:00:52. > :00:57.Good evening. Welcome to Sportscene. We spruced the place up a bit, as
:00:58. > :01:00.can you see. But some things stay the same, the best professional
:01:01. > :01:06.football Scotland has to offer and the pundits couldn't be improved
:01:07. > :01:10.upon, Pat nefb and Michael O'Neill join us -- Nevin. Celtic are
:01:11. > :01:15.determined to stretch their unbeaten run. Hibs determined to bounce back
:01:16. > :01:18.after defeat last weekend. Neil Lennon coming face to face with
:01:19. > :01:23.Terry Butcher. The last time Celtic were at Easter Road, Pat Fernon was
:01:24. > :01:47.still manager of Hibs. Hibs without injured Ryan McGivern.
:01:48. > :01:51.Four changes including the return of Alex Harris. A first start for Sam
:01:52. > :02:12.Stanton. ( Oh, mistake and mix up between
:02:13. > :02:18.Forster and Nelson. Kris Commons makes them pay.
:02:19. > :02:23.Eight minutes played, 1-0 Celtic. A 20th goal of the season for Commons.
:02:24. > :02:27.It's brilliantly finished off. What a mess at the back for Hibs. It's a
:02:28. > :02:45.gift. He hits the deck. The referee Craig
:02:46. > :02:50.Thompson was very close and said no. Collins looks aghast here.
:02:51. > :03:09.There's the contact. No penalty. Good strike. Beaten away by Forster.
:03:10. > :03:13.It came off Van Dijk. It was heading goalwards. It was cleared in the end
:03:14. > :03:20.by Izaguirre. Izaguirre didn't like that challenge
:03:21. > :03:43.from Collins. Disappointed there not to be working
:03:44. > :03:47.goalkeeper Forster. A lovely bit of skill which worked the opening. He's
:03:48. > :04:00.caught the eye for Terry Butcher's team.
:04:01. > :04:07.Zoubir flicked it in. It's claw add way by Forster. It looked as if he
:04:08. > :04:21.was -- clawed away by Forster. That's another wonderful effort.
:04:22. > :04:23.This time on the left foot. This is a good save. It bounced just in
:04:24. > :04:45.front of the Celtic keeper. Good turn. Good hit! Wonder save
:04:46. > :04:50.Fraser Forster. This looked to be heading in from
:04:51. > :04:56.Stanton. What a strike, matched by the save.
:04:57. > :05:05.Handball given. I think Hibs reckoned Samaras was offside. The
:05:06. > :05:18.free kick and the booking for that handball.
:05:19. > :05:26.Van Dijk, oh, something special! No goalkeeper was keeping this out. A
:05:27. > :05:40.cracker from Van Dijk. 2-0. Now Celtic a lot more comfortable
:05:41. > :05:46.have been with stood the Hibs pressure and then scored.
:05:47. > :05:50.Teemu Pukki lines one up and it's gone in, straight through the gloves
:05:51. > :05:54.of Ben Williams. Any doubt about the outcome here has
:05:55. > :06:00.been removed. It's a fourth goal for Celtic from
:06:01. > :06:15.Finnish striker Pukki. Penalty. What was he thinking? Well,
:06:16. > :06:33.he should know better. It's Kris Commons to round things
:06:34. > :06:39.off for Celtic. 21 goals for the season now. This is 4-0.
:06:40. > :06:43.We had to rely on phraser to make a couple of exceptional saves. We're
:06:44. > :06:49.going to get tested along the way. We weren't at our best for 15, 20
:06:50. > :06:53.minutes of the game. We stood up to it, saw through. Our quality came
:06:54. > :06:58.through at the end. It's another clean sheet, a fantastic win on a
:06:59. > :07:02.difficult pitch today. The handball against Michael Nelson is bizarre.
