Falkirk hit five at Tynecastle to sit third in the Premiership
A round-up of MatchDay 13: Falkirk's win at Hearts, narrow wins for Celtic and Rangers, three sides level on 17 points, and a heavy defeat for Aberdeen.
By Harvey Watkins,
The result that changed the most on MatchDay 13 came at Tynecastle. Hearts 2-5 Falkirk was Falkirk's fifth league win in a row. It leaves them third on 21 points, one place above the side they beat. The scoring started in the fourth minute, two goals came in the 47th minute, and Jacob Murrell scored either side of half-time. Over that five-match run Falkirk have scored 13 and conceded 3. Hearts stayed fourth on 20 points with a game in hand on Falkirk, but they have now gone two without a win and have conceded 14 in their last five. That is a defensive record that sits poorly with a place in the top four.
Celtic and Rangers keep pace
Neither of the top two dropped points, though neither won with much to spare. Liam Scales scored in the 26th minute of Celtic's 1-0 win over Kilmarnock. That was enough to keep Celtic top on 31 points from 13 matches. Rangers won 2-0 at St Mirren through Ryan Naderi in the 18th minute and Dan Neil in the 61st. They are second on 27 points with a game in hand, unbeaten in five, and have conceded 5 in that spell. St Mirren have now lost two in a row and have scored 4 in their last five. They are eighth on 14 points.
Three clubs level on 17 points
The middle of the table tightened. St Johnstone came from behind to beat Dundee 2-1 at McDiarmid Park. Josh Campbell scored in the fifth minute, Joe Westley two minutes after the restart and Kai Fotheringham in the 72nd. The result leaves Dundee, Dundee United and St Johnstone all on 17 points in fifth, sixth and seventh, separated only by goal difference. St Johnstone are unbeaten in three. Their goal difference of minus four suggests their points have come from tight margins rather than dominance.
Dundee United were held at home, as Dundee United and Motherwell drew 1-1. Lukas Fadinger scored in the ninth minute and Jesse Randall in the 41st. United are unbeaten in five, but three of those matches were draws, which explains why they have not pulled clear of the clubs around them. Motherwell are ninth on 13 points and unbeaten in three.
Hibernian pull level with Aberdeen
The most one-sided result of the round came at Pittodrie. Aberdeen 0-4 Hibernian was goalless until the 57th minute. Jamie McGrath, Callum Wright, Nicky Cadden and Thibault Klidje then scored, the last of them in stoppage time. Both clubs are now on 11 points. Hibernian are tenth on goal difference and Aberdeen are eleventh. Aberdeen have lost three in a row and four of their last five, and on this evidence their problems are getting worse rather than better.
Kilmarnock remain bottom on 9 points with a goal difference of minus 16 and no win in four. Their defeat at Celtic Park was narrow, but a narrow defeat still left them where they were. With Aberdeen and Hibernian only two points better off, the bottom of the table is close enough that one result could reorder it.