:00:43. > :00:49.A very merry Christmas. Hope you had a good one. Boxing Day is here and
:00:50. > :00:51.still boxed up yet to be unleashed, six games from the Ladbrokes
:00:52. > :00:56.Premiership tonight. All about to be unwrapped in the next hour or so, in
:00:57. > :01:03.the company of the ever festive Stephen Thompson and Michael Stuart.
:01:04. > :01:10.We start at Ibrox, just one defeat in the last 11 league games had seen
:01:11. > :01:11.Rangers make second spot their own. For Inverness, they arrived without
:01:12. > :02:06.a win in the last seven matches. That's a big chance for Inverness.
:02:07. > :02:12.Early on it fell to the man they'd have want today to fall to as well.
:02:13. > :02:19.Inverness are bottom after Partick Thistle's win on Friday night.
:02:20. > :02:25.Oh, and it's gone in! An own goal from Brad McKay.
:02:26. > :02:33.The final touch certainly came off Brad McKay. He had to do something
:02:34. > :02:45.about it. Jason Holt was waiting for a tap-in. Rangers lead 1-0.
:02:46. > :02:52.Grabbed at the second attempt by Foderingham, who seemed to be wrong
:02:53. > :03:13.footed. Cole scored last week, It's a really good strike. Tipped
:03:14. > :03:15.over the top by Williams. This was certainly travelling. The goalkeeper
:03:16. > :03:33.did well to touch over. Tansey, it was a good shot.
:03:34. > :03:37.Fingertip save from Foderingham. He had to get down low and quickly.
:03:38. > :03:41.Good goal keeping. Rangers have won the last two between these two by
:03:42. > :03:47.1-0 score line. They take the same again. That was short. Foderingham
:03:48. > :03:53.is in trouble. He can't hit the target. Head in the hands after
:03:54. > :04:18.Foderingham lost it under pressure. That one is airborne. Garner
:04:19. > :04:27.attacked it. The header inches wide of the target. His eyes fixed on the
:04:28. > :04:33.ball. No problem getting to the ball.
:04:34. > :04:45.Miller scored the only goal when the teams met. That was back in October.
:04:46. > :04:59.Given away, though. Tansey. A couple of yards wide. Tansey with another
:05:00. > :05:04.sighting of goal after he robbed Windass of the ball.
:05:05. > :05:08.Doran knocks it over the top. He's not been on long. Perhaps the chance
:05:09. > :05:37.just came to him too early under pressure.
:05:38. > :05:44.Good reactions from Von-Williams to keep out Jason Holt. Rangers await
:05:45. > :05:50.the second goal that would make this save. There's a gap at left back for
:05:51. > :05:51.Rangers. Lee Wallace is just struggling a little. He seems to
:05:52. > :06:04.have picked up an injury. Wallace is hurt and down. Miller
:06:05. > :06:09.knocks the ball out of play. This is a worry for Rangers. Their captain
:06:10. > :06:14.down and they've also made the three changes already.
:06:15. > :06:23.Food for thought for Mark Warburton as he looks rg to -- looks to close
:06:24. > :06:31.this game out. Halliday to left back. Lee Wallace further up. He
:06:32. > :06:35.can't run too much. That's another good save by Wes
:06:36. > :06:40.Foderingham. He's been called into action on a number of occasions this
:06:41. > :06:44.afternoon. Fish edenied. -- denied -- fisher denied.