:07:03. > :07:05.The referee said it's hit his hand, it wasn't deliberate, about you it
:07:06. > :07:08.stopped it going through to an opponent, who might have been in an
:07:09. > :07:13.offside position and he was booked for. It the same referee and the
:07:14. > :07:17.same player had the same incident at Aberdeen and it wasn't given. Yet it
:07:18. > :07:21.was going through to an Aberdeen player in the box. He hasn't given
:07:22. > :07:24.it. We had an incident against St Mirren where the St Mirren player
:07:25. > :07:27.handled the ball twice in the box, might not have been deliberate, but
:07:28. > :07:33.preventing the ball going through to one of our players and that wasn't
:07:34. > :07:37.given. Butcher flummoxed by handball decisions, does he have a case? I
:07:38. > :07:41.think he has. The important thing he said there, deliberate. The referee
:07:42. > :07:46.suggested it wasn't deliberate, but he was still booking him. Look, have
:07:47. > :07:51.a look at the laws. The referees tell me, look at the laws. Do you
:07:52. > :07:58.what it is, it has to be deliberate. You don't think it's deliberate?
:07:59. > :08:02.Have a look at the other ones, this is not being biassed. I don't think
:08:03. > :08:06.that's deliberate either. Last weekend that was Adam Campbell. A
:08:07. > :08:11.lot of people thought it should have been a penalty. I think that's a
:08:12. > :08:17.penalty. As a manager I would be disappointed not to get a penalty. I
:08:18. > :08:21.think that's a penalty as well. This is the confusing thing, I would give
:08:22. > :08:25.them the penalties. But by the law, they're not penalties. That's the
:08:26. > :08:30.odd thing. That's why Terry is coon fused. You don't know when they're
:08:31. > :08:33.-- confused. You don't know when they're going to be given. Some
:08:34. > :08:38.referees go for the deliberate, some ignore it. The managers don't know
:08:39. > :08:42.where they are. The problem with interpretation we are all with
:08:43. > :08:45.different views. Let's talk about Kris Commons, 21 goals for the
:08:46. > :08:53.season. He's having a fantastic season. Had ewas helped to begin
:08:54. > :09:02.with with hapless defending. Look at this, he goes back five yards there,
:09:03. > :09:07.if he does, no problem, don't do this. Attack heap other. It's a
:09:08. > :09:10.shame, but it was a pivotal moment. Celtic played really well. They
:09:11. > :09:16.controlled. It it was good to see that Hibs didn't bottle it. They
:09:17. > :09:21.came back into the game. James Collins had a shout for a penalty.
:09:22. > :09:24.What was your view about Van Dijk involved? When you see the
:09:25. > :09:28.interdent, it's a good ball here by Liam Craig down the side of Van
:09:29. > :09:31.Dijk. Collins is in acres of space. Van Dijk has left his leg out. There
:09:32. > :09:35.there is contact and a slight hesitation from Collins before he
:09:36. > :09:38.goes down. For me, it's a penalty. If he goes down earlier, there is
:09:39. > :09:44.contact there. There's no contact with the ball. That's a penalty,
:09:45. > :09:49.Pat. Yes, there's contact and he's thrown himself to the ground. The
:09:50. > :09:56.referee is in a great position there, fantastic referee. He just
:09:57. > :10:00.got it wrong. Name Stanton resonates around Easter Road. He made his
:10:01. > :10:04.first start for Hibs. How impressed were you? Hugely. He's been really
:10:05. > :10:07.good. Their confidence and belief in the second half, even when they were
:10:08. > :10:12.down, him and Zoubir and Harris, great to see Harris back as well. I
:10:13. > :10:15.think Terry come onto this season by fluke as much as anything else. But
:10:16. > :10:20.those three look great together. The most important point being it's the
:10:21. > :10:27.man that's stopping them. Forster was great. Brilliant. We talk about
:10:28. > :10:32.Celtic not losing games, no wonder with that. That's a fantastic save.
:10:33. > :10:38.A few question marks about some of Lennon's signings this season, but
:10:39. > :10:42.Virgil Van Dijk he's struck gold. What a goal today. He's been from
:10:43. > :10:45.day one, even when he came in, a difficult time in the Champions
:10:46. > :10:49.League qualifiers, we see the goal here, it's a phenomenal free kick
:10:50. > :10:56.with pace on the ball. The goalkeeper has no chance. The
:10:57. > :11:00.technique is superb. Just his all-round game, his ability, we've
:11:01. > :11:03.seen n him at St Johnstone with a goal. His ability to come out with
:11:04. > :11:08.the ball and strength defensively, he's an excellent piece of business.
