18/03/2017 Sportscene


18/03/2017

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Transcript


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Good afternoon and welcome to the show.

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No referendum chat on this show but I'll be honouring my manifesto

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commitment to bring you scores, reports, results,

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We have not one but two keynote speakers -

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They'll be debating the footballing issues of the day in the studio

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and our reporters will bring us the stories of the day

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We'll hear from them in a minute - after the headlines.

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The lunchtime kick-off ended in a 2-0 win for Aberdeen over Hearts.

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Now for the whole story of today's lunchtime match.

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It was between Aberdeen in second place and fourth placed

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I spoiled the surprise by telling you the score earlier, but you'll

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want to know how what happened, happened so here's Liam Mcleod.

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A ninth straight home win for Aberdeen for the first time since

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1996. They will have seldom had an easy win over the Tynecastle team.

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They should have won with a more convincing scoreline. Logan, a

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superb goal to set the tone. Nicholson spurned the best chance

:02:12.:02:14.

for the visitors just before that. They deserved nothing from this

:02:15.:02:19.

encounter. Avlonitis's second-half mistake allowed them in for the

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host's second, with Stockley sendoff for a flailing arm.

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Mixu, a good win for Aberdeen. Their ninth home win on the spin. The

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first time they have done that since the mid-80s? Yes, Aberdeen are very

:02:41.:02:44.

strong, in terms of attack, and also in defence. I wasn't surprised that

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they got the victory today. What I was impressed with, Aberdeen,

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they're pressing game. They stopped Hearts playing. Hearts could not

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cope with that. Hence they earned the right to pass the ball and

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create goal-scoring opportunities. Not a bad day for Hearts, they could

:03:03.:03:08.

drop out of fourth spot today if St Johnstone stay ahead at Motherwell?

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Ian Carter and others will look at the defending and be very

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disappointed with the second goal. The second goal was not much worse

:03:15.:03:22.

than the first. To be fair, there was lots more wrong. All over the

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pitch, Aberdeen were, by a good distance, the better side. They

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deserve that, at least 2-0. Ian Castro's record doesn't look that

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impressive, 17 games and four wins? It's not the start he wanted or

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anticipated. We were talking about that earlier. When the manager goes

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into the club, he has a strong philosophy, tactically, how to play.

:03:53.:03:56.

He can confuse players to begin with, quite a bit. You get good

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results, like last week, and then not so good performances, like this

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week. It is up and down. In the long run, they get it right. We don't

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know, because we don't know what happens on the training ground. If

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there are certain, strong, specific tactics being put in place, it will

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get better after the sticky start. This is just guessing and

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speculating. Mixu, the idea that the players may be confused about what

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style of play they are playing, the tactics, there are some confusion

:04:34.:04:35.

among observers about what was going on when messages were being passed

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from Craig Levine, to Tom Daley, and then to another coach, quotes that

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Craig Levine was in the dressing room at half-time? Will they be

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vexed by that? Thyme it depends, if there is an agreement between the

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and director of football, whoever from upstairs, he wants as much

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information as possible, nothing wrong with it. If we saw those

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pictures today and they were winning, you would think, well done,

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get all of the information there, everybody working together. Because

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they lost, it is taken the opposite way. Also, the same thing happened

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in Robbie Nielsen's time. Craig Levine is an experienced coach, an

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excellent football man. He sees things. He had a pair of eyes in the

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stand. Why not use it as an extra tool to get that tactical advantage?

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What is the point of having a mentor if you are not letting him mentor?

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Exactly. I don't think anyone minds who says what, as long as they win.

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Use that, if that is possible. Great. More on that later, we will

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hear from both managers. Now we can catch up on what is happening around

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the country. I will start by telling you what is happening between

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Rangers and Hamilton at Ibrox. It is the first for their new manager,

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Pedro Caixinha. It looks good for him already. Rangers 4-0 up against

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Hamilton. The first is from Emerson Hyndman. Clint Hill is making a

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habit of scoring. Waghorn scored in the 55th, and the latest is from

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Wallace. Let's see how it is going at St Johnstone. They are not

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feeling too well at the moment, Motherwell are losing 1-2.

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Motherwell managed to get an equaliser through Scott McDonald,

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just before half-time. Since the interval, the home side have been

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more assertive, the more aggressive in an attacking sense. They went a

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second goal down to Liam Craig about ten minutes ago. St Johnstone had a

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couple of chances since then to increase the scoring. As it stands,

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St Johnstone will move into fourth place. Time we hit the Highlands and

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find out what is happening in the Derby, Inverness at home to Ross

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County. Good afternoon, Martin. It is 1-1. Richie Foran said it was a

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much win today. They are doing just that, fax to a blistering opening to

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the second-half, in which Greg Tansey's on target effort deflected

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off Andrew Davis and found the net. It was Nellie two after that, but

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the header wasn't on target. Tansey went close again. Then a long-range,

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before Billy Mackay struck the bar, which would have killed the game.

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County should have been on illegal to leave Baku even terms. Craig

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Curran, all the time in the world, six yards out, screwed his header

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wide. As it stands, it seems like a relegation battle awaits county,

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with Inverness on the up at the right time.

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To 18 just inside the top six, Kilmarnock against Partick Thistle.

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Partick Thistle look like bolstering their chances of a top six finish, a

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goal by Erskine after 73 minutes. Kilmarnock enjoy the better of the

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first half. Two or three good chances. In the early part of the

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second period, Thistle have turned it around. They hit the crossbar on

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two occasions, Lawless and Barton, before Erskine slotted in a shot.

