:00:39. > :00:41.Good evening and welcome to Sportscene.
:00:42. > :00:44.I promise you, this next hour will be a referendum free zone.
:00:45. > :00:46.But plenty of football politics to discuss.
:00:47. > :00:53.With us tonight, the Northern Ireland manager
:00:54. > :00:56.Michael O'Neill and the Motherwell defender Stephen McManus.
:00:57. > :00:58.Six games from the Premiership tonight,
:00:59. > :01:26.Fox was brave. Forces the save from McManus.
:01:27. > :01:29.The champions far from flying at the moment.
:01:30. > :01:32.They took on an Aberdeen side tipped by many to push them hardest
:01:33. > :02:13.The captain is back after a six-week absence. It is a corner for Commons.
:02:14. > :02:23.He has knocked it in. It is a second Celtic goal for Denayer. This came
:02:24. > :02:28.bouncing off the Belgian, despite a positive start to the game Aberdeen
:02:29. > :02:42.find themselves behind. It has been almost a decade since Aberdeen won
:02:43. > :02:45.here on Lake business. -- league. Somehow it goes past. He claims it
:02:46. > :03:01.was because of a foul. It has been all Celtic. They are
:03:02. > :03:22.dominating this first half. It is Commons, and it is too. 24
:03:23. > :03:31.seconds into the second half. Celtic give themselves a cushion. Commons
:03:32. > :03:35.has had a great day. It gets a huge deflection, but Commons claiming it.
:03:36. > :03:48.That is his second of the campaign. Craig Gordon has not had that much
:03:49. > :04:07.to do up until now. Commons! Some Celtic fans were
:04:08. > :04:08.astonished he did not start in the Champions League play-off. You can
:04:09. > :04:30.see why. Goodwillie, his first for the club.
:04:31. > :04:39.It will be a weight off his mind. He gives Aberdeen a chance. Considine
:04:40. > :04:53.claiming above Ambrose. -- climbing. The men in red have
:04:54. > :05:13.belief. They are turning it on all of a sudden, Aberdeen.
:05:14. > :05:20.Goodwillie was offside. It did not seem plausible that Aberdeen could
:05:21. > :05:49.come back into this at 2-0. Wide from McGregor. That would have
:05:50. > :06:05.sealed it, you would imagine. Celtic pressing for that killer goal. The
:06:06. > :06:24.manager praying for an equaliser. It certainly hit his arm.
:06:25. > :06:35.He can very Aberdeen, no, he cannot. That should have been three.
:06:36. > :06:45.I thought we were pressing good and the passing was quicker. It gives me
:06:46. > :06:50.belief in the future. We are going to get fitter and better. I believe
:06:51. > :06:55.we should have had a penalty and we would still have had time to win the
:06:56. > :07:01.game. I thought Celtic looked fragile. I thought we were in a
:07:02. > :07:12.position to try to win. There was controversy after the match with
:07:13. > :07:23.Logan claiming he was racially abused. The player accused has
:07:24. > :07:30.denied the accusation. In terms of the football, you were at the match,
:07:31. > :07:33.did Celtic deserve to win? Yes. The manager touched on it. The first 65
:07:34. > :07:38.minutes I thought Celtic were excellent and probably should have
:07:39. > :07:42.been more than two ahead. Aberdeen reacted well, changed the shape of
:07:43. > :07:49.the team and the last 25 minutes Aberdeen were really good. They
:07:50. > :07:58.maybe could have got an equaliser but over the piece I think Celtic
:07:59. > :08:08.deserved it. The Man of the Match yesterday. How important was he? He
:08:09. > :08:16.was devastating. They did not get close enough to him. All the good
:08:17. > :08:20.play went through Commons. He is so clever in terms of the space he
:08:21. > :08:30.finds and his quality is so good. They could not deal with him. He
:08:31. > :08:37.finds space. There are a lot of red shirts. Was it a mistake to leave
:08:38. > :08:45.him out for the Champions League? It is easy to say that now but at the
:08:46. > :08:48.time he made his decision. You can see why he has went with the
:08:49. > :08:58.decision but when you see him on form like that, the positions he
:08:59. > :09:00.finds are really intelligent, but I think the opposing manager will be
:09:01. > :09:06.disappointed he was given so much space. Controversy about Commons, he
:09:07. > :09:12.certainly handled the ball, should this have been a penalty? It is not
:09:13. > :09:15.for me. I can understand why you would be claiming it from the
:09:16. > :09:20.Aberdeen point of view, he has gone to block the first ball and it has
:09:21. > :09:26.taken a deflection. I think that would be very harsh to give a
:09:27. > :09:33.penalty. I do not think there is anything much he can do. He is
:09:34. > :09:37.reacting to the first shot. His hand should not be up there, you always
:09:38. > :09:43.run the risk, but that would have been harsh. Anything from Aberdeen
:09:44. > :09:48.to suggest that they could be best of the rest? I think so. They have
:09:49. > :09:53.been playing a lot of competitive football from an early stage. They
:09:54. > :09:58.had a good run in Europe. Maybe a slight hangover from that. I expect
:09:59. > :10:06.Aberdeen, it is only a matter of time before they put a consistent
:10:07. > :10:10.run of games together. Motherwell were best of the rest last season.