:06:45. > :06:47.STUDIO: A poor performance from Rangers said the manager. Three
:06:48. > :06:50.points though. Rangers big favourites for second place in the
:06:51. > :06:57.Premiership this season. Yeah, I'd say so. They have real momentum. Six
:06:58. > :07:01.wins in seven games. It was a slack performance, poor passing, sloppy
:07:02. > :07:05.defending, I do think it's a game Rangers would have lost at the start
:07:06. > :07:08.of the season. What's your position on Rangers at the moment? There's
:07:09. > :07:18.chat about the race for second place. For you, aRangers the side to
:07:19. > :07:23.fannish second? I -- finish second? I think Aberdeen are going to be in
:07:24. > :07:28.and around second place, Hearts as well. I think Rangers will take
:07:29. > :07:31.second place. Certainly the form at the moment, they're very much
:07:32. > :07:39.deserving of that. Inverness had big chances in this match to take a
:07:40. > :07:42.point, maybe more. They did. Jonathan Epitomises the position in
:07:43. > :07:47.the table. If you get these chances and you don't take them. Sometimes a
:07:48. > :07:53.bit of luck. But Inverness were a bit wasteful. Rangers, Halliday
:07:54. > :07:58.presenting an opportunity. A number of good strikes, not able - The
:07:59. > :08:00.worrying thing from a Rangers' perspective is the amount of
:08:01. > :08:04.opportunities Inverness got in the match. If you play against Celtic on
:08:05. > :08:08.Saturday, there in the Old Firm game, Celtic won't miss the
:08:09. > :08:13.opportunities. Quite a few of them as well are from defensive errors or
:08:14. > :08:16.mistakes from Rangers. It's not as if it's everything Inverness have
:08:17. > :08:25.carved open. There's a bit of concern. I think the pleasing point
:08:26. > :08:29.from Ma Warburton, they got the three points. That's the sign of a
:08:30. > :08:34.good team. Another pleasing point has to be Martin Waghorn's return.
:08:35. > :08:42.We saw the goals against Hamilton Accies. He created the goal. Could
:08:43. > :08:46.McKay have done anything about this? I think he should have defended
:08:47. > :08:54.better. It's brilliant play from Waghorn. But for me, when he goes at
:08:55. > :09:02.the defenders, I think McKay should deal with it better. He's got to
:09:03. > :09:07.lift his leg up. He smashed in from five yards away. It hits him just
:09:08. > :09:11.below the knee. How can he get his foot any higher than that? Can you
:09:12. > :09:17.not get your leg above your knee? It's about the pace of the ball.
:09:18. > :09:22.What would you have done? A bicycle kick. Such a close distance from the
:09:23. > :09:26.ball, it's difficult for him to react. Where it is as well, it's not
:09:27. > :09:31.as if it's a pass that his foot, it's at his knees. A difficult area.
:09:32. > :09:36.He could have done better. I don't. Big concern for Rangers fans with a
:09:37. > :09:39.big match coming up has to be this injury for Lee Wallace, their
:09:40. > :09:44.captain. Looks like it might be a hamstring. He'd be a big loss He's
:09:45. > :09:47.such an important player, defensively and offencively. He's
:09:48. > :09:52.their captain as well. It might have been cramp in his hamstring. But he
:09:53. > :10:01.was struggling with it. Rangers used all their subs. OK. After flood
:10:02. > :10:04.light failure at Pittodrie, the match between Motherwell and
:10:05. > :10:09.Aberdeen was in doubt for a while because of storm Barbara. The match
:10:10. > :10:12.would get the green light with plenty of entertaining turbulence
:10:13. > :10:57.reserved for the action on the pitch.
:10:58. > :11:09.Aberdeen are in front! After just six minutes. The clearance was
:11:10. > :11:15.blocked and Motherwell were punished, as Shin anye rattled in --
:11:16. > :11:19.Shinnie rattled his first goal of the season. There was Shinnie with a
:11:20. > :11:37.perfect finish. McDonald! Spectacular, outstanding
:11:38. > :11:43.finishing there from the Australian striker to level things up. It's his
:11:44. > :11:45.seventh goal of the season. It's three in the last four appearances
:11:46. > :12:03.against the Dons. Rooney's gone to ground and the
:12:04. > :12:11.referee has given a penalty. Samson is judged to have pulled Rooney to
:12:12. > :12:15.the ground. Was there contact there? It may well have been minimal.