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Championship leaders Hibs are keeping Pat Nevin on the edge of

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their seat. They are at home to Dumbarton. 14,000 fans on the edge

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of their seats. It is now 2-2. The visitors taking the lead with a

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penalty, nine minutes before half-time. The equaliser, coming

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courtesy of an own goal from Daniel Harvey. Robert Thompson, with a

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lovely shot. James Keatings had a chance to equalise. Martin has since

:09:10.:09:19.

sinned for Dumbarton, he dropped the ball on the edge of the 18-yard box.

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Martin Boyle was there too nodded over the goalkeeper. Crawling over

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the line. What a game. 2-2. Deep breaths, relax, enjoy. It's never

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been easy for Hibs. Not doing particularly well today, but a point

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would not be the end of the world? I think they would be disappointed,

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but it would not be the end of the world. There is still time for Hibs

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or Dumbarton to grab a winner. I feel, overall, Hibs will be

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comfortable this season and get promotion. No danger of Rangers

:10:00.:10:03.

dropping points at home to Hamilton. They hit them for six not alone

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though. The new manager's first match in charge, cruising? A little

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bit of a lift. They hit six against them before. That game against

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Celtic made a massive difference. I think that made a difference on the

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confidence of the players. You want a bounce when a new manager comes

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in, they needed to win today. Consider the way the other results

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are looking, it is a big one for Rangers. They want to make sure that

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they can consolidate their position, where they are in the league. It is

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looking good for them. We have mentioned the fact that Hearts have

:10:37.:10:42.

slipped up. We are heading straight to the Highlands. There has been a

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goal in the Highland derby. Is it for Inverness or County? An

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incredible moment, it is 1-1. It is Schalk, a massive goal for County.

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Expect Inverness to throw everything at this. 1-1. I think it is the

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police you need if Schalk has stuck a dagger into his heart, I missed

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that. It could be a very important goal? Absolutely, the way the match

:11:23.:11:30.

has gone, Cali Thistle had so many chances. A point would be all right,

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on the face of it, if Accies are losing? You're desperate to win this

:11:41.:11:46.

game, it gives you a bit of breathing space. There was a Miss by

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Curran, I thought that was their chance, but they've gone back, and

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Schalk has done very well for them. He scores important goals and he is

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always a danger. But what is going right to the death. A good game. I

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thought it was a well played game, pretty fairly played. I couldn't

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call it now. Mixu, could you call St Johnstone? A big win for Saints and

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they would go up to fourth? Motherwell have played well. Had

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loads of chances. Hit the bar, had close calls on a few occasions but

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St Johnstone are leading two-one. They've taken their chances.

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Fantastic two goals made a difference. Motherwell defensively a

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bit frail again today, Path? Maybe, but I would agree, the fact they

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created probably more and better chances. Scott taken one, another

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one he didn't take and he was furious with himself. We know's good

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player. His second goal, the half-volley was absolutely

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fantastic. However, more information coming.

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Well done, Pat. We will get back to you, Mick. There's been a goal at

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Rugby Park. Do tell, John. Things level here at Rugby Park with three

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minutes remaining. There was loads of pressure around the This is

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thistle goal area, couldn't get it clear and 25 yards out it was

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knocked in. What were you going to say? I was going to say about St

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Johnstone. Their mentality is so strong and they play their system,

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very simple system, so well and powerful. Even if an opponent plays

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well against them, they rely on their usual tried and trusted

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methods and style of play and get results. Fantastic. Kilmarnock,

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Connor Salmond scored. Only got up with for Hearts. He needed to score

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today. There were missed chances in the first half. Chelsea have just

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scored there, that's a big goal in the English Premier League, as well.

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For Salmon it's a big win. When you look at the results coming through

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it underlines how tight it is at the bottom of the league and what a

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difference one goal can make. Inverness and Ross 1-1, as well. The

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Killy Thistle match is interesting. If Thistle win this game they would

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have one foot in the top six already. Now it's interesting.

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They've lost a late goal. John Barnes said the last kick was a

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header. They were 1-0 up they've lost. They've done the same. Dnt

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strike me as if they're tiring. Sometimes you get unlucky. It

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happens lots, you think that's a team that's tired and losing

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concentration. They didn't look like that to me. They were maybe holding

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on a little bit. You have that little bit of an edge. You hold on

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to it and naturally just fall back a little and that seems to have been

:15:20.:15:26.

what's happened. Also the opponent throws maybe an extra player

:15:27.:15:31.

forward, tryings to get that winner. That's the way it goes. Lots of

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interesting scores in the Championship, Pat. Not least of

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which is the Hibs and Dunbaren to. Down to the bottom of the table,

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second bottom Ayr United one up to Dunfermline. It's a shock. Ayr have

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been having a tough time. United's scores, just been beaten or getting

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some draws. I felt really unlucky, I mean, McCall is one of my favourite

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managers anyway, he is great to listen to and speaks intelligently

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and knows the game well. To be fair, looking at them just now I think

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it's been unfortunate for them because he is getting the best you

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just about can get out of that side. 1-0. Still a bit tight. Raith Rovers

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up. Dundee having a troublesome spell at the moment. They're still

:16:25.:16:28.

hanging on to fourth spot. Might they be in danger of dropping out of

:16:29.:16:32.

the play-offs or have they a cushion? It helps Queens are not

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doing well today. Dundee having a poor spell at the moment. That's the

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way the season goes. You have good spells, poor spells. They have a

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poor one at the moment. Good for Raith Rovers and important victory

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because down where Raith Rovers are, you know, there's not too much

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breathing space there. So very important victory if they manage to

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hold on. To the end of the season, the business end of the season in

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the Championship and some clubs are waking up. Yeah, well, you have a

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fight, you are fighting for your lives. St Mirren, massive changes

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Jack has made. Is it ten players brought in. They seem to have done

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everything right when they brought them in, the win against Hibs was a

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big one, as well. No lack of confidence with St Mirren there.