:10:11. > :10:12.Next up Inverness, who began the weekend as league leaders.
:10:13. > :10:15.After a stunning start to the season, an away trip to Partick
:10:16. > :10:19.A long trip to Glasgow, but the Caley Thistle fans not short
:10:20. > :10:36.Inverness arrived in Glasgow top of the table. No goals conceded, and a
:10:37. > :10:41.clean sweep of the monthly awards. What do the fans think? John Hughes
:10:42. > :10:47.has revamped everything preseason and we are playing terrific
:10:48. > :10:57.football. Top-quality football. Another few clean sheets. I think we
:10:58. > :10:58.will get at least prop three. Partick Thistle bring back their
:10:59. > :11:36.goalkeeper. Excellent strike from Doran. It is
:11:37. > :11:39.his third goal of the season. Excellent build-up. Three goals in
:11:40. > :12:06.four games. Lawless levels things up. His first
:12:07. > :12:09.goal of the season. It is the first goal Inverness Caley Thistle have
:12:10. > :12:28.conceded in ten hours and 17 minutes of football. An excellent finish.
:12:29. > :12:43.Higginbotham very creative this afternoon. That took a deflection.
:12:44. > :12:53.Excellent header from Osman. Getting his first goal for Partick Thistle.
:12:54. > :13:03.Out jumping everyone at the back post.
:13:04. > :13:10.Scott Fox was brave, getting down at the feet of Mackay to make the
:13:11. > :13:30.block. It looked as if Billy Mackay was
:13:31. > :13:47.getting pulled by Seabourn as he stretched to put that one in.
:13:48. > :14:05.Higginbotham! What an effort that was. Excellent play from Lawless.
:14:06. > :14:17.Higginbotham, that is two for this campaign.
:14:18. > :14:37.The flag is up for offside. It was tight. Just off.
:14:38. > :14:53.A clash between Watkins and Seabourn. An elbow into the face. He
:14:54. > :15:03.is not happy. He is letting Watkins know.
:15:04. > :15:17.The referee says penalty. A clash of feet and Dylan, -- the chance to
:15:18. > :15:28.make it four. I think we showed good character to
:15:29. > :15:34.come back. We will take it into the next game. We need to put that at
:15:35. > :15:41.the back of us. We have lost the clean sheet. We have to try to
:15:42. > :15:49.improve. The Inverness bandwagon derailed temporarily. You were the
:15:50. > :15:57.busiest man in Glasgow yesterday. I suppose in the same way that Commons
:15:58. > :16:07.was, Higginbotham was at the centre of a lot of the good stuff. He takes
:16:08. > :16:10.the corner. That is where they got the goal from. He was involved in a
:16:11. > :16:22.few incidents. He worked the left-hand side of the pitch really
:16:23. > :16:26.well. I was hugely impressed. You see the goal he scores. It was great
:16:27. > :16:35.in terms of the position. He gets in on the back. It is a top-class
:16:36. > :16:42.finish. Do you enjoy playing against him? He has done really well. He has
:16:43. > :16:48.really impressed me since I have come back up the road. When he plays
:16:49. > :16:52.off the left-hand side he is comfortable drifting into the spaces
:16:53. > :16:59.between the lines but he can also take you down the line. His body
:17:00. > :17:07.shape is wrong, the full-back, and he cannot see, he is an intelligent
:17:08. > :17:12.player. A few possibly controversial refereeing incidents. Picking on the
:17:13. > :17:20.poor referee. That was a yellow card, wasn't it? He got that right.