:12:16. > :12:24.Aberdeen with the opportunity. It's Rooney. Saved. But Rooney's quick on
:12:25. > :12:31.the follow-up. That is his tenth goal of the season. Fortune favours
:12:32. > :12:35.the brave, following up the effort. Six goals in five matches that he's
:12:36. > :12:40.started against Motherwell for Adam Rooney.
:12:41. > :12:47.A challenge there from Hennigan. Shinnie. Play on says the referee.
:12:48. > :12:54.Shinnie is still grounded. This was a collision.
:12:55. > :13:18.The referee thinking about it and it's a penalty to the home team.
:13:19. > :13:26.Reynolds going across. Definitely contact there.
:13:27. > :13:32.Now Motherwell have the opportunity to pull level.
:13:33. > :13:34.Saved by Lewis. Almost an own goal there.
:13:35. > :13:51.Aberdeen eventually get it clear. Jack was on the line. Considine
:13:52. > :13:57.almost put it into his own net. Free kick for that challenge of Shinnie.
:13:58. > :14:06.He's just booted the ball away. He gets a talking to.
:14:07. > :14:12.Moult! Off the cross-bar. McDonald's now fallen in the box.
:14:13. > :14:18.He's looking for the penalty. The referee says no.
:14:19. > :14:24.Considine was closest to him. But I don't think they'll get a penalty
:14:25. > :14:32.for that one. Moult's header crashed back off the bar.
:14:33. > :14:38.Craig Brown former manager of both these sides. Considine hits the wood
:14:39. > :14:51.work. Good leap by the Aberdeen defender.
:14:52. > :14:59.Trying his luck with his right foot. Samson made the save. Hayes is on
:15:00. > :15:22.fire at the moment. McGinn! That will wrap up the
:15:23. > :15:29.victory for Aberdeen. Three points are going to the side from the
:15:30. > :15:35.granite city. Niall McGinn with the perfect left-foot strike. It's his
:15:36. > :15:40.third goal in four games, eighth of the season. The two goals make it
:15:41. > :15:44.very difficult. They were unnecessary. They were at a stage in
:15:45. > :15:48.the game where we looked comfortable. Both goals came from
:15:49. > :15:52.nowhere really. I think we have ourselves to blame. Overall, the
:15:53. > :15:55.performance was decent. I wasn't disappointed with the performance.
:15:56. > :16:00.We countered brilliantly. We should have done better on one or two
:16:01. > :16:04.occasions. We should have scored more from set plays. If you told me
:16:05. > :16:07.before the game that we would score three and get three points, I'd have
:16:08. > :16:10.been delighted. Brilliant for Niall to get the third goal and seal the
:16:11. > :16:15.points. A strong performance from us.
:16:16. > :16:18.I'm sure the debate raged over Christmas dinner tables across the
:16:19. > :16:23.land over the last day or two over Adam Rooney's penalty, was it a
:16:24. > :16:27.penalty? We spent hours this afternoon with our graphics guy
:16:28. > :16:33.going over it, slow motions - Forensic. I even text Craig
:16:34. > :16:37.Samson... All for your benefit. We know you thought it was. I text
:16:38. > :16:43.Craig and he thought that Rooney had leaned into him. Once we did our
:16:44. > :16:49.investigative work. We see that there was contact. It looked like
:16:50. > :16:55.the contact was initially. Not to you apparently. First, he's in a
:16:56. > :17:00.difficult position. He's blocked off there. His vision is blocked. He
:17:01. > :17:04.can't really see it. I thought straight away that Adam Rooney's
:17:05. > :17:15.movement was all very natural. There is contact. I think there. This one
:17:16. > :17:19.here. His right knee onto his calf. He clips his own heels as well. I
:17:20. > :17:26.felt straight away you could see the movement wasn't a dive. It was
:17:27. > :17:30.natural. You needed a wee bit more convincing Salmon said he felt
:17:31. > :17:35.Rooney had leaned into him. But... He's wrong! Fair play to Madden, it
:17:36. > :17:42.was difficult to call. He got it right. No doubts about the other
:17:43. > :17:47.penalties? No, quite correct for the referee. There's plenty of contact
:17:48. > :17:51.on the ball from Reynolds. The momentum, the follow-through, it was
:17:52. > :17:59.a real sore one. It meant that he went off as well. He was right with
:18:00. > :18:07.the decision. Jack is in the box. Eventually he had a part to play in
:18:08. > :18:16.it. It was a belter. In all honesty - If it's good for the goose it's
:18:17. > :18:21.good for the beganeder. -- gander. He's three yards inside the box. If
:18:22. > :18:24.you have zero tolerance, Mark is right, you could have retaken it.