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Having said that, I mean, although they're a lot of points between top

:17:29.:17:33.

and bottom I don't think quality-wise there is a massive

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between top and bottom of that league especially when you see St

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Mirren getting a little bit of a run. We talk about division being an

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extraordinarily interesting division, it is because anyone can

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be in it. I tell you what, we will stay in the Championship, it's

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full-time at Easter Road with Hibs and Dunbaren to. How did it finish?

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Hibs 2, Dumbarton 2. A crowd of over 14,000, they received their money's

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worth this afternoon. The visitors in front through Nade in the first

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half, scoring from the spot after a needless challenge by Barkley on

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Sterling. A slice of fortune for Hibs coming from the equaliser.

:18:17.:18:20.

McGinn with a cross. Harvey in trying to clear the ball could only

:18:21.:18:23.

turn the ball into the back of the net. At that point you would have

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expected Hibs to drive forward however Dumbarton took the lead. A

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wonderful shot 22 -- 22 yards out. A brilliant save in the Dumbarton

:18:40.:18:43.

goal. Saved from the penalty kick. Hibs equalised and the goalkeeper

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dropped the ball at the edge of the box. Boyle with a header over the

:18:47.:18:51.

line. Hibs threw the kitchen sink and everything else at Dumbarton in

:18:52.:18:55.

the last five minutes but couldn't snatch what would have been ap

:18:56.:19:00.

winner. Both teams applauded off the pitch. It finished 2-2. Thanks,

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Brian. Let's head to the Premier League and Rugby Park. Kilmarnock

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and Partick Thistle has reached its conclusion. We should have expected

:19:12.:19:14.

it with six of the previous nine meetings between these sides having

:19:15.:19:19.

been drawn, we should have expected this close encounter. It proved so.

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Partick Thistle the lead in the 73rd minute with a left foot strike which

:19:26.:19:31.

beat the Kilmarnock goalkeeper but four minutes from the end it was

:19:32.:19:36.

Connor Sammon who levelled with a 25-yard effort to ensure it's a

:19:37.:19:39.

point each here at Rugby Park. Both sides pushing for the top six.

:19:40.:19:43.

Partick Thistle remain there. But it's a vital point for Killie as

:19:44.:19:48.

they try to stay away from the fringes of of this relegation

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dogfight. On to the fringes of that relegation

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dogfight, that's where we find Motherwell. Today they were at home

:19:56.:20:01.

to St Johnstone. Over to riched a. Yes, another win on the road. Opened

:20:02.:20:06.

the scoring through Craig and got a second in the second half through

:20:07.:20:09.

the same player with a shot from a tight angle. In between they soaked

:20:10.:20:13.

up a lot of pressure defending heavily in the second half.

:20:14.:20:16.

Motherwell equalised before the break through McDonald. They threw a

:20:17.:20:20.

lot of attacks at the visitors in the second half. Ryan Bowman even

:20:21.:20:25.

hitting the post late on. St Johnstone lifted into fourth place

:20:26.:20:28.

with a victory and all but secure as position in the top six.

:20:29.:20:37.

It's all over in Inverness. Martin, did it finish all square? It did,

:20:38.:20:45.

1-1, truly incredible finishing. Sharp's late effort rescuing a

:20:46.:20:50.

crucial point for the side and handing at the same time a

:20:51.:21:01.

significant blow to Ritchie Forman. Tansey again with a free kick and a

:21:02.:21:06.

powerful long range effort but it looked like MacKay would kill the

:21:07.:21:09.

game with a close range shot that agonisingly clipped the bar. Curran

:21:10.:21:13.

looked like being County's culprit. An Ned I didn't know miss from six

:21:14.:21:19.

yards with a header. -- an incredible miss from six yards with

:21:20.:21:26.

a header. Full-time here, 1-1. It's full-time now at Ibrox. Rangers

:21:27.:21:33.

at home to Hamilton this afternoon. Convincing win for Rangers. 4-0

:21:34.:21:45.

winners over Hamilton. A first win then for Pedrow. Back to

:21:46.:21:52.

the Championship. Queen of the South and St Mirren, how did it pan out?

:21:53.:22:01.

What a result it was for St Mirren. The first half it belonged to Queen

:22:02.:22:05.

of the South in terms of possession of the ball and chances. Queens

:22:06.:22:15.

dominating for long periods. Incredibly it was a cross finding

:22:16.:22:19.

the back post area about 15 yards out to drill home with a quality

:22:20.:22:24.

strike to give St Mirren a lead. That will give St Mirren the

:22:25.:22:26.

confidence that was lacking in the first period. They doubled their

:22:27.:22:29.

lead nine minutes into the second half. It was a lively Morgan down

:22:30.:22:34.

the left side who made his way into the box of the he was bundled over

:22:35.:22:39.

by Mercer. It was Loy showing the confidence to step up to take the

:22:40.:22:43.

spot kick to calmly slot home. Queens, outplayed at this point but

:22:44.:22:47.

rallied to the closing stages going close but it was not to be. St

:22:48.:22:52.

Mirren picked up another great three points in their pursuit of

:22:53.:22:58.