:17:21. > :17:25.He has a bit of a reaction. I thought he handled this well. This
:17:26. > :17:30.was not a booking. Do you think it should have been? This was a poor
:17:31. > :17:40.challenge. He was lucky to get away with that. Again, we see it here.
:17:41. > :17:51.This is Higginbotham. An unnecessary challenge. He does not need to make
:17:52. > :17:59.the challenge. Was this a penalty? When you first look at it, it looks
:18:00. > :18:05.like a penalty. He knows he has an opportunity to score and he tugs at
:18:06. > :18:10.him. I would be claiming it. I am surprised that the players did not
:18:11. > :18:13.make more of it. A temporary blip for Inverness.
:18:14. > :18:16.Still to come on Sportscene tonight, there's a new king of the Staggies
:18:17. > :18:29.We have a chief who makes the decisions. I think this was the best
:18:30. > :18:32.place to continue my career. We'll see how Jim McIntyre got
:18:33. > :18:35.on against Stephen's Motherwell But first, with Inverness slipping
:18:36. > :18:37.up at Partick Thistle, it meant that newly promoted
:18:38. > :18:40.Hamilton Academical could end the day top of the Premiership tree
:18:41. > :18:57.should they get a positive result Dundee United are without Townsend
:18:58. > :19:11.for the next month. He is out with a foot injury.
:19:12. > :19:25.Alex Neil starting September with an unchanged 11.
:19:26. > :19:45.Did he catch him? Yes, says the referee. That is a free kick. Devlin
:19:46. > :19:52.missed it. That is a lovely finish. He is so dangerous. Give him a
:19:53. > :20:15.chance and he will take it. 17 minutes gone. Ciftci, 1-04 United.
:20:16. > :20:32.He will undo you so easily. He did all he could. McKinnon and Ciftci
:20:33. > :20:39.having a stand-off. Ciftci removing to move and the referee is taking a
:20:40. > :20:51.dim view. He is going to give both players a yellow card.
:20:52. > :21:02.A mistake, and it is 1-1. You cannot give him a chance like that. The
:21:03. > :21:07.celebration is something else. The finished courtesy of a mistake by
:21:08. > :21:17.Maurice hammered home by Antoine-Curier. There is a problem.
:21:18. > :21:22.McKinnon was shouting at the dugout. This is going to be a second
:21:23. > :21:32.yellow card for abuse of language, I guess. McKinnon is sent off.
:21:33. > :21:52.He has the goal! That was very flat-footed. Credit to Andreu for
:21:53. > :22:04.the shot. Hamilton find themselves ahead after being behind. That is
:22:05. > :22:09.handball. He put that in with his hand and if he has done so he is
:22:10. > :22:25.going off. It is a yellow card. He has already been yellow carded.
:22:26. > :22:35.Dundee United are going to ten men. 2-2! Dundee United equalise as the
:22:36. > :22:55.half draws to a close. What a first half. A great header.
:22:56. > :23:20.He was nice and calm. Saving them a goal.
:23:21. > :23:33.He has been among the goals already this season.
:23:34. > :23:53.Good save. He had to come out to try to play sweeper. He denied
:23:54. > :23:54.Antoine-Curier. Good save. That was nearly the winner, and he knows how
:23:55. > :24:07.close he came. It was a very frustrating game. A
:24:08. > :24:10.lot of errors in the match. I think the result was probably a fair
:24:11. > :24:18.result, one we could have lost as well. We had a few chances and a few
:24:19. > :24:19.half chances but over the piece a really good performance.
