Partick Thistle go top after beating Stenhousemuir 3-0
A new leader in the Scottish Championship, a tighter chasing pack, Arbroath's slide continuing and a postponement at the bottom from MatchDay 12.
By Harvey Watkins,
The match that mattered most on MatchDay 12 was the one between the top two, and it was not close. Partick Thistle beat Stenhousemuir 3-0, took first place from them, and now lead the Scottish Championship on 25 points, two clear. Four of the five scheduled matches went ahead on Saturday 24 October. Greenock Morton v Ayr United was postponed.
Partick Thistle take over at the top
Partick's form had been pointing this way for some time. They are unbeaten in five, with four wins and a draw, and a three-goal margin against the side directly above them is about as clear a statement as a single result can make.
Stenhousemuir's recent record had been less convincing than their position suggested. They have lost three of their last five, including the last two, and their only win in that run is the oldest of the five. They started the day top on the strength of earlier results, and those results still keep them second on 23 points. A two-point gap after 12 matches is small, and this is a lead that could change hands again. But the two sides arrived here heading in opposite directions, and Saturday did nothing to dispute that.
Inverness and Dunfermline close in behind
The other significant result came at Raith Rovers, where Inverness won 2-0. It leaves Raith third on 21 points with no win in two, and lifts Inverness to 19. Four wins from their last five, including the last two, make Inverness the form side outside the top two.
Dunfermline won 1-0 at Queen's Park and are now level with Raith on 21, behind only on goal difference. They are unbeaten in five, although three of those matches were draws, so their recent run has been more solid than spectacular. The effect of the round is that third to fifth are now separated by two points, with Inverness six off the top.
Livingston edge Arbroath
Livingston beat Arbroath 1-0 to move to 17 points in sixth, five clear of Ayr United in seventh. It was a narrow win, and Livingston's last five, two wins, a draw and two defeats, describe a side that has been hard to read.
For Arbroath it was a fourth straight defeat. They remain eighth on 11 points, but their goal difference of -11 is the second worst in the division, and their only win in five is the oldest result in that sequence.
Postponement leaves the bottom unsettled
With Greenock Morton v Ayr United postponed, both clubs have played 11 matches to everyone else's 12. That matters most at the foot of the table. Queen's Park, beaten by Dunfermline for a second straight defeat, are bottom on 7 points with a goal difference of -13. Greenock Morton are also on 7, ahead on goal difference, with a game in hand and two straight wins behind them.
Ayr's game in hand gives them a chance to cut into the five-point gap to Livingston. Until that match is played, the lower half of the table is incomplete.