Championship survival. It finished Queen of the South 0, St Mirren 2.

:22:59.:23:10.

Now Dunfermline and Ayr United. Doherty powered a header from the

:23:11.:23:16.

corner. It snuck across the goalline. That emboldened Ayr and

:23:17.:23:24.

then two good saves in quick succession. Dunfermline started

:23:25.:23:31.

really strongly. They continued into the second half. A fine chance

:23:32.:23:37.

squandered on 68 minutes. Michael Paignton then headed a ball straight

:23:38.:23:41.

at the keeper from a good goal-scoring position. Dunfermline

:23:42.:23:51.

fought for the equaliser. Ayr weathered releaptless pressure to

:23:52.:23:57.

take three huge points. Time to hear from Kenny Crawford

:23:58.:24:01.

watching championship action, this time Raith Rovers and Dundee United.

:24:02.:24:11.

Yes, it finished here Raith Rovers 2, Dundee United 1. Their fifth

:24:12.:24:15.

consecutive league match without a win for Dundee. The problems mount

:24:16.:24:21.

for the manager who used to be manager here at Raith Rovers. Bar

:24:22.:24:26.

put Rovers ahead when he headed in a free kick on 41 minutes. Raith's

:24:27.:24:31.

lead was extended by Ryan Hardy's low left-footed finish four minutes

:24:32.:24:35.

into the second half. Raith had chances to make it 3-0 but it was

:24:36.:24:39.

Dundee to struggle to create but did pull one back on 81 minutes through

:24:40.:24:43.

Simon Murray. His 12th goal of the season. A neat finish in a crowded

:24:44.:24:48.

penalty box. It provided hope for the visitors. But they couldn't make

:24:49.:24:53.

that materialise into a leveller. Raith Rovers went on to it hit the

:24:54.:24:57.

post but they hng on to get their second win in three games and Raith

:24:58.:25:03.

Rovers jump to 7th in the Championship table. Time before the

:25:04.:25:10.

classified round-up to mull over one or two issues. We spoke about

:25:11.:25:14.

Rangers picking up points today. Hamilton dropped to the bottom of

:25:15.:25:20.

the table and now conceded in the last three matches, even I can work

:25:21.:25:24.

this out, 14 goals, Pat. You don't want to be hitting that form at this

:25:25.:25:30.

point in the season. Everyone battling in there. They are big

:25:31.:25:33.

important late goals today but there was no hope for them because they

:25:34.:25:38.

were 4-0 down. It is the hammerings that are happening now and again.

:25:39.:25:41.

They can be dispiriting a little bit. Playing against the likes of

:25:42.:25:45.

Rangers or Celtic, sometimes that will happen, maybe even Aberdeen at

:25:46.:25:48.

their best that will happen now and again. But once you are in that

:25:49.:25:51.

bottom position you need to have a fight, you need to have a battle.

:25:52.:25:55.

They will battle. We know they'll do that. But you get a horrible feeling

:25:56.:25:59.

they're going to have to do a lot of good stuff at home and obviously on

:26:00.:26:03.

their own pitch they feel more comfortable. Inverness move up a

:26:04.:26:10.

place today but they're level on points at the bottom. Hopefully we

:26:11.:26:13.

will hear from Ritchie but he will be disappointed. Yeah, they played

:26:14.:26:19.

well today. They created enough today to win the match. They've got

:26:20.:26:27.

the momentum now. They've had some positive results recently and other

:26:28.:26:32.

than totally opposite to the Hamilton, so I have a funny feeling

:26:33.:26:37.

that they'll climb up, so it will be interesting end to the season.

:26:38.:26:44.

Momentum for Caley Thistle. Inert why now for Motherwell. They're

:26:45.:26:47.

flirting with the bottom two spots. Every now and again you see a team

:26:48.:26:50.

and you look at the team and the players and the goal scorers and you

:26:51.:26:54.

think they're far too good. They should be able to do it. That's what

:26:55.:27:00.

I feel about Motherwell now. If they've players who can score goals.

:27:01.:27:03.

Pearson will come on as a substitute. They're very good

:27:04.:27:05.

players. But you are right, they're down in there, there is a battle

:27:06.:27:09.

going on. Honestly, I couldn't even begin to guess who I think is going

:27:10.:27:13.

to go down now because there was a period of time when you probably

:27:14.:27:18.

thought five different teams at five different times. Next week it will

:27:19.:27:19.

be totally different. I think the deciding matches are

:27:20.:27:27.

going to be played in the bottom six, you know, who gets relegation.

:27:28.:27:33.

I don't think it will be decided before that. It will be very

:27:34.:27:42.

exciting. Welcome at the topic is not that exciting. I am now going to

:27:43.:27:46.

do the classified results, and then plenty more chat in the last 30

:27:47.:27:49.

minutes of the show. Let's go to the classified round-up.

:27:50.:31:28.

Time for a look at the league tables in the Scottish Championship.

:31:29.:31:31.

Premiership, indeed. In the Championship, Hibs stay at

:31:32.:32:05.

the top and seven points clear of Falkirk.

:32:06.:32:19.

Exciting stuff at the bottom, wins for both St Mirren and Ayr United.

:32:20.:32:51.

In the English Premier League, let me work this out... Chelsea are 13

:32:52.:32:58.

points clear at the top. Well done, your faces lit up with delight at

:32:59.:32:59.

that. Sunderland picked up a point today

:33:00.:33:19.

at home to Burnley, but they remain at the foot of the table, two behind

:33:20.:33:23.

Middlesbrough and four behind third bottom Hull City.

:33:24.:33:29.