:24:20. > :24:27.Unfortunately we did not get the win. That means that incredibly
:24:28. > :24:32.Hamilton Academical are top of the table. I do not think even the
:24:33. > :24:39.hardest of hard-core Hamilton Academical fans would have claimed
:24:40. > :24:43.this would be where they worth, and they are playing some excellent
:24:44. > :24:51.attacking football. They move the ball very well. I watched them in
:24:52. > :24:55.the play-offs last year. They are a set up top as well. It has been a
:24:56. > :25:03.breath of fresh air. They have plagued with no fear. Taking
:25:04. > :25:09.advantage of the goalkeeper. This was away at Tannadice. Getting
:25:10. > :25:17.results at home and away. They have players with a point to prove.
:25:18. > :25:29.MacGyver and spoke extremely highly of Alex Neil -- McGovern. They have
:25:30. > :25:37.had a great start. Jackie McNamara not impressed with Ciftci yesterday.
:25:38. > :25:42.He is a big player. He will be suspended for the Dundee derby. That
:25:43. > :25:53.will be a big mess. That is a big blow for them losing him. -- miss.
:25:54. > :26:00.He likes to come in off the left-hand side. He has tremendous
:26:01. > :26:05.quality, Ciftci. He is not shy to have a pop outside the box. He is
:26:06. > :26:09.very quick and strong. The defender cannot tackle them and he has the
:26:10. > :26:16.composure to finish it off. It will be a big loss next weekend. How high
:26:17. > :26:23.up the table to UC Dundee United finishing? I think United have a
:26:24. > :26:32.great squad. They do not have anybody who is a like for like
:26:33. > :26:40.replacement for the injured player. The derby will be very interesting.
:26:41. > :26:44.Paul Hartley has his team together. United will be looking at being the
:26:45. > :26:46.best of the rest, and there is no reason why they should not achieve
:26:47. > :26:48.that. After starting the season with five
:26:49. > :26:51.straight league defeats, Ross County sacked manager Derek Adams,
:26:52. > :26:53.and replaced him with the Queen For his debut, a home match
:26:54. > :26:59.against struggling Motherwell. Three changes to the Motherwell team
:27:00. > :27:40.that lost at home to St Johnstone. He is all over this game in the
:27:41. > :27:49.first half. Looking to make a big impact as he did on his first spell
:27:50. > :27:58.with Ross County. That is off the line. The value of putting a player
:27:59. > :28:06.on the post to get this away from the Motherwell youngster.
:28:07. > :28:25.A challenge that did not need to be made. He has conceded a free kick in
:28:26. > :28:41.a dangerous position. The -- Vigurs! Giving Motherwell the lead
:28:42. > :28:50.against his old team. Sutton! It is another magnificent strike, this
:28:51. > :28:57.time the left foot of Sutton. That was zooming over the head of the
:28:58. > :28:57.keeper. Two goals in five minutes for Motherwell, both equally
:28:58. > :29:16.impressive. Boyce throws Ross County a lifeline.
:29:17. > :29:22.12 minutes from time. It is a goal back for the home team. Reigniting
:29:23. > :29:28.hopes of getting something from this game. It was all about the
:29:29. > :29:37.persistence here. He was being held, but he got the ball back.
:29:38. > :29:50.Trying to find the top corner. He was not far away.