:11:09. > :11:11.Real find by Lennon. It's the argument for who is going to be the
:11:12. > :11:16.Player of the Year. Everyone's talking about Kris Commons just now.
:11:17. > :11:22.In fact, I'd look at Van Dijk. The icing on the cake is usually what is
:11:23. > :11:27.the Premier League going to look at, Van Dijk, Commons? You know, it's
:11:28. > :11:31.probably going to be Van Dijk. Heavy dollop of rain had threatened the
:11:32. > :11:35.top of the table clash between Motherwell and Aberdeen yesterday.
:11:36. > :11:39.It did get played, but there will be controversy come the final whistle.
:11:40. > :11:44.Aberdeen on the road to revenge after giving Motherwell the gift of
:11:45. > :11:48.three points on Boxing Day. And high spirited dons fans happy with life
:11:49. > :11:53.under Derek. Really delighted with the way it's went this season. I did
:11:54. > :11:57.get excited when they said Aberdeen signed Rooney. Adam Rooney is
:11:58. > :12:01.exactly what we need. The best season we've had for a long, long
:12:02. > :12:39.time. I'll take second and The Cup Final. Come on!
:12:40. > :12:46.Caught there by Shaun Hutchinson. Some distress.
:12:47. > :12:49.The referee deems this one to be a free kick. Looks like Hutchinson got
:12:50. > :12:56.something of the ball but plenty of the man too. A yellow card shown by
:12:57. > :13:03.the referee. Ryan Jack certainly felt the full force of that. His
:13:04. > :13:08.game is over. Peter Pawlett comes on to replace him.
:13:09. > :13:32.He almost made the most of that free kick. Inches too high.
:13:33. > :13:37.Jaymy Langfield had to react -- Jamie Langfield had to react
:13:38. > :13:46.swiftly. Robson is not far from finding the
:13:47. > :14:09.goal. A good save from Gunnar Nielson.
:14:10. > :14:13.This was swerving and it had a lot of power behind it from Jonny Hayes.
:14:14. > :14:31.Parried by the keeper though. McManus! Straight after the
:14:32. > :14:33.interval, a powerful Steve McManus header gives Motherwell the
:14:34. > :14:53.breakthrough. This came off the head of McManus
:14:54. > :14:58.then off the face of Sutton, who didn't know anything about it.
:14:59. > :15:26.Luckily for them Lasley was on hand. Shaughnessy knock today back to him
:15:27. > :15:28.again. -- knocked it back to him again. Motherwell had bodies on the
:15:29. > :15:39.line. McManus was there.
:15:40. > :15:45.Again, the fullback denied the equaliser.
:15:46. > :15:47.He didn't catch that right at all. Aberdeen pressing and pressing for
:15:48. > :16:04.the equaliser. There's Adam Rooney! The debutante
:16:05. > :16:08.draws Aberdeen level. Paul Lawson robbed of possession by McGinn.
:16:09. > :16:14.Rooney is onside as McGinn hits it. Too hot for Nielson to handle.
:16:15. > :16:34.Aberdeen right back in this match. A good ball across goal. And John
:16:35. > :16:38.Sutton and France Frantz combine -- Zaine Francis-Angol, difficult to
:16:39. > :16:43.see who got the touch there. They're back in front.