:18:25. > :18:28.They would have had to stop the other penalty as well. Is this a
:18:29. > :18:35.goal of the season contender in I think so. It's an unbelievable piece
:18:36. > :18:39.of skill and technique. It's a really inventive finish. When it
:18:40. > :18:46.comes in, nobody is expected him to do this, apart from him. He wrong
:18:47. > :18:49.foots the goalkeeper. It's just a magnificent piece of skill. Will
:18:50. > :18:54.that win goal of the season? I'm sure it will be a contender. There's
:18:55. > :18:59.quite a few others that will be up there for a shout. I think there
:19:00. > :19:05.will be a few or one specifically later on that is definitely in there
:19:06. > :19:11.for maybe even goal of the week. In terms of Aberdeen, you were there,
:19:12. > :19:17.they seem back to their best. Roon yay, Haye -- Rooney, McGinn, Hayes.
:19:18. > :19:25.Yes, getting players back in the side. That was the strongest team.
:19:26. > :19:30.Well balanced. Hayes on one side, McGinn on the other. I'd be
:19:31. > :19:34.surprised if there wasn't more consistent selection from now on.
:19:35. > :19:37.Hearts head coach still searching for his first win in charge. They
:19:38. > :20:18.faced Dundee. Walker was away from Gomis. He takes
:20:19. > :20:27.him down. The referee points to the spot. Gomis pleads his case. His
:20:28. > :20:33.fellow defenders dbt. -- didn't. He's back to winning ways from the
:20:34. > :20:40.penalty spot. His fifth successful penalty of the season. He earned the
:20:41. > :20:41.penalty. He scored the penalty. Hearts are ahead after three
:20:42. > :21:00.minutes. Off the post. He beat Scott Bain.
:21:01. > :21:03.He's claiming a corner. It seemed to strike the post and go out. A good
:21:04. > :21:18.effort from Jamie Walker. A terrific save. Another corner
:21:19. > :21:25.kick. Scott Bain wonderful save. Had to be strong.
:21:26. > :21:42.Walker tried to take it through. Scott Bain to the rescue. A great
:21:43. > :21:52.ball through with the left foot. Great chance missed.
:21:53. > :22:02.No free kick has come. It might now, he's Pinocheted him to the ground.
:22:03. > :22:08.The free kick comes Hearts' way. Paterson didn't appreciate the close
:22:09. > :22:17.contact. The leg certainly came out. Paterson is up! It's 2-0. The
:22:18. > :22:21.celebration, well, it's dodgy. The header itself was first class. He
:22:22. > :22:54.beat O' Hara. First touch! Even better second
:22:55. > :23:07.touch, Dundee score. It's a first Dundee league goal for O' Dea.
:23:08. > :23:15.Picked up well by Walker. He couldn't supply the finish. He's
:23:16. > :23:17.been at the centre of so many things for Hearts tonight. Beautifully away
:23:18. > :23:35.from the defender. He's hurt. I think the goalkeeper
:23:36. > :23:44.realises that. The challenge seemed to be a fair one. Just the neck
:23:45. > :23:51.pushed down by the goalkeeper. Cowie will play no further part.