:29:51. > :29:59.And there is always with a free header, a flashing header. But he
:30:00. > :30:02.couldn't hit the target, the Ross County defender. It was a decent
:30:03. > :30:19.chance for 2-2. They are looking to create something
:30:20. > :30:26.later on, and best header from Cardle was blocked. That was heading
:30:27. > :30:37.inside the post, and it is a good diving stop to keep the score at
:30:38. > :30:44.2-1, Motherwell. It has taken two fantastic goals to win today. We are
:30:45. > :30:52.getting players back and getting that fitness. There are always
:30:53. > :30:58.positives in any match, but ultimately we have lost a match and
:30:59. > :31:02.that is disappointing. The debut defeat for Jim McIntyre there. Tough
:31:03. > :31:10.times for Motherwell this season. How big a win was that? It was
:31:11. > :31:15.massive. We knew we were going up to Ross County and it would be a tough
:31:16. > :31:20.game. But for us, it was just about getting the three points. I do know
:31:21. > :31:25.if we deserved all three, to be honest, but we managed to get to
:31:26. > :31:35.fantastic goals from Vigurs and John Sutton. We were just happy that we
:31:36. > :31:43.won the game. In my opinion, I don't think Vigurs has done enough set
:31:44. > :31:47.pieces as he should. And this one is fantastic, John Sutton texted on his
:31:48. > :31:54.chest and then just captures the goalkeeper off-guard. Should the
:31:55. > :31:58.keeper have done better? It is right underneath the bar, and he is only a
:31:59. > :32:07.couple of yards off his line. It is just a great strike. Good way to get
:32:08. > :32:11.off the mark. Stuart McCall in the papers today linked with possibly
:32:12. > :32:20.becoming assistant finial Wonnacott Crystal Palace. Can you give us any
:32:21. > :32:28.inside gossip? -- assistant for Warnock. No, it is the first I've
:32:29. > :32:30.heard of it. You want to keep your good players and your managers, so
:32:31. > :32:39.hopefully it is just the papers talking. And Jim McIntyre in charge
:32:40. > :32:47.at Ross, any times they will turn the corner? I have no doubt he will
:32:48. > :32:54.turn the place around. He's a infectious character and will get
:32:55. > :32:57.the boys working hard. He is certainly going in the right
:32:58. > :33:03.direction, so hopefully they can start to climb the table. Next to a
:33:04. > :33:14.big rivalry, St Johnstone against Andy. -- Dundee. Plenty of
:33:15. > :33:18.silverware on display before the match at McDiarmid Park, including
:33:19. > :33:21.the Scottish Cup, any excuse to get it back out in front of the fans!
:33:22. > :33:26.Also there was the Ryder Cup. Gary Harkins looking for Greg
:33:27. > :33:59.Stewart here. There is a good atmosphere around
:34:00. > :34:27.McDermott Park. The header comes from Thomas Konrad,
:34:28. > :34:30.and Dundee are ahead. The corner was initially defended, and Anderson got
:34:31. > :34:42.it away. And Harkins went up. Thomas Konrad with the header there.
:34:43. > :35:02.He enjoyed it, too. Au Halloran has it out to Greg
:35:03. > :35:10.Stewart, too. Gary Harkins has made the run, but fires it off target. St
:35:11. > :35:12.Johnstone should be about concerned the amount of space they are giving
:35:13. > :35:36.away. Again, they are finding space. Jim
:35:37. > :35:47.McAlister that time. Roberts clipped it in, McAllister met it. Frazer
:35:48. > :35:51.Wright with the header away. Greg Stewart was offside. The referee
:35:52. > :35:58.will bring it back for the free kick. Anderson seemed to take down
:35:59. > :36:09.Gary Harkins, and with the offside flag up, the free kick was giving.
:36:10. > :36:34.Gary Harkins steps up and forces the save from the goalkeeper.
:36:35. > :36:47.Alan Mannus with the save, it was clipped across. He got himself into
:36:48. > :36:53.a really good shooting position, but Alan Mannus was his equal. I thought
:36:54. > :36:57.we looked comfortable in the second half. I was delighted with the
:36:58. > :37:03.team, I thought they were excellent and it was a great team performance.
:37:04. > :37:09.Another clean sheet. We had some good opportunities, particularly
:37:10. > :37:13.down the right, that we didn't make enough of the opportunities. In the
:37:14. > :37:19.second half, we huffed and puffed but didn't get into the game.
:37:20. > :37:23.St Johnstone don't like international breaks, it seems.