Newcastle United are just one point ahead of Brighton, but the -- they

:33:30.:33:40.

have a game in hand. Right, as I mentioned earlier, a

:33:41.:33:58.

hugely significant match in the Championship is imminent, and so is

:33:59.:34:06.

our reporter, Charlie. He is with the home side, who are second, about

:34:07.:34:13.

to play Morton in third. Is excitement building? Yes,

:34:14.:34:16.

anticipation for what could be the best game of the day. Second against

:34:17.:34:21.

third. This one really does promise much. Falkirk are in great form,

:34:22.:34:26.

unbeaten in nine. Morton are in terrific form. They have two

:34:27.:34:33.

exceptional managers, both of whom like playing football. There is a

:34:34.:34:38.

decent crowd growing. A good pitch, as it always is, because it is

:34:39.:34:41.

artificial. This could really be a good game. Easy for Peter Houston,

:34:42.:34:47.

he sticks with the same team that beat Ayr United. Jim Duffy is forced

:34:48.:34:52.

into a couple of changes, Michael Doyle is out altogether, Tidser is

:34:53.:35:02.

dropped to the bench. As I say, the results have gone for Falkirk and

:35:03.:35:09.

Morton this afternoon. This could be a really good match. It is a long

:35:10.:35:13.

time since I have had a good Saturday night out in Falkirk, that

:35:14.:35:17.

might change soon. Don't be heading out after the game, that is for

:35:18.:35:20.

sure. That is one to look forward to. Falkirk, should they win that,

:35:21.:35:29.

they go onto 51 points, four behind Hibs at the top? Yes, they have a

:35:30.:35:34.

good chance, and plenty of motivation in both Falkirk and

:35:35.:35:41.

Morton. At the moment, it is still possible to catch Hibs. It will be

:35:42.:35:48.

an exciting match. Will it be uppermost in their mind, catching

:35:49.:35:53.

Hibs? A while ago it looked impossible, now it looks feasible?

:35:54.:35:56.

Looks feasible because Hibs have studied a view times. There have

:35:57.:36:00.

been games where they have been playing well, but not getting three

:36:01.:36:05.

points. One win in six in the Championship, that is relegation

:36:06.:36:10.

form! Not quite, you are pushing it there. But they are not running away

:36:11.:36:13.

with it. But teams should not run away with that, because there are no

:36:14.:36:20.

easy games in that division. Falkirk and Morton, let's be honest, not to

:36:21.:36:26.

write them off, the expectation was Dundee United and Hibs. That is what

:36:27.:36:30.

everybody was watching for. But Falkirk and Morton had been in

:36:31.:36:34.

fantastic form. When Hibs have struggled this season, not only

:36:35.:36:40.

Hibs, but quite many teams, when they set their stall out to sit

:36:41.:36:45.

tight and defend with a compact defence, that is how teams approach

:36:46.:36:50.

it when they play Hibs. Hibs have excellent players, they pass the

:36:51.:36:54.

ball well. If you are open, they will punish you. They struggled

:36:55.:36:57.

because of that. Then counterattack, the longer the game goes, Hibs put

:36:58.:37:06.

players forward Sam that leaves gaps behind, counterattack, suddenly you

:37:07.:37:12.

are 1-0 down. It is because they are seen as the big team, and the

:37:13.:37:17.

expectation is there, if they miss a penalty, they almost always get more

:37:18.:37:21.

opportunities than the opposition, exactly as Mixu is saying. Teams are

:37:22.:37:25.

playing for that, they want the odd chance or break. Because Hibs have

:37:26.:37:28.

committed 70 players forward, it is kind of the Hibs way. That is the

:37:29.:37:34.

way I want to see them winning. Let's dip our toes in the waters of

:37:35.:37:38.

the English Premier League. West Brom against Arsenal, the lunchtime

:37:39.:37:42.

kick-off. That was watched by Martin Fisher. The start of play, a hired

:37:43.:37:50.

aircraft went overhead with a banner proclaiming Arsene Wenger out. By

:37:51.:37:54.

the end, the placards were unveiled in the away end. This was Arsenal's

:37:55.:37:57.

fourth Premier League defeat in five games. Apart from Sanchez, few

:37:58.:38:01.

players looked up to it. Poor marking allowed Craig Dawson to give

:38:02.:38:07.

Albion and early lead. Although Sanchez soon equalised, for all of

:38:08.:38:10.

their possession, they created little. In contrast, West Brom were

:38:11.:38:14.

always a danger on the counterattack will stop Hal Robson-Kanu, restoring

:38:15.:38:20.

the advantage from one such break, before another corner brought

:38:21.:38:23.

another goal and another for Dawson. He rose above statuesque Arsenal

:38:24.:38:30.

defenders. It was described as a game Arsenal had to win. Having lost

:38:31.:38:34.

it, the gap to fourth spot looks wider than ever. What will that mean

:38:35.:38:38.

for Arsene Wenger's future? I will put that question to you. We don't

:38:39.:38:41.

know definitively what will happen, what do you think is likely to

:38:42.:38:48.

happen? It is exactly what we said there, counterattacking, against

:38:49.:38:51.

Arsenal, who keep the ball, pass the ball well, loads of possession.

:38:52.:38:57.