:23:52. > :24:09.A mistake by the young fullback and Dundee were clinical. The bouncing
:24:10. > :24:20.ball caused the problem, poor first touch. Wighton came in. Came ball
:24:21. > :24:32.from Vincent. McGowan scores. 19 minutes to play.
:24:33. > :24:40.That will be a yellow card for the young defender. That is the yellow
:24:41. > :24:46.card from the referee. Concern for Hearts here. He takes a great free
:24:47. > :24:51.kick. Haber's up. Paterson! Dundee have
:24:52. > :24:55.come from two behind to lead at home. They were booed off at
:24:56. > :25:02.halftime. But they will have the last laugh. Paterson may have got
:25:03. > :25:06.the final touch but Dundee lead 3-2. Once we got the goal back, there was
:25:07. > :25:10.a momentum building. I think that the injury helped us in terms of the
:25:11. > :25:13.game got stopped. Then we could go again. I'm really proud of the
:25:14. > :25:19.players tonight. I'm so happy for them. It's been a tough season so
:25:20. > :25:23.far. But we've showed the home form, ten points from 12. We have to keep
:25:24. > :25:27.it going. I think the players deserve all the credit for fighting
:25:28. > :25:31.back like that. We were entirely in control of the game. The performance
:25:32. > :25:36.was good. We were in a dominant position. Ultimately we've made
:25:37. > :25:44.mistakes. We've thrown the game away. Great win from Dundee. No wins
:25:45. > :25:50.for the new Hearts head coach. The spotlight still remains on him. He
:25:51. > :25:54.must be so frustrated. They got so much right in this game. He will be
:25:55. > :25:59.desperate for a win tomorrow night. It's not the ideal start at all. One
:26:00. > :26:04.point from nine available. If they win tomorrow night it will all be
:26:05. > :26:09.forgotten. It's hard to be harsh. Hearts dominated possession and
:26:10. > :26:14.chances in this game. Not being harsh on Ian Cathro, looking at the
:26:15. > :26:20.game solely, there was a good performance. To goal from a 2-0 lead
:26:21. > :26:24.to lose the game, it doesn't look favourably on the head coach. You
:26:25. > :26:28.heard him saying there was a really good performance. A lot of chances.
:26:29. > :26:32.Looking through here when they were in the lead as well. If they'd
:26:33. > :26:36.managed to convert another one of those, I think the game would have
:26:37. > :26:44.been all but over. It's a wonderful bit of play here, build up play.
:26:45. > :26:50.Walker could have had a hat-trick. Easily. At this point, they go 2-0
:26:51. > :26:56.up, dominant performance. That should have been a celebration? I'm
:26:57. > :27:00.not too sure. You heard the fact that Cowie's injury changing the
:27:01. > :27:03.dynamics of the team slightly, the wait for him to be taken off with a
:27:04. > :27:08.neck injury, it clearly, anybody at game spoke about how that seemed to
:27:09. > :27:12.be a momentum shift as well. In terms of that, in terms of the
:27:13. > :27:17.possession, the chances, how did they lose this? Errors, mistakes.
:27:18. > :27:21.The first goal was just a catalogue of small errors. You can't Pinochet
:27:22. > :27:24.point anybody in particular, perhaps Hamilton could have got the ball
:27:25. > :27:30.higher and away. It clears the box. There's bodies there. They're
:27:31. > :27:33.putting their body on the line. Once Hamilton clears it, they were slow
:27:34. > :27:39.to get out. Small errors led to the first goal. The second and third
:27:40. > :27:44.goals, young Liam Smith, mistake there. Three opportunities to clear
:27:45. > :27:48.it and he doesn't. From then on, Vincent's composure to settle
:27:49. > :27:51.McGowan, who shows great composure. This is the third goal. Once he
:27:52. > :27:57.recognises the ball is over his head. He has to slow down quicker.
:27:58. > :28:03.He commits himself. He gives away a needless foul. It's a tough one.
