Five things we learned from the Scottish Premiership weekend
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Here, Angus Wright looks at five things we learned from this weekend’s Ladbrokes Premiership action.
1. Scottish football can throw up exciting games
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Hide AdHibernian’s 2-2 draw with last season’s treble winners Celtic at Easter Road was simply thrilling. Few would have bet on anything other than a Hoops win when Scott Sinclair grabbed two goals in four minutes after the break. However, the home side refused to buckle and in a dramatic finale, former Celtic defender Efe Ambrose reduced the deficit before substitute Oli Shaw levelled, and both sides could have snatched it before the end.
2. Graeme Murty can be Rangers’ safe pair of hands after hat-trick of wins
The Ibrox team had tried and failed to stretch two wins into three on eight separate occasions during 2017 before Murty’s men finally completed their treble with Saturday’s 2-1 over Ross County. It was not pretty but it showed a strength of character that had been badly missing in recent months. The Ibrox caretaker boss may or may not be the man who finally gets the nod to replace Pedro Caixinha but - with the search for a new boss back to square one after Derek McInnes’ snub - Murty has proved he can be relied upon to see things through for the time being.
3. Home sweet home for Killie
It has been a long time coming, but Kilmarnock finally got that elusive win at Rugby Park and they did it in style by thrashing Partick Thistle 5-1. It was their biggest home win since December 2006 when they beat Dunfermline by the same scoreline, but if Steve Clarke can coax a similar performance out of his side on a more regular basis, they will move away from the bottom of the table with ease. Having only claimed two points on home turf prior to this weekend, there were the usual nerves among the home support but braces from Kris Boyd and Eamonn Brophy secured a thumping win along with a Niall Keown own goal, while Youssouf Mulumbu also did enough to suggest he will be a big player this season.
4. Slipping can prove costly
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Hide AdCedric Kipre had already been booked by Andrew Dallas after slipping and colliding with Hearts midfielder Arnaud Djoum before another loss of footing cost Motherwell dearly. Carl McHugh slipped and took out his team-mate Kipre, allowing Kyle Lafferty an unlikely chance to shoot. The Northern Ireland international made no mistake to net the only goal at Tynecastle.
5. No resting on laurels
Hamilton’s form in November - draws at home to Aberdeen and Hibernian and a win at Ibrox - saw Martin Canning named Ladbrokes manager of the month as attacker David Templeton picked up the players’ award. Accies went into their home game against St Johnstone on Saturday unbeaten in six games after six straight defeats but on a day when they passed up several chances, they ended up losing 1-0. The Lanarkshire side dropped into ninth place, six points above bottom side Partick Thistle having played a game more, and they remain in the pack looking to avoid relegation.