:16:44. > :16:48.Aberdeen must have thought they'd done the hard work getting back
:16:49. > :16:50.level. They find themselves behind again, perhaps not for long. Rooney
:16:51. > :17:11.should have scored. Anxious times for Aberdeen, into
:17:12. > :17:19.injury time. It's bundled over the line and
:17:20. > :17:23.Aberdeen do have a second equaliser. Surely now the points - oh, a hand
:17:24. > :17:27.used there by Anderson. That's what the claims are for. But the referee
:17:28. > :17:32.hasn't seen it. It's surely a point for Aberdeen. I
:17:33. > :17:38.thought Aberdeen, at times, second half were terrific. They deserved
:17:39. > :17:41.the point. It's sore to lose it so late and sore that it's a handball
:17:42. > :17:45.by Anderson. Unfortunately, the referee's not been in a good enough
:17:46. > :17:48.position to see it. Really disappointed with the challenge. It
:17:49. > :17:51.was an awful challenge. There has been a touch on the ball by the
:17:52. > :17:55.defender, but it's only a challenge that's going to hurt somebody. It
:17:56. > :17:59.was a terrible decision to not give him a red card. I'm disappointed
:18:00. > :18:04.with it. Let's start with that, Shaun Hutchinson with a tackle on
:18:05. > :18:09.Ryan Jack. He thought it was a red card. Was it that bad? I didn't
:18:10. > :18:14.think it was. I think he's at the edge of the box. You would expect a
:18:15. > :18:18.tackle. He's come a long way. He has thrown himself, but he's not
:18:19. > :18:21.particularly high. He catches Ryan Jack. The injury is maybe more down
:18:22. > :18:26.to the fall than anything else. If you see here, he gets a tiny bit of
:18:27. > :18:29.the ball, but I think that will be very hard to give a red card for
:18:30. > :18:34.that. He's not going with two feet. I don't think he's particularly out
:18:35. > :18:38.of control. He has a focus on winning the ball. Hip injury, going
:18:39. > :18:43.for a scan tomorrow. Pat, where do we start with the Anderson hand of
:18:44. > :18:47.God or whatever it was? Yeah, I don't think there's any great
:18:48. > :18:56.argument. It has his hand that put it in. We can kind of show that
:18:57. > :19:03.here. This was flagged up to me, Cowell it attack by Anderson here.
:19:04. > :19:07.Watch this tackle here, see if you tackle like that with a punch and a
:19:08. > :19:12.kick anywhere else in the field, you're getting a yellow card. Now to
:19:13. > :19:17.be fair, the referee's not seen it. I applaud Anderson to some degree to
:19:18. > :19:20.do everything to get in. There it's the last minute. But it was a
:19:21. > :19:26.handball. It was a foul. Surprised there was no whistle from
:19:27. > :19:29.the re? I think it -- ref? I think Russell has done everything, put
:19:30. > :19:33.everything in the net which he essentially did. Again, I'm not sure
:19:34. > :19:37.what view the referee had, but it happened so quickly. I can
:19:38. > :19:42.understand Stuart's frustration. A lot of excitement amongst Aberdeen
:19:43. > :19:47.fans. But Rooney, penalty-box predator. We see that here. Every
:19:48. > :19:52.time he goes, he gets between the two defenders all the time. We were
:19:53. > :19:54.chatting about this before. But he heads for the goals between the
:19:55. > :19:58.post. He's not going to get there, he gets out and gets half a chance.
:19:59. > :20:03.Every time the ball is into the box, look where he is. He's right on the
:20:04. > :20:07.penalty spot. If I ball drops to him, he'll either score or he will
:20:08. > :20:11.have a great chance of scoring. You know what, that's brilliant
:20:12. > :20:14.striking. It's the simplest thing in the world. He's always between
:20:15. > :20:17.defenders. He's not trying to get across the front of the defender. He
:20:18. > :20:21.will be disappointed he doesn't score there. He seems to find the
:20:22. > :20:25.wee pockets of space. It's one thing having seen Aberdeen this season,
:20:26. > :20:28.they've lacked that. They have great wide players and create chances. He
:20:29. > :20:33.will turn out to be an excellent signing. Was a real jewel yesterday
:20:34. > :20:36.between the two best sides in Scotland, apart from Celtic, of
:20:37. > :20:41.course. And between the two managers as well, McCall and McInnes, doing
:20:42. > :20:48.great things at their clubs. Who is going to win out of that? I would be
:20:49. > :20:52.surprise today Aberdeen tonight -- surprised if Aberdeen don't finish
:20:53. > :21:00.second. I think their midfield is very strong with Robson and Flood.