:28:04. > :28:07.Paterson's too closed off. If he's turned he might see the runner
:28:08. > :28:13.coming. I think this highlights how important it is to get a win under
:28:14. > :28:17.your belt early on. Ian Cathro is in a position where there was a great
:28:18. > :28:21.performance, but they've still lost. They need a win early, so everybody
:28:22. > :28:25.can believe in what he's trying to do. I've sat in changing rooms where
:28:26. > :28:29.you respect the manager, you don't get results for a wee while, you
:28:30. > :28:32.question him. You look for someone to blame. That's why it's so
:28:33. > :28:35.important this game tomorrow night that they get a result, because
:28:36. > :28:42.they've got Aberdeen at home to follow that. Then a winter break, if
:28:43. > :28:50.they've not results, a long time to stew over things, then Celtic away.
:28:51. > :28:53.Kilmarnock striker Chris Boyce had interesting things to say, that will
:28:54. > :29:00.be interesting. I think it will be. A warm welcome in the capital from
:29:01. > :29:03.the Hearts fans. OK, After victory over Aberdeen, could Ross County
:29:04. > :29:08.have another home win, this time against the side that started the
:29:09. > :29:24.weekend bottom of the table, Partick Thistle.
:29:25. > :29:29.Seven games since Partick Thistle experienced a victory and three
:29:30. > :29:37.changes from Tuesday night's defeat to Celtic.
:29:38. > :29:41.Partick Thistle find themselves bottom, that is where Ross County
:29:42. > :29:51.were not all that long ago and now they are in the top half. Dingwall.
:29:52. > :29:56.Straight down the throat of Cerny. Encouraging signs, though, for Ross
:29:57. > :30:03.County. It opened up for him. Lindsay with the left footed ball
:30:04. > :30:10.towards Doolan. Erskine. Battered away by Fox. He was up and ready for
:30:11. > :30:22.the second attempt as well. Facing his former team. Booth to Steven
:30:23. > :30:34.Lawless. Back it comes to Lawless. A good hit. Just a little too central.
:30:35. > :30:44.Elliott gets the return ball. Lawless' shot, well blocked by
:30:45. > :30:50.Andrew Davies. Put his body on the line. Knocked out for the corner
:30:51. > :30:54.kick. Sean Welsh has been directly involved in their last three goals
:30:55. > :31:00.and he's applied another one. It is Liam Lindsay's header that gives
:31:01. > :31:05.Partick Thistle the lead, five minutes into the second half. It is
:31:06. > :31:14.a bullet header from the big defender. That is his sixth of the
:31:15. > :31:23.season. That has got their tails up, Partick Thistle. That is blocked
:31:24. > :31:30.off. There will be another corner and we will have Ross County... Have
:31:31. > :31:37.they learned their lesson? Easily picked off by Chow in the front post
:31:38. > :31:41.but won back by Lindsay and there is Doolan. Another brilliant header
:31:42. > :31:51.from Partick Thistle. Kris Doolan makes it 2-0. Played 62 minutes.
:31:52. > :31:59.Booth's cross, Doolan's header and now there is daylight between the
:32:00. > :32:08.teams. That is a nice one, the ball in and punched away by Tomas Cerny.
:32:09. > :32:13.Ross County, despite that victory over Aberdeen, last time, have
:32:14. > :32:14.struggled a little at home of late. Half their points have been here,
:32:15. > :32:30.only one back twice here all season. Is this the moment for Ross County
:32:31. > :32:37.to get back into it? He had two chances in the end. Boyce through,
:32:38. > :32:42.he did well to open up the space but could not beat Cerny and then he
:32:43. > :33:00.couldn't keep it down. Well saved and well held by Scott
:33:01. > :33:05.Fox. He was at full stretch. In these conditions, it is worth a go
:33:06. > :33:17.from anywhere. The wind has subsided, as has the rain. Schalke
:33:18. > :33:28.was almost in. That had to be perfectly timed and it was. Good
:33:29. > :33:34.spot by the referee. Routis. It is a little untidy. Ross County managing
:33:35. > :33:44.to keep hold of the ball until it has now been given away to Azeez.