:37:24. > :37:29.Straight after each international break last summer, they lost. And
:37:30. > :37:32.once again it has happened. As an international manager, you should
:37:33. > :37:40.take some of the blame for this! Why is this occurring? I spoke to Tommy
:37:41. > :37:45.Wright today, and he was obviously disappointed with the result. It is
:37:46. > :37:49.a difficult one for managers. They came in off the back of two good
:37:50. > :37:56.results, and probably didn't want the break, it came at the wrong time
:37:57. > :38:04.for them. 14 days is a long time to give the players off. Because a lot
:38:05. > :38:09.of them are not internationals. No, it is not sending them away and they
:38:10. > :38:16.come back with fatigue, it is managing them over that period. A
:38:17. > :38:20.slight bit of controversy about the Dundee goal in terms of who was
:38:21. > :38:24.trying to claim it. Gary Harkins trying to get some of the action,
:38:25. > :38:33.but it was Thomas Konrad's goal, wasn't it? It certainly looks to me
:38:34. > :38:41.as if he has hit it. If he can get his leg up that high to get his toe
:38:42. > :38:48.on that! Paul Hartley has done really well with his recruitment so
:38:49. > :38:53.far. Paul McGowan, Gary Harkins, he has some good players in.
:38:54. > :39:02.Realistically, how high can they finish? I think they have got to be
:39:03. > :39:05.aiming, they might have wanted top six, but Paul Hartley has taken
:39:06. > :39:08.players that other managers might have stayed away from, and he has
:39:09. > :39:15.backed himself to handle those players. He has some really good
:39:16. > :39:19.technical players in there. I think for a new team when they come up, it
:39:20. > :39:22.is getting momentum into their season, and they have managed to do
:39:23. > :39:27.that, and they will want that to continue. No points for St Mirren as
:39:28. > :39:32.they went into this weekend, four straight defeats and zero goals
:39:33. > :39:39.scored, it was a gloomy backdrop as they travelled down to Kilmarnock.
:39:40. > :39:51.One change for Kilmarnock from the side that lost at Inverness.
:39:52. > :40:01.Jim Goodwin returns from suspension for St Mirren.
:40:02. > :40:16.That was punched away, not convincingly, by Kello.
:40:17. > :40:26.The header was just wide of Marian Kello's post. The former striker
:40:27. > :40:34.almost opening his account for his new team. That was a poor pass. Here
:40:35. > :40:40.is a chance for Naismith. Cut back to Maclean. That really should have
:40:41. > :41:06.been the opening for Saints. The ball is overlying, but free kick
:41:07. > :41:09.says referee Alan Muir. A great challenge here by Connerly, and a
:41:10. > :41:16.magnificent through ball to Muirhead. He is on his left foot, he
:41:17. > :41:20.cuts inside, he shoots, he scores! Kilmarnock take the lead. Robbie
:41:21. > :41:25.Muirhead with his second goal of the season. It all started with a
:41:26. > :41:34.traffic challenge in his own half, and a wonderful pass through. Still
:41:35. > :41:38.with plenty of work to do, a clinical finish. It gave Kello no
:41:39. > :41:52.chance. That is a poor backpass, puts his
:41:53. > :41:59.defence under pressure, but that was great play there. A chance here for
:42:00. > :42:08.an equaliser, and Saints are back on level terms! Great treasure there
:42:09. > :42:16.from McGinn. Still work to be done, it is crossed to the back post, and
:42:17. > :42:19.Drury knocked the ball home. The crowd are unhappy there was no free
:42:20. > :42:29.kick awarded for the challenge by McGinn. And a free header for
:42:30. > :42:40.Connerly! Kilmarnock are back in front. Poor defending, you have to
:42:41. > :42:45.say, by Saints, but a thundering header from Mark Connolly beyond
:42:46. > :42:57.Kello to put Kilmarnock back in the lead. Great play by Marwood. There
:42:58. > :43:08.is a chance here for St Mirren. He is giving a yellow card and a free
:43:09. > :43:14.kick. A yellow card for a dive. You always feel like the players we have
:43:15. > :43:19.are liable to score goals. I think last year we would have lost that
:43:20. > :43:22.type of game. Frustrated that we managed to get ourselves back into
:43:23. > :43:28.the game with a goal but wouldn't take advantage of it. The second
:43:29. > :43:32.goal was uncontested, which is galling. Considering how we want to
:43:33. > :43:47.get back into the game. A good win for Kilmarnock, and
:43:48. > :43:53.finally a goal for St Mirren, but still no win.
