SPL when they travel down to Kilmarnock, while Celtic will be hoping for an unlikely Aberdeen win at Ibrox to help them through against St. Mirren. The Parkhead side are struggling with injuries which might give Gus McPherson a window of opportunity to claim his second Old Firm scalp of the season. Celtic lead the table by four points from Rangers.

Division One Game of the Day: Airdrie vs Ross County

It’s another bite at the cherry for Ross County as they take on Airdrie for the second time in a week. Last Saturday’s defeat in Perth came after a thrilling game that featured two own goals and a penalty shoot-out, which was eventually won by Airdrie United.

Remaining Fixtures

There’s only a few games on this weekend. Second placed Dunfermline take on Morton at East End Park. The Pars, winners of a thrilling 3-2 game against Livingston the other week are on good form at the moment and lie only three points behind leaders St. Johnstone. With the Saints not playing this weekend, Dunfermline have a chance to go equal top. Morton currently share bottom place with Clyde. The ‘Ton had wee run of good luck with wins against then-troubled Dundee and Clyde, but it all came crashing down again the following weeks when defeats to Livingston and Queen of the South put Morton back in their place.

Partick Thistle take on a team that has been causing a stir in the papers lately for all the wrong reasons. Livingston are being hit from all sides with requests from creditors for payment of debts. These include the Inland Revenue, owed £100,000 as well as Scottish Power, who are reportedly owed some £50,000. On the park, Livingston are still performing well, though the gap between themselves and St. Johnstone is starting to widen. Thistle are just two points behind the Almondvale side and a win would see them jump into third spot.

Queen of the South’s season started well but recent results has seen them drop down the table. They play bottom side Clyde who managed to pull of a cracking 2-2 draw with St. Johnstone last weekend. It was a point the Bully Wee desperately needed following two heavy defeats in which they failed to score.

Division Two Game of the Day: Raith Rovers vs Brechin City

A top of the table clash between two on-form teams. Raith and Brechin are level on points in the Second division and lead the rest of the table by some margin. Clearly, something has to give here, and defeat for either team, combined with a win for Ayr United could see the loser drop to third place. Although Brechin won this fixture earlier on in the season, our money is on Raith for this game. The Rovers are playing well and, more importantly, scoring like it’s going out of fashion: they’ve netted 16 goals in six games since that defeat up in Brechin.

Remaining Fixtures

Alloa and Queens Park lie in seventh and eight place in the table, with Alloa leading the Spiders by two points. Arbroath’s miserable season was put on hold last week with their 2-0 win over Stirling Albion though there is still a lot of work to do for John McGlashan and his Lichties. They take on Stranraer, a point above them in the league. Third placed Ayr welcome East Fife to the West Coast.   Neale Cooper’s Peterhead entertain last years relegated team Stirling Albion at the Balmoor. Peterhead are fourth in the table, some seven points behind third placed Ayr United while Stirling are sitting safe in mid-table. The last game of the day features Ayr United who take on last years Third Division champions East Fife.

Division Three Game of the Day: Stenhousemuir vs East Stirling

An interesting game between two sides in good form. Stenhousemuir lead the Third division by some distance, while East Stirling are unbeaten in seven outings, a run which included a 5-2 win over Dumbarton and a creditable draw with Cowdenbeath. Stenhousemuir won the first meeting between the two sides earlier on in the season thanks to top scorer Kevin Motion netting twice.

Remaining Fixtures

Annan Athletic won their first game since September against Albion Rovers last week and this week hope to build on that when they take on bottom side Elgin. Berwick Rangers - now run by a supporters trust – take on the Blue Brazil, Cowdenbeath. Dumbarton, no doubt still smarting from the 5-2 defeat last week against East Stirling will try and close the gap between themselves and Stenhousemuir by beating Albion Rovers, while there’s another Angus derby when Montrose entertain Forfar.

Ok, that’s it. Join us again on Monday for all the weekend news.

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The Weekend Roundup – 15th November

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

Is it just us, or has there been a lot of football played over the last few days? We counted something like 12 games since last Saturday. Or, if you include today’s bag of mixed fortunes, 17. We’re not complaining like, we are quite partial to a kick-about on a Saturday but with this fixture build-up (or whatever it was that’s caused all these games to have to be played in the last seven days) it’s costing us a royal fortune, so it is.