Someone like West Brom, Tony Pulis, master of tactics, counterattacking,

:38:58.:39:00.

set pieces, they scored two set piece goals, not a surprise when you

:39:01.:39:06.

talk about Tony Pulis's side. It is not easy for big teams to play

:39:07.:39:12.

against so-called lesser teams. Because of the tight defence, and

:39:13.:39:15.

then counterattacking, then you have a really powerful player for set

:39:16.:39:22.

pieces, these results can happen. Chelsea, way to Stoke City this

:39:23.:39:30.

afternoon. Joy for Chelsea, despair for Stoke. Brilliant drama, you have

:39:31.:39:34.

to say, for the neutral. For so long, it looked like Mark Hughes

:39:35.:39:37.

would frustrate the club he used to play for once again. These two were

:39:38.:39:41.

locked at 1-1 heading into the final five minutes. Jon Walters first half

:39:42.:39:47.

penalty cancelled out Willian's fortuitous free kick. But Gary

:39:48.:39:52.

Cahill, before a corner, capitalised on defensive confusion in the Stoke

:39:53.:40:01.

ranks after Luiz's header was saved. He smashed it past Grant for his

:40:02.:40:06.

fourth of the season. Heartbreak for Mark Hughes. The Stoke fans here,

:40:07.:40:11.

also. Chelsea march on, their unbeaten run continues and they

:40:12.:40:14.

remain ten points clear at the top of the Premier League. Cheered you

:40:15.:40:19.

up after that Hibs result, another win for Chelsea. 13 points clear at

:40:20.:40:24.

the top of the table? Cahill scoring the goal should not surprise people

:40:25.:40:27.

who have watched Chelsea over the years. You look at the likes of John

:40:28.:40:35.

Terry, Lou -- Luiz putting in the header, they look unstoppable at the

:40:36.:40:41.

moment. Arguably, it was their trickiest game between now and the

:40:42.:40:44.

end of the season. It is hard to see them slipping up. Tricky, but they

:40:45.:40:49.

had 20 goal efforts, against Stoke's five. They have good goal-scorers,

:40:50.:40:56.

from defence, midfield and attack. They will always score. The way they

:40:57.:41:01.

played a system, switch it from one side to the other, to the wingbacks,

:41:02.:41:05.

that are really high, it seems difficult to block a defence against

:41:06.:41:17.

them because of their but width. A routine 4-0 victory against Hull.

:41:18.:41:23.

There were never really troubled asset culvert Lewin tapped in his

:41:24.:41:33.

first goal for the club. -- after their teenager scored his first

:41:34.:41:42.

goal. Valencia repaid the favour to Lukaku, and he raced clear to score

:41:43.:41:46.

his 21st of the season. He got another one at the death, rounded

:41:47.:41:50.

the keeper to score. Another one for Hull's survival hopes. What a blow

:41:51.:41:55.

this would be for Everton if they were to lose Lukaku. West Ham were

:41:56.:41:58.

at home to Leicester this afternoon. Unbelievable match. For West Ham

:41:59.:42:11.

fans they came close to grabbing an equaliser late on but poor finishing

:42:12.:42:15.

and excellent goalkeeping from Schmeichel has given Leicester their

:42:16.:42:20.

first away win of the season. The visitors had a two goal lead early

:42:21.:42:24.

doors but suspect defending in the West Ham back line on both occasions

:42:25.:42:29.

helped them out. A free kick got West Ham back in it but Vardy poked

:42:30.:42:33.

home before half-time for Leicester's third. Ayew reduced the

:42:34.:42:38.

arrears again. Leicester did just enough to continue their winning

:42:39.:42:45.

streak under Craig Shakespeare. The Leicester revival continues. You saw

:42:46.:42:48.

them mid week in the flesh, in the Champions League. A good result mid

:42:49.:42:57.

week. If anybody has the momentum at the moment it's Leicester. The

:42:58.:43:01.

result was, Wednesday against Seville they didn't play that well

:43:02.:43:04.

but Schmeichel like we heard again, he was excellent again today. You

:43:05.:43:08.

know, saved a penalty and other great saves. They have a top, top

:43:09.:43:14.

quality keeper there. When you score two goals in the opening six

:43:15.:43:19.

minutes... Eases the pressure a bit. Absolutely. They started well.

:43:20.:43:24.

That's a sign of confidence. They're carrying on from that European

:43:25.:43:28.

match, that confidence is there. Quick start, fast pass, score goals.

:43:29.:43:31.

But certainly Schmeichel, you know, the form he is in at the moment and

:43:32.:43:38.

his quality, keeps them alive. Back to all matters Scottish. Because

:43:39.:43:41.

Aberdeen beat Hearts today Celtic won't be able to win the title

:43:42.:43:46.

tomorrow. They will, however, be able to re-establish a 25-point lead

:43:47.:43:51.

at the top of the table. To do that they'll need to beat Dundee. You can

:43:52.:43:59.

follow the action in Sportsound at midday. Plenty of incentive there.

:44:00.:44:03.

Celtic can't win the title, they will win the title, it won't be

:44:04.:44:08.

tomorrow, they're away to Dundee. After having dropped points last

:44:09.:44:12.

week at home to Rangers. To be honest that's at the froer front of

:44:13.:44:16.

a lot of people's minds. Rangers had a good day. Having said that, let's

:44:17.:44:23.

look at the wider sense. They're miles ahead, not just points, but

:44:24.:44:28.

play, as well. They're getting great performances out of players who

:44:29.:44:32.

weren't doing as well, Armstrong more than anyone else. You have to

:44:33.:44:36.

applaud Rangers for coming back into it. Looking at what Celtic have done

:44:37.:44:49.

this season, by the way the free scoring Clint scores as well. We

:44:50.:44:52.

were team-mates. Realistically if you look at the way Celtic went

:44:53.:44:58.

through the season, a number of people asked me did Brendan Rodgers

:44:59.:45:01.

make mistakes during the game? Forget about that, he has made so

:45:02.:45:04.

many correct decisions this season and that's not just tactics, not

:45:05.:45:08.

just in the right people, but also bringing the right people in, as

:45:09.:45:10.

well, it's hard to say a negative thing about them. Celtic dropped

:45:11.:45:17.

points last week but Dundee dropped even more, they lost against St

:45:18.:45:23.