:21:01. > :21:05.With Hayes again, they have options across the midfield four/five, the
:21:06. > :21:09.way he plays. I think that they'll have that a wee bit too much in the
:21:10. > :21:14.second half of the season. Thanks very much. Next to the form team of
:21:15. > :21:18.2014, Ross County, three wins and a draw so far this year, plus half a
:21:19. > :21:22.team of enough players. As for Hearts, same old youngsters week in,
:21:23. > :21:23.week out, being sucked inevitably into the championship, it would
:21:24. > :21:30.seem. The same 11 are named from last
:21:31. > :22:00.week. Songo'o in trouble in the opening
:22:01. > :22:09.few seconds of the match. Shaky sfrart Ross County.
:22:10. > :22:32.-- start from Ross County. He didn't have the Midas Touch that
:22:33. > :22:40.he needed there. Good start from Hearts.
:22:41. > :22:48.A good ball in! Just too much on it from Richie Brittain.
:22:49. > :22:56.He was stealing in at the back post looking for a touch.
:22:57. > :23:05.Play on says the referee. The post rescues County.
:23:06. > :23:17.It came bouncing off the wood work from Smith.
:23:18. > :23:31.Side net. This has come off Michael Fraser. The keeper came out, block
:23:32. > :23:41.today from Carrick. -- blocked it from Carrick.
:23:42. > :23:47.The big striker has made an impact for Adams since arriving at the
:23:48. > :23:51.club. Gary Locke must be happy with what
:23:52. > :23:55.he's seen so far, generally, in the game.
:23:56. > :24:04.That got a flick through to Paterson. Hearts have the lead! As
:24:05. > :24:08.the corner was swept in, McKay got a touch on. Paterson had the easiest
:24:09. > :24:19.task of knocking it into what was an empty net. Where was the defence?
:24:20. > :24:24.The referee wasn't happy with the challenge here by McGowan. He was on
:24:25. > :24:37.the stretch. It is a free kick. It's headed into the net by Songo'o!
:24:38. > :24:41.It's 1-16789 -- 1-1. It's the man on loan from Blackburn Rovers, who
:24:42. > :24:53.drags County right back into this one.
:24:54. > :24:57.Songo'o again! He levelled things in the first half and he has stung the
:24:58. > :25:11.palms of McDonald in the second. Paterson battling for it in the
:25:12. > :25:14.midfield area. It's the Hearts man who emerged with it. They have an
:25:15. > :25:19.opportunity here, headed over, though.
:25:20. > :25:25.Another opportunity for Hearts. There's been a vibrancy about the
:25:26. > :25:54.visitors this afternoon. Robinson lashes in! The Hearts elead
:25:55. > :26:01.is restored and -- hearts' lead is restored. 2-1 to the visitors.
:26:02. > :26:05.If Hearts win this game, he will go into positive points for the season.
:26:06. > :26:16.It's a big if at the moment. Ross County unbeaten since the turn
:26:17. > :26:19.of the year, four matches they've played, looking at defeat here,
:26:20. > :26:21.though. Hearts would go up to two points at
:26:22. > :26:35.the bottom of the Premiership table. Fraser comes to meet him and does
:26:36. > :26:37.enough. He waited too long, the Hearts left back.
:26:38. > :26:52.Good run from him, though. Today's a game we should be winning
:26:53. > :26:56.with the calibre of player we have in the side. We haven't done that
:26:57. > :27:00.today. Too many of us had an off game. I can't be too critical on
:27:01. > :27:03.them because they've been on a fabulous run since the new year. All
:27:04. > :27:08.season you look at the league table and you're minus, the fact that
:27:09. > :27:12.we're on two points is great. We'll not get carried away, it's only one
:27:13. > :27:15.win. But I thought it was a great performance and a great result for
:27:16. > :27:17.us. I think every game is very important that we show an
:27:18. > :27:23.appreciation to the fans. If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't be
:27:24. > :27:28.standing here right now. Undoubtedly the shock result of the
:27:29. > :27:35.day, huge psychological boost for Hearts, in positive points finally.
