Morton win at Partick leaves one point between the top three
Partick Thistle's home defeat to Greenock Morton tightened the Championship summit, as Dunfermline and Raith Rovers won heavily and Livingston closed on fourth.
By Harvey Watkins,
Partick Thistle began MatchDay 13 four points clear at the top of the Championship and ended it one point clear. Their 3-2 home defeat to Greenock Morton was the result that changed the shape of the division. Raith Rovers and Dunfermline both won comfortably, and the leaders on 25 points now have two sides on 24 directly behind them.
The defeat was Partick's first in five matches, after a run of W W D W. One loss does not undo that, but the margin for another is gone. Goal difference shows how even the top three are. Raith's +11 is better than Partick's +10, and Dunfermline sit on +8.
Dunfermline and Raith Rovers took their chance
Dunfermline produced the biggest scoreline of the round, beating Inverness 5-1. It was their third win in a row, and they are unbeaten in five with only two goals conceded in that spell. That is the most consistent recent record in the division. Inverness stay sixth on 19 points, but their results have been uneven, with three wins and two defeats in their last five.
Raith Rovers won 4-0 at Arbroath. It was a good response to their previous match, a defeat, and it lifts them into second. Their recent record is less steady than Dunfermline's, but their goal difference is the best in the league.
Livingston close on a struggling Stenhousemuir
The other result with a bearing on the upper half came from Stenhousemuir's 3-0 home defeat to Livingston. Stenhousemuir remain fourth on 23 points, which reflects how well they started the season. Recent form tells a different story. They have taken one point from their last five matches and lost the last three. In that spell they have scored once and conceded ten.
Livingston have won two in a row and are now three points behind them on 20. On recent evidence, fourth place looks less secure than the table suggests. Five matches is a short sample, though, and Stenhousemuir's earlier points are still in the bank.
Morton's run lifts them off the bottom end
Morton's win at Partick was their third in a row, after two defeats before that. They are ninth on 10 points, one behind Arbroath, and they have a game in hand. Arbroath's 4-0 defeat to Raith was their fifth in succession. They have scored once in that run and conceded twelve, the weakest five-match record in the league.
Ayr United beat Queen's Park 3-2. That leaves Ayr seventh on 15 points, also with a game in hand. Queen's Park stay bottom on 7 points after a third straight defeat, though they did score twice away from home.
What the round changed
Before this round, Partick looked to have a cushion. Now the top three are covered by a single point. Dunfermline carry the best current run, Raith the best goal difference and Partick the narrowest of leads.
Further down, Stenhousemuir's slide has brought Livingston into view. At the bottom, Morton's revival has put pressure on Arbroath. None of it is settled, and a round as volatile as this one suggests the next could move things just as much.