Johnstone. Paul Hartly Manager of the Month for February. March has

:45:24.:45:26.

been miserable so far. Two defeats including this one. I don't expect

:45:27.:45:33.

Celtic to have it easy tomorrow. Dundee will battle. They will defend

:45:34.:45:39.

with numbers. They use the counterattacking style of play. So,

:45:40.:45:44.

you know, wot won't be easy for Celtic tomorrow. Obviously Celtic

:45:45.:45:47.

like Pat mentioned are so much better than everybody else this

:45:48.:45:50.

season. They probably will get a victory again but won't be easy. It

:45:51.:45:55.

wasn't particularly easy for Celtic when they played Dundee at Celtic

:45:56.:46:00.

Park earlier. They won the match. 2-1. But Dundee played well. By the

:46:01.:46:05.

way what a brilliant goal that was, one of the best of the seasons, he

:46:06.:46:09.

makes it look easy. I don't suspect it will be easy but I don't think a

:46:10.:46:14.

lot of people will be betting on Dundee to win this. They don't often

:46:15.:46:18.

have two dull games in a row. They usually, if they have a quiet game,

:46:19.:46:23.

even if it's a game they win, and sneak a win, they go on a good game

:46:24.:46:31.

the next. Yeah, I don't think they're in any great danger. They've

:46:32.:46:34.

every possibility that they could maybe even push towards the top six

:46:35.:46:37.

this season. They would love to get a result. But in the end Celtic play

:46:38.:46:42.

at their best, we all know, quite simply Celtic will win this game if

:46:43.:46:47.

they play at their best. Paul Hartly knows that, Brendan Rodgers knows

:46:48.:46:52.

that, and they're just hoping they don't play to their best. Last week

:46:53.:47:01.

everybody said they would win. Both going for Celtic wins. 100%. Time to

:47:02.:47:07.

hear from managers, coaches, maybe even an interim manager, as well. We

:47:08.:47:13.

will start with the post-match reaction from that match when

:47:14.:47:19.

Aberdeen beat Hearts. First the boss of Aberdeen. It's great as a manager

:47:20.:47:26.

when you see a team relentless with their work. I thought we spoke

:47:27.:47:31.

before the game about those middle two-thirds of being aggressive and

:47:32.:47:34.

making the game go our way, pressing the life out of them and I thought

:47:35.:47:37.

we did that. I didn't think Hearts could cope with that. It's a

:47:38.:47:42.

situation where Aberdeen have shown they're in a position where they're

:47:43.:47:48.

stronger, more routined and across the 90 minutes managed to take the

:47:49.:47:53.

victory. Inside that there were some positive parts to our play. We had

:47:54.:47:57.

some opportunities and of course that comes down to clinical

:47:58.:48:01.

finishing, sometimes clinical defending and the ruthlessness, and

:48:02.:48:06.

quickness and dealing with things and we suffered through that today.

:48:07.:48:09.

What was your take on the sending off? I haven't seen it again. But

:48:10.:48:15.

from what I am told by one or two of the staff that have seen it, I think

:48:16.:48:20.

there is a foul initially on Jaden. Then it slows him down. He can't put

:48:21.:48:27.

pressure on the defender then. He turns around and I think he is

:48:28.:48:31.

caught, I think it's the palm of his hand. And the boy's face. So I think

:48:32.:48:36.

from maybe the referee's interpreted it, maybe he has seen it as a bit

:48:37.:48:39.

more than that. I think it's frustration he has been fouled. You

:48:40.:48:43.

could perhaps understand why fans are asking questions about the

:48:44.:48:45.

director of football and why he is in the dressing room at half-time.

:48:46.:48:49.

Is he giving advice and coaching advice? I think one of the things

:48:50.:48:56.

you probably have to look at is there is not much space. You are

:48:57.:49:00.

searching for something. We work in a very, very clear way. So he is not

:49:01.:49:04.

providing coaching advice is that what you are saying? That's my job.

:49:05.:49:15.

I have to get my dictionary out! An interesting phrase was Aberdeen were

:49:16.:49:20.

stronger and more routined. Yeah, there are certain pieces of jargon

:49:21.:49:25.

that happen within the coaching fra ternities. That's one of the ones

:49:26.:49:29.

just now. Does that mean they know what they're doing? Yeah, they're

:49:30.:49:33.

organised. We all use organised too much and structured too much. They

:49:34.:49:37.

do know what they're doing. They're a good side. They're having a

:49:38.:49:41.

brilliant run. But it was a hard day, a bad day for Hearts. The fact

:49:42.:49:46.

they've dropped down and are now in that position just now is really

:49:47.:49:50.

difficult for them. It's difficult to get momentum back because they've

:49:51.:49:56.

lost it. We can hear now from Jim McIntyre, the Ross County boss after

:49:57.:50:01.

his side's draw away in the highland derby. How valuable was Alex Sharp's

:50:02.:50:06.

goal there? It's the least we deserved, we put so much into the

:50:07.:50:09.

game. We were the better side in the first half. Without actually getting

:50:10.:50:15.

on the end of some good play. The referee's got to give a penalty on

:50:16.:50:22.