:27:36. > :27:40.Will they stay up? No. It's harsh, that's nothing against the Hearts
:27:41. > :27:43.players or fans. I think the spirit has been unbelievable. It's shown
:27:44. > :27:46.there. It's great to see the coming together between the players and
:27:47. > :27:50.their fans there. Just even the fans when they were at the derby game
:27:51. > :27:55.Gwens Hibs, the noise was incredible. They've stuck by the
:27:56. > :27:58.team. Even that far behind. If there was anything given out for attitude,
:27:59. > :28:01.they would be right up there. I think they've been fantastic for the
:28:02. > :28:05.vast majority, even when they've not been winning, they've actually been
:28:06. > :28:13.putting everything in. You can see how much it meant to them when that
:28:14. > :28:17.shot hit the back of the net. It's a good finish. He gets it down early
:28:18. > :28:20.and hits quickly. You see the reaction of all the players, the
:28:21. > :28:24.young players that are losing a lot of games. It's difficult for them.
:28:25. > :28:37.Hopefully it will give them an impetus. Strange sin cross Iity --
:28:38. > :28:42.syncrhronicity about that game. Hearts were on a downer before, but
:28:43. > :28:46.yesterday's win is even more meaningful. Yes, I think so. Maybe
:28:47. > :28:51.they've had a few, felt hard done by in recent weeks. I know some
:28:52. > :28:55.decisions they have felt have gone against them. That gives them
:28:56. > :28:57.something, the three points, those players will be delighted with going
:28:58. > :29:03.into training tomorrow looking forward to the League Cup sellily
:29:04. > :29:06.final -- semifinal. That neatly leads us on to an interesting week
:29:07. > :29:12.for Hearts. They have a mid-week game against St Mirren. Then next
:29:13. > :29:16.weekend, the League Cup semifinals against Inverness Cally Thistle,
:29:17. > :29:20.they have a chance. They're at Easter Road again. Earlier this
:29:21. > :29:23.season, they will have Ryan Stephenson back for the semifinal.
:29:24. > :29:30.He can be a big player, as we can see. Yeah, he gets these lucky goals
:29:31. > :29:35.now and again! Fantastic goal. Stranger things have happened.
:29:36. > :29:41.They've got a chance of winning the cup. Wigan last year, actually
:29:42. > :29:45.winning the cup but going down. These things can happen. And the
:29:46. > :29:49.fact that Celtic are no longer in the cup. What an incredible season
:29:50. > :29:54.for them, they could go down and win a trophy, which would be
:29:55. > :29:57.extraordinary. The fact is they beat Inverness Cally Thistle before at
:29:58. > :30:02.Easter Road, League Cup semifinals as well, there is that chance of a
:30:03. > :30:06.good omen at least. Yeah, there's a few omens there. They go into the
:30:07. > :30:10.game, Inverness not maybe in the best of form either. I think that it
:30:11. > :30:14.will be a game that Hearts will look forward to and are well capable of
:30:15. > :30:18.causing the upset. That leads us into promoting the plethora of great
:30:19. > :30:20.football coverage coming your way on the BBC very soon. On Sunday next
:30:21. > :30:54.weekend: Just the one win in the last six
:30:55. > :31:00.games for Inverness Cally Thistle manager John Hughes. He took a
:31:01. > :31:25.Kilmarnock team desperate to climb away from the play-off place.
:31:26. > :31:29.Kilmarnock looking for a quicker start than last week at Partick
:31:30. > :31:41.Thistle. Murihead, great effort. Crashing
:31:42. > :32:00.back off the post. It took a deflection en route.
:32:01. > :32:14.A save by Brill. Good build-up play from them.
:32:15. > :32:23.There's Ashcroft! Kilmarnock find a breakthrough, 16 minutes in. Fine
:32:24. > :32:28.header by the young defender. He adjusted well to get on the end of
:32:29. > :32:39.that free kick from Clingan. His first goal of the season.
:32:40. > :32:41.An interested spectator there. Alexei Eremenko in the directors
:32:42. > :32:53.box. Oh, Billy McKay, you'd expect him to
:32:54. > :33:00.finish that effort. He's had 18 goals so far this campaign. That
:33:01. > :33:01.surely should have been 19. Alan Johnston encouraged by his
:33:02. > :33:12.side's start to this game. Back off the other post this time!
:33:13. > :33:14.Again, it was a deflection that took it onto it.
:33:15. > :33:27.Fine effort. Terrific save by Samson. He's been
:33:28. > :33:46.in outstanding form this season. That's another great stop.