:43:54. > :43:59.This was a long ball, but they were defending too deep, the starting
:44:00. > :44:04.position was all wrong. That was a long ball up the pitch, and there is
:44:05. > :44:12.no pressure with the centre-backs coming up the side. When you're not
:44:13. > :44:17.scoring as frequently as possible, you rely on your back four. It is
:44:18. > :44:22.just the team lacking confidence in how to defend. A lot of pressure on
:44:23. > :44:25.the St Mirren manager going into Friday's match against Partick
:44:26. > :44:37.Thistle with the pressure mounting. There seems to be, if you look at
:44:38. > :44:40.the situation, Tommy was working alongside Danny last year. There is
:44:41. > :44:45.no better man to be in charge at this point in time. I think he
:44:46. > :44:49.talked about the fact that these are group of players that will have to
:44:50. > :44:53.turn it around. The concern will be the nature of the goals, the set
:44:54. > :44:58.pieces, and if you start losing goals in set pieces, and he was
:44:59. > :45:02.saying then, they worked their way back into the game but then lost on
:45:03. > :45:06.a set piece. It doesn't matter how well organised you are for those
:45:07. > :45:10.types of situations, the players have to stand up and do their jobs,
:45:11. > :45:16.and buses where they are losing games at the moment. And that is
:45:17. > :45:20.Kilmarnock into the top six. Again, they have recruited well. They have
:45:21. > :45:25.Josh Magennis up top, who put himself about. Even though they have
:45:26. > :45:31.lost Kris Boyd, they seem to be more collective this year. After all
:45:32. > :45:35.that, the Premiership table looks like this. Hamilton Academical top
:45:36. > :45:56.of the table on goal difference. That is where we leave the
:45:57. > :45:57.Premiership now and turn our attention to matters in the
:45:58. > :46:05.championship. Great strike, really good goal.
:46:06. > :46:24.Nicky Law! Scotland's second-tier burst into
:46:25. > :46:29.life on Friday night when Rangers and Raith Rovers came together at
:46:30. > :46:38.the park. Could Ally McCoist's side get the right result on the pitch?
:46:39. > :46:46.18-year-old Lewis Vaughan with a fair bit of experience around him
:46:47. > :46:58.there. Teenage winger Fraser Aird is back for Rangers.
:46:59. > :47:09.That is a good cross for Nicky Clark to open the scoring in the 16th
:47:10. > :47:15.minute. It has been coming. Lots of pace on the cross, and redirected
:47:16. > :47:21.into the corner by Nicky Clark. Rangers are hustling to get the ball
:47:22. > :47:30.back. Ian Black allowed to line up the shot, deflected and in. And 1-0
:47:31. > :47:43.becomes 2-0 seven minutes before half-time. Laidlaw had no chance.
:47:44. > :47:52.Liam Fox gives away possession. It has happened all too often for the
:47:53. > :47:57.Kirkcaldy team. It is Nicky Law! And it is a brilliant third goal for
:47:58. > :48:03.Rangers. There was a slice of good fortune about goal number two. No
:48:04. > :48:08.deflection needed this time. And this is unstoppable.
:48:09. > :48:19.Black's thumping header is right in front of Kris Boyd. And no one is in
:48:20. > :48:29.greater disbelief than him that he has missed that.