Alex. He says he doesn't see it, so that's disappointing. The throw-in

:50:23.:50:27.

that led to their goal is also a throw-in. So big decisions have went

:50:28.:50:32.

the wrong way. We should still defend better, I am not blaming for

:50:33.:50:36.

that, we should clear the ball. That gave Inverness that lift and we said

:50:37.:50:39.

to players at half-time you have done so much well but we knew

:50:40.:50:42.

Inverness would probably get a rocket and come out all guns blazing

:50:43.:50:47.

and they had a good period in that second half also. In the period up

:50:48.:50:52.

to half-time you looked to get on top. Naismith was good, sharp very

:50:53.:50:56.

close to getting one, did you feel you would kick on from there? Yeah,

:50:57.:50:59.

we did. We told players to keep doing what you are doing and can we

:51:00.:51:02.

improve that final bit of quality that will get us the goal? I thought

:51:03.:51:08.

the reaction was great to go behind, obviously goals change games, it

:51:09.:51:12.

gave Inverness that lift for ten, 15 minutes. We had to weather the storm

:51:13.:51:17.

and we have counterattack and they've hit the bar and had a free

:51:18.:51:20.

kick, as well. But we have come back into it. We have made a brilliant

:51:21.:51:28.

chance with Craig, he should score, thought he was magnificent giving us

:51:29.:51:30.

everything he had and really putting them under pressure. Again just the

:51:31.:51:34.

spirit and the side, boys coming out, I thought the three boys that

:51:35.:51:37.

came off the bench done fantastically well and made an

:51:38.:51:41.

impact. That's what you need. Because we put so much into it and

:51:42.:51:44.

the way it's been going for us lately it's easy to feel sorry for

:51:45.:51:50.

yourself but whenever we dug in and I felt we finished the game really

:51:51.:51:55.

strengthly. Feels a wee bit hard done by with a couple of refereeing

:51:56.:52:01.

decisions but as he points out can't blame the ref for that Thistle goal.

:52:02.:52:08.

No, I think it's probably diverting there how the match went but I think

:52:09.:52:14.

Ross County overall have a little hangover from last season. They had

:52:15.:52:19.

a fabulous season, top six, won the League Cup. This season they've

:52:20.:52:26.

struggled to those standards and they're only four points from

:52:27.:52:31.

safety. So, hasn't been positive season for them but I do feel that

:52:32.:52:36.

the players they have, they should have enough to avoid the straight

:52:37.:52:40.

relegation play-off spot. You never know, because Caley Thistle are

:52:41.:52:45.

getting stronger. Caley Thistle are in that play-off spot at the moment.

:52:46.:52:51.

After today's match their manager spoke to Martin. Based on your

:52:52.:52:55.

second half performance in particular I am sure you probably

:52:56.:52:58.

felt that you deserve more out of that. Yeah. Yeah, obviously MacKay

:52:59.:53:04.

hit the crossbar, and we dominated at least half an hour of the second

:53:05.:53:10.

half. Obviously feels like a bit of a defeat. But I will try and flip

:53:11.:53:13.

that and we are a point better off than before the game. Proud of the

:53:14.:53:17.

lads, thought they were excellent the second half, shape was good, we

:53:18.:53:20.

looked solid and dealt with a lot of crosses into the box. Disappointed

:53:21.:53:23.

with the goal we conceded. But all in all, I thought the boys done very

:53:24.:53:28.

well. You asked for aggression today and we talked before the game about

:53:29.:53:31.

balancing that with the right sort of mental attitude. You seemed to

:53:32.:53:36.

get that. Yeah, particularly in the second half. It was a tense affair

:53:37.:53:40.

the first half, County had more possession than us. Once we started

:53:41.:53:48.

to play, causing them all sorts of problems, Ross was excellent for us,

:53:49.:53:51.

leading, driving us forward. All in all, it's a very good performance.

:53:52.:53:54.

Disappointing not to get the three points. He has come a long way since

:53:55.:53:58.

lambasting his players for their performances. Now he seems to be

:53:59.:54:04.

getting what he wants out of them. Yeah, trying absolutely anything

:54:05.:54:07.

that can work, especially down at the bottom you have to try nuclear

:54:08.:54:09.

options now and again. He has tried that. To be honest he has a reaction

:54:10.:54:15.

a few times. It's painful, one week a late goal and next week you lose

:54:16.:54:19.

two points with a late goal. You don't know whether to laugh or cry.

:54:20.:54:24.

Don't forget the team jumping out at me today, St Johnstone. Winning

:54:25.:54:28.

today at Motherwell, they now find themselves in the position they are

:54:29.:54:33.

in fourth place above Hearts. How do they keep doing it? A question we

:54:34.:54:36.

always ask on this programme just about every week. But our time this

:54:37.:54:42.

afternoon is rapidly drawing to a close.

:54:43.:54:48.

So we will bid you good night after a wee reminder

:54:49.:54:51.

Please don't forget to watch the highlights show tomorrow at six

:54:52.:55:34.

If you do you can see it at 11:40 on BBC One in HD.

:55:35.:55:40.

You can tune it to Off the Ball's Saturday Supplement

:55:41.:55:43.

Stuart and Tam's take on the day's events.

:55:44.:55:46.

Thanks to our guests Pat and Mixu, Messrs Nevin and Mr Paatelainen.

:55:47.:55:51.

The alternative spirit of 6 Music comes to Glasgow,

:55:52.:56:19.

MasterChef is back, to find the country's best home chef.

:56:20.:56:24.

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