:33:47. > :33:58.Kris Boyd! Kilmarnock 2-0 in front. Another excellent finish there by
:33:59. > :34:06.the Scottish striker. It's his 13th goal of the season. It's his 180th
:34:07. > :34:08.league goal in Scottish football. Terrific link-up play from Murihead
:34:09. > :34:12.to find Boyd. It just dips over the bar. Cally
:34:13. > :34:49.Thistle getting closer. You were waiting for the net to
:34:50. > :34:50.bulge there from Kris Boyd. That should have been his second of the
:34:51. > :35:19.afternoon. He skied it. It's Ashcroft to the rescue for
:35:20. > :35:21.Kilmarnock. Billy McKay couldn't get newspaper purchase on -- enough
:35:22. > :36:12.purchase on that effort. really well.
:36:13. > :36:16.13th goal of the season for Kris Boyd, what more can we say about
:36:17. > :36:20.him. I get the impression that the more you see of Boyd, the older he
:36:21. > :36:24.gets, the more impressed you get by him. I thought you were going to
:36:25. > :36:31.say, the older he gets the younger he looks. Or the younger he plays!
:36:32. > :36:38.Look at this. First of all very good tackle by Murihead. But this is a
:36:39. > :36:42.normal move, go behind. Don't run between them. Because you don't
:36:43. > :36:47.think of that. He does, and he takes his time when he gets there, he
:36:48. > :36:54.doesn't panic. Have a look at this. This is the pace of Boyd here. There
:36:55. > :37:00.he is zooming across there. He's completely reborn. Kilmarnock are
:37:01. > :37:05.five wins in nine games. Each of those games, Boyd has scored. That
:37:06. > :37:10.hammers home how important he is. He's vital. I think his link-up play
:37:11. > :37:14.has been very good as well. It's the variety of goals. The chip there
:37:15. > :37:22.that we saw. That's a nice little effort where he just diverts it on
:37:23. > :37:25.tarring E the header -- target. A great header against Hearts.
:37:26. > :37:31.Speculation linking him with a move to Blackpool, possibly, it's going
:37:32. > :37:34.to be a sweaty last week of the transfer window? It's got to be.
:37:35. > :37:37.Because if you're goal scoring, teams in desperation, they will do
:37:38. > :37:41.anything to get a goal scorer, because they think it will get them
:37:42. > :37:45.out. A lot of tomorrow are looking at him now -- a lot of them are
:37:46. > :37:50.looking at him now. Somebody's switched a light in his head. His
:37:51. > :37:54.physique is better and his attitude is spot on. It would be no surprise
:37:55. > :37:59.if someone tries to get him. Another interesting character turned up at
:38:00. > :38:02.Rugby Park for halftime. Under that cap, Alexei Eremenko, you might
:38:03. > :38:07.remember from a couple of seasons back. Talented Finnish international
:38:08. > :38:11.and all the talk is he might sign again. What a difference would he
:38:12. > :38:16.make to the side? Well, we see his goals here. But in fact it's his
:38:17. > :38:20.creativity. If he has Boydy beside him that could be fantastic. That
:38:21. > :38:23.would be good enough to get them staying in the SPFL. That's why
:38:24. > :38:28.they're trying to get him. Not only a goal scorer, creator, he's that
:38:29. > :38:32.wee bit of flair that anyone would like to have. Let's talk about John
:38:33. > :38:38.Hughes. Just the one win in seven games now for him. Is he struggling
:38:39. > :38:44.adapt his style to what was already different style that Inverness play,
:38:45. > :38:50.but a successful style. Possibly. There was such a familiarity there
:38:51. > :38:55.between Terry and Morris and the players. John has to go in now and
:38:56. > :38:59.adapt his personality and how he wants to play on that squad. If you
:39:00. > :39:03.look at the chances yesterday rkts I saw them -- yesterday, I saw them
:39:04. > :39:07.against Aberdeen and they played very well. They played great
:39:08. > :39:10.football on the counterattack. Yesterday, Billy McKay on another
:39:11. > :39:13.day would have scored a hat-trick. It could have been a different
:39:14. > :39:17.result. I don't think alarm bells are ringing. But there's a bit of
:39:18. > :39:23.time for the players to get to know John. There have been positives in
:39:24. > :39:27.their performances. . It might be late on a Sunday evening, but the
:39:28. > :39:29.Premiership weekend is still not over. Tomorrow night, Dundee United
:39:30. > :39:41.host St Johnstone. COMMENTATOR: Brilliant play from
:39:42. > :39:49.Dundee United. Live commentary tonight as St Johnstone and Dundee
:39:50. > :39:58.United go head to head. It's a key match for both these teams.
