Scottish football in brief: Celtic hand title initiative to Rangers, Aberdeen-Hibs drama, Falkirk's big win

All you need to know from a busy day of SPFL action on Saturday

Celtic have handed the Premiership title initiative to Rangers after they slipped up at home to Kilmarnock, drawing 1-1. Kyogo Furuhashi put them ahead in the first half but a leveller by David Watson two minutes into stoppage time means that if Rangers win tomorrow against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park, they will go two points clear at the top and hit the summit for the first time since August 2022.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers, whose side had already lost twice to Killie this season, said: “It is not about ability or technique now, it is about mentality. It is about not letting that man go past you and having that drive and composure to play. We saw it the second half, even though we were not under great pressure we kept making it hard for ourselves.”

Hearts tightened their grip on third by toppling Motherwell 2-0 with Lawrence Shankland and Kenneth Vargas doing the damage with second-half strikes at Tynecastle. The Jambos have won 11 of their last 12 games in a fruitful spell stretching back to December and Naismith insists there have been vast improvement on and off the pitch in that period. He said: “There has definitely been a mentality shift for sure. We go into every game wanting to win. We understand there are times where we need to take risks and there are times like today where we need to be patient.

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes celebrates with David Watson at full time after the 1-1 draw against Celtic.

Livingston gave themselves a lifeline at the foot of the table when Tete Yengi pounced in first-half stoppage time to register a 1-0 victory over St Mirren, who missed a late penalty through Mikael Mandron. The Lions are now only three points adrift of second-bottom Ross County, who lost ground themselves by losing 2-0 at Dundee thanks to two strikes by Scott Tiffoney.

Neil Warnock is still looking for his first league win as Aberdeen boss after a 2-2 draw at home to Hibs. The visitors, looking to post their first league win since December 9, seized an early lead when Martin Boyle was on target in the 13th minute, only for Nicky Devlin to equalise soon after. Jamie McGrath then got on the end of a cross by Duk early in the second half to put the hosts in front for the first time but Emiliano Marcondes snatched the equaliser. Both managers were left unhappy at refereeing decisions.

Drama in the Championship

In the Championship, Anton Dowds hit a hat-trick as Ayr won 3-2 at Airdrie to move into the top-half of the table. Dunfermline missed the chance to move out of the bottom two as they were held to a draw at home to struggling Arbroath. Partick Thistle came from behind twice to draw 3-3 with Inverness in a thrilling at Caledonian Stadium, while Calum Ferrie came to Queen’s Park’s rescue with a string of fine saves in a goalless draw with Morton. On Friday night, Raith cut the gap to leaders Dundee United to a point thanks to a stunning winner from Scott Brown.

Martin Boyle's diving celebration caught the eye as Hibs drew 2-2 with Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

Falkirk’s big League One win

Falkirk moved 11 points clear at the top of League One after beating their nearest rivals Hamilton 3-2. The battle between the top two looked to be done and dusted after Falkirk scored three times during 12 first-half minutes through Callumn Morrison, Ross MacIver and Calvin Miller, but Ahkeem Rose’s double either side of half-time kept Hamilton in touch. Alloa maintained third place with a 4-1 victory over Cove Rangers, Montrose moved into the play-off spots after defeating Kelty Hearts 4-2, Annan won 2-1 against Stirling, and Ruairidh Adams’ stoppage-time goal secured a 1-1 draw for bottom club Edinburgh City against Queen of the South.

Warriors stay 16 points clear

In League Two, Stenhousemuir remain 16 points clear despite being held to a 2-2 draw at Elgin. Second-placed Peterhead fought back from three goals down to draw 3-3 at Forfar. Ayrton Sonkur netted twice in stoppage time as the Spartans denied struggling Stranraer a much-needed win with a 2-1 victory and goals from Brian Easton and Alan Trouten (penalty) inside the space of three minutes helped East Fife to a 2-0 win at ten-man Bonnyrigg Rose.