:33:45. > :33:49.Chris Erskine. 3-0 to Partick Thistle, who saw this one coming?
:33:50. > :34:01.The league's bottom side, they have an won 47 games -- for seven games.
:34:02. > :34:13.Chris Erskine's goal drought since the 24th of September, is over.
:34:14. > :34:19.Routis on for Fraser. That is a good ball in and attacked by Liam Boyce.
:34:20. > :34:25.Ross County have one back. Probably not enough time for them to make a
:34:26. > :34:31.game of it. Powered in by the league's top goal-scorer. That is
:34:32. > :34:42.now XI for the season but merely a consolation goal.
:34:43. > :34:54.Having not played well, particularly well up until that point, we find
:34:55. > :35:00.ourselves 3-0 down so we got a goal back. But if we can't defend the set
:35:01. > :35:03.plays, we are in trouble. In the bottom half, we thought we could get
:35:04. > :35:10.a couple of wins and get the consistency. It gives us a platform
:35:11. > :35:15.to build on. That is a result not many people saw coming except for
:35:16. > :35:18.perhaps you? I am not overly surprised. Kris Doolan talked
:35:19. > :35:23.afterwards, saying it was a result they felt was on its way and having
:35:24. > :35:27.watched them a few times recently, they were better than the position
:35:28. > :35:32.they were in, putting in a great performance at Tynecastle last week.
:35:33. > :35:37.Going to Dingwall is a tough one but they thoroughly deserved it. You
:35:38. > :35:44.predicted they would win this game? I did, I didn't tell anyone! I am
:35:45. > :35:49.not surprise, though. They have an in seven games. But they have been
:35:50. > :35:55.good in games, lots of possession, but wasteful. Scotland crying out
:35:56. > :36:03.for good, talented defenders, is Liam Lindsay one? He is and you can
:36:04. > :36:09.understand why he is getting lots of praise for his prowess in the
:36:10. > :36:14.opposition box. He does well to win the ball back here. He is a
:36:15. > :36:19.commanding, big centre-half. When you mark him in set plays, you have
:36:20. > :36:23.to get really tight to him. When he gets that momentum, he can leap very
:36:24. > :36:28.high as well. I think that was the sixth goal of the season. I can see
:36:29. > :36:30.a lot of interest coming from down south because of his size and
:36:31. > :36:37.physicality. An impressive young man. How did the veteran Steven
:36:38. > :36:42.Thompson get on against him? I think I played against him twice and
:36:43. > :36:45.probably got the better of him. We have talked about Partick Thistle
:36:46. > :36:50.wasting chances, let's wax lyrical about them because it was a great
:36:51. > :36:58.day for them. A long trip up through storm Barbara and they didn't
:36:59. > :37:02.disappoint the fans. High pressure. This goal in particular, putting
:37:03. > :37:06.Ross County under real pressure. They did eventually win the ball
:37:07. > :37:09.back, breaking quickly and capitalising on it. Chris Erskine
:37:10. > :37:12.does really well. It is a little deflection at the end but he does
:37:13. > :37:17.want to shift his feet and get the ball in the back of the net. A
:37:18. > :37:20.really dominant performance from Partick Thistle and this was the
:37:21. > :37:28.third goal to put them in a position where they work in a commanding
:37:29. > :37:34.place. Ross County had that good victory and sadly, it is back to
:37:35. > :37:39.this. Inconsistency. I think they are still in good form. They have
:37:40. > :37:46.Celtic next. Jim McIntyre was disappointed to lose, but goals from
:37:47. > :37:52.set pieces. GOMA niqab. Have a victory in their last three games.
:37:53. > :37:59.-- Kilmarnock have not had a victory.