:39:59. > :40:02.St Johnstone can leapfrog United with a win. United can leapfrog
:40:03. > :40:06.Inverness if they win. Full highlights on the BBC Sport website
:40:07. > :40:11.from midnight on Monday. We're standing up again tonight, it really
:40:12. > :40:14.is all change. Let's talk St Mirren versus Partick Thistle, a tuftle
:40:15. > :40:22.this in the scramble -- tussle this in the scramble to avoid a play-off
:40:23. > :40:26.place. A familiar-looking line up on the whole, top goal scorer Stephen
:40:27. > :40:31.Thompson leading the line. As for Partick Thistle, they won here in
:40:32. > :40:55.August. The scorers that day were Higgins and Forbes.
:40:56. > :41:06.SMIT After 26 minutes his game was over, after this challenge by
:41:07. > :41:11.Naismith. Higginbotham requiring six stitches in a leg wound. The yellow
:41:12. > :41:20.card shown to the defenderment -- defender.
:41:21. > :41:31.Former Scotland international again on duty, saving from McGowan.
:41:32. > :41:37.He came close early on in the second half.
:41:38. > :41:45.Beating the keeper but rebounding off the post.
:41:46. > :41:53.The rebound also cleared by the Thistle defence.
:41:54. > :42:00.Taylor-Sinclair came close to become the hero.
:42:01. > :42:06.His long-range effort hit the top of the cross-bar.
:42:07. > :42:13.Neither side able to make the breakthrough. Today was pleasing.
:42:14. > :42:16.It's been a wee while since we've kept a clean sheet. I'm delighted
:42:17. > :42:20.for the back four and the whole group. I thought when we were asked
:42:21. > :42:25.to defend today, we did it very well. I thought it went either way.
:42:26. > :42:30.The second half was a lottery. It was end to end. We hit the wood
:42:31. > :42:36.work, they hit the wood work. I thought we were better in the first
:42:37. > :42:41.half. 0-0, not a game to live long in the memory. Let's talk about the
:42:42. > :42:45.bottom of the Premiership table. The scramble for the play-off place.
:42:46. > :42:50.Seventh to 11th place, just seven points separates those sides. Do you
:42:51. > :42:57.think Hibs can be sucked into that scramble for that play-off place?
:42:58. > :43:02.I'd be surprise today they are. I think Terry's made a difference
:43:03. > :43:05.there. The Hibs' performance, work read, I can't see them being dragged
:43:06. > :43:10.in there. The other four teams, it will be interesting, particularly
:43:11. > :43:14.when they play each other. When they play each other, it will be huge.
:43:15. > :43:20.For me, if I look at it now, I'm beginning to think, this next few
:43:21. > :43:24.days will be so important. Who's bought by whom. Does Michael come
:43:25. > :43:31.in? Does Boyd go. If they keep them, can they stay up? We didn't think
:43:32. > :43:35.anyone would come in in this window. Partick Thistle in the second bottom
:43:36. > :43:45.spot at the moment. Are they favourites to stay there? Oddly
:43:46. > :43:49.enough, I do at the moment. These guys have been brought in or on loan
:43:50. > :43:55.or whatever, I think that's the big difference there. I will be brutally
:43:56. > :44:00.honest, if I'd have -- you'd have asked me a few months ago, I would
:44:01. > :44:02.have said St St Mirren. Very much. Let's look at the Scottish
:44:03. > :44:33.Premiership table: That's all we have time for tonight.
:44:34. > :44:37.Hope you like the home improvements here. It's going to be a busy studio
:44:38. > :44:42.over the next few weeks. Lots of football coming your way on the BBC.
:44:43. > :44:47.From now, from all of us here at Sportscene, good night.