:48:30. > :48:39.The header goes Nicky Law's way, and Kris Boyd! Well, it is not going to
:48:40. > :48:45.be his night, Kris Boyd. Nothing wrong with the effort this time, but
:48:46. > :48:51.it is a really good save by Laidlaw. Rangers continue to dominate, and
:48:52. > :48:59.that is through for Kris Boyd. This time? No. A hat-trick of chances,
:49:00. > :49:09.and this time credit to Laidlaw for standing up to the striker. Wallace
:49:10. > :49:13.sets off again, Templeton plays him in, and that is a trip surely by
:49:14. > :49:20.Grant Anderson. Everything is going wrong for Raith Rovers. A clip on
:49:21. > :49:26.the ankles of Wallace, penalty. It is Lee McCulloch, and it is the
:49:27. > :49:36.perfect penalty on a pretty perfect night for Rangers. They have beaten
:49:37. > :49:40.Raith Rovers by four goals to nil. You get on the back foot and then
:49:41. > :49:43.you make a couple of crucial errors, and before you know it you a 3-0
:49:44. > :49:49.down at chasing the game. A good night for Rangers, race just
:49:50. > :50:02.running out of team in the end against the class of Rangers. --
:50:03. > :50:06.Raith Rovers running out of Steen. They will be tough to beat in the
:50:07. > :50:16.league. Add a gathering momentum now? They are. There are options in
:50:17. > :50:22.attack. He has huge Ops and in terms of producing goals, and I think
:50:23. > :50:28.Rangers will be challenged more this season in terms of the quality of
:50:29. > :50:33.the game. Time for some more championship
:50:34. > :50:40.action now. Falkirk were at home to Queen of the South.
:50:41. > :50:46.Despite Jim McIntyre's departure, Queen of the South made a lively
:50:47. > :50:51.start, Gavin Reilly going close. And soon after, Derek Lyle was only
:50:52. > :50:58.denied by the legs of Jamie MacDonald. But no goals in the first
:50:59. > :51:01.half. In the second, Rory Loy's loping run looked like it might have
:51:02. > :51:09.got through the defence, but there were no takers. There was a taker in
:51:10. > :51:15.the 70th minute, Danny, Danny Carmichael cutting back for Riley,
:51:16. > :51:22.1-0 to Queen of the South. Chris Higgins with an own goal after this
:51:23. > :51:29.free kick, and it finished 1-1. I don't think there is any other team
:51:30. > :51:39.has had three games in a row like we have had. So I think we have nothing
:51:40. > :51:43.out of the 12 from the three big ones, but we managed to get some
:51:44. > :51:47.points. You know you're in the frame. Is it a job you would want to
:51:48. > :51:58.do? It is one of the reasons I came here. Given an opportunity, I would
:51:59. > :52:02.be very interested in taking it on. Hearts setting the pace so far in
:52:03. > :52:08.the championship, but Dumbarton's Chris Kane caused an early problem,
:52:09. > :52:11.Neil Alexander with the save. But hearts dominated in the main, with
:52:12. > :52:19.Daniel Rogers in the Dumbarton goal a busy man.
:52:20. > :52:26.In the second half, Iain Murray's side probably should have scored.
:52:27. > :52:32.Danny Wilson fluffing his clearance, that Kane couldn't react in time.
:52:33. > :52:42.Sam Nicholson with this header off the bar. But 0-0, it finished.
:52:43. > :52:48.We are only at two, but we have kept a clean sheet, it is a far cry from
:52:49. > :52:53.last year. For us, it is about points. Every point gets us out of
:52:54. > :53:03.prison and we have enough to make sure we are safe for next season. It
:53:04. > :53:06.can be really difficult to just sit in, but we deserved the point.
:53:07. > :53:12.The fashionable thing to say that the Championship is game to be more
:53:13. > :53:19.exciting than the Premiership this season. I think it will be exciting.
:53:20. > :53:27.Hearts are a good young team. They are in a much better place, I think,
:53:28. > :53:30.than Hibs at the minute. I certainly think they will push Rangers. But I
:53:31. > :53:35.think Rangers will still come out on top. You saw Queen of the South as
:53:36. > :53:39.well, currently without a manager. I know you will be a manager Sunday.
:53:40. > :53:51.Fancy throwing your hat in the ring now? Not just now, it is a bit too
:53:52. > :53:59.soon for me. Too much in the tank, Hearts and Rangers will be at the
:54:00. > :54:07.top? Yes, and if Hibs stepped up a wee bit. Stephen, Michael, thank you
:54:08. > :54:12.very much indeed. Five games in the Championship this weekend. Apart
:54:13. > :54:23.from the games we have shown you, here are the other results.
:54:24. > :54:37.That leaves the championship table looking like this.
:54:38. > :54:43.That is it from the Sportscene, a referendum free zone! Yes or no, we
:54:44. > :54:46.will see you again next weekend. Good night.