A quick glance at the table before the start of today’s festivities tells us that Celtic and Rangers have already won the league between them, the rest of the league just playing catch-up. What surprises us that the Old Firm are this far ahead at such an early stage of the season – Celtic are 12 points ahead of the team in third, Dundee United. But if you look beyond the Old Firm (and you might as well, because for the rest of the season you wont catch sight of them) at the teams from 3rd down to 8th there’s a real humdinger of a competition going on with only seven points between the teams. Even Hamilton, given a string of decent results could move from 12th to 10th.

Alphabetically, the first game of the day was the one at Falkirk, where John Hughes’ side took on Motherwell. Falkirk continued their 5 game unbeaten run thanks to Michael Higdon’s first half goal – his third in as many games (1-0). The game at Easter Road between Hibs and Aberdeen finished 2-2. Stephen Fletcher scored a late equaliser for Hibs, and Jimmy Calderwood will once again have to take a long look at his defence who for second away game in a row lost him valuable points. Inverness Caley lost 1-0 at home to Hearts. A Bruno Aguiar goal in the 20th minute proved enough and gave manager Csaba Laszlo his third win in a row. Kilmarnock’s first win in five attempts will hopefully go a long way to getting the ever-whinging Jim Jefferies off the back-pages. Jamie Hamill’s penalty and David Fernandez’s second on 6o minutes secured three points against the on-form Dundee United.  Jefferies will be happy, Levein less so as their unbeaten run (stretching back to 13th September) comes to an end. In the final game of the day (Celtic play Hamilton tomorrow), Rangers got revenge on St. Mirren for that defeat earlier on in the season thanks to two goals in 10 minutes from – who else – Kris Boyd and Steve Davis. Franco Miranda got a consolation goal with nine minutes left on the clock, but Rangers held on to keep up the pressure on Celtic whom they now trail by just the one point.

Scottish First Division

There were only three games in the First Division today, but the games did feature the teams from first to fourth. League leaders St. Jonhstone where held to a 2-2 draw away at Clyde. The Saints where five minutes away from their seventh straight win until Pat Clarke (who also scored Clyde’s opener) equalized for the Bully Wee. Dundee’s second win in a row earned them three points at home to stuttering Queen of the South. Eric Paton opened the scoring late in the second half with an 18-yard free-kick, and Bryan Deasley finished off the opposition 10 minutes later. Lastly, Livingston and Dunfermline fought out an entertaining game which saw the Pars emerge 3-2 winners. Andy Kirk’s last minute winner for Dunfermline, coupled with St. Johnstone dropping two points at Clyde sees Jim McIntyre’s men move to within three points of the Saints.

Scottish Second Division

Down in the Second, there where good wins for league leaders Raith Rovers at home to Peterhead (3-0), two goals coming from Gary Wales, the other from Graham Weir. Raith are being chased all the way by Brechin who beat East Fife (2-1). The result leaves The City level on points at the top with Raith. Elsewhere, Ayr won away at Queen’s Park (3-0) to keep promotion push on track, Arbroath win their first game since August with goals from Brian Scott and Barry Sellars enough to ease past Stirling Albion though they remain bottom of the table. Finally, Stranraer had to come from behind to beat Alloa, the 280 spectators who made the trip to Stairs Park having something to cheer when defender John Kane equalised four minutes from time.

Scottish Third Division

In the Third Division, Annan Athletic win their first game since September, Mile Jacks second minute goal proving enough to edge out Albion Rovers. Stenhousemuir scored twice in the first half of their game to ease past Cowdenbeath (2-1). Jay Shields and Willie Lyle where sent off for Cowdenbeath and Stenhousemuir respectively. Second placed Dumbarton where thumped by East Stirling (5-2), both of Dumbartons goals coming in the last 3 minutes of the game. The defeat leaves the Ton in second place but only a point ahead of Montrose, who beat Elgin City thanks to two second-half goals from Roddy Hunter. Berwick Rangers‘ woes continue as there where beaten 2-1 away at Forfar. The side are now second bottom, a point ahead of Elgin but five points behing the team above them, Annan. The Borders club lost manager Allan McGonigal last week, after a poor start to the season as well as the take-over of the club by a fan-led consortium.

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