:38:00. > :38:02.Former Scotland striker Kris Boyd has recovered from a Sy injury but
:38:03. > :38:27.he is on the bench. -- thigh injury. Cleared by Hendrie, knocked down by
:38:28. > :38:37.Tyson. That is a nice exchange and McKenzie with a good strike. Clark
:38:38. > :38:48.fumbled a cross into Lynette at the weekend, struggling with that one.
:38:49. > :38:54.-- into the net. Davidson off the line. From Rory McKenzie. Great bit
:38:55. > :39:03.of defending. As the ball got caught up in the breeze, the faintest of
:39:04. > :39:09.headers cleared off the line. Close for Tommy Wright's team. That is
:39:10. > :39:14.even closer. Murray Davidson takes his chance this time, St Johnstone
:39:15. > :39:19.in front. The midfielder not picked up. Nathan Tyson got closest but
:39:20. > :39:34.nowhere near close enough. Luke Hendrie floats in the free kick
:39:35. > :39:41.and Steven Anderson's header away. Coulibaly. Boyle again. Wilson, what
:39:42. > :39:48.a chance. For the youngster. Just turned 18. This popped up so
:39:49. > :39:59.invitingly for him, in front of goal. A chance to level things up.
:40:00. > :40:13.Olveston's cross. Cummins, great save by McDonald's. Terrific double
:40:14. > :40:18.stop from the Killie keeper. To keep this match alive for the home team.
:40:19. > :40:31.Had Cummins scored, it surely would have been game over. Hawkshaw's
:40:32. > :40:40.header. Brian Easton. Charging forward, a great run from him.
:40:41. > :40:42.Denied by the keeper. What a sole effort that was from the left-back.
:40:43. > :41:02.All it needed was the finish. Shaughnessy wins the battle with
:41:03. > :41:08.Taylor. Blair Alston gets it on the rebound, a fraction away from 2-0,
:41:09. > :41:12.St Johnstone. Looking to close this came out and Craig couldn't have
:41:13. > :41:17.been much closer with that. It is all about running down the clock now
:41:18. > :41:22.for the Perth team. Craig and Cummins. Craig comes away with
:41:23. > :41:39.possession. Craig is bundled over. By full-back
:41:40. > :41:47.Hendrie. It is all kicking off in the closing stages. A yellow card
:41:48. > :41:49.out for Hendrie. There will be a booking here for the reaction of
:41:50. > :42:05.Cummins as well. Almost over. As Hendrie retreats to
:42:06. > :42:09.take the throne. -- throw. He must have said something to the referee
:42:10. > :42:11.and it is Kaboul yellow cards in quick time and Kilmarnock will end
:42:12. > :42:24.this with ten men. I think they made the wrong decision
:42:25. > :42:29.with the substitution. I should have had Chris and Nathan on together. I
:42:30. > :42:34.take responsibility for the way we deteriorated in the second half.
:42:35. > :42:39.Just resorted to lumping long balls towards Chris. As the second half
:42:40. > :42:45.wore on, I thought we looked a bit more threatening. Murray Davidson
:42:46. > :42:50.once again proving himself to be such an important player for St
:42:51. > :42:54.Johnstone. That minute of action with Luke Hendrie, you know
:42:55. > :43:02.sometimes what happens in terms of red cards. You have been in that
:43:03. > :43:05.situation before. Not at all (!) what happened? Not a great deal of
:43:06. > :43:14.complaint from Hendrie. This view doesn't look that great. Craig is
:43:15. > :43:19.holding his head as well. Stephen Finnie, if the referee had seen it,
:43:20. > :43:30.he could have got a red card for that. What does he say? We have no
:43:31. > :43:33.idea unless you can lip-read. It wasn't merry Christmas! He doesn't
:43:34. > :43:40.look to be complaining too much when he walks off. You got a blue card
:43:41. > :43:47.once? A very long time ago. Still not sure what it was for. In terms
:43:48. > :43:52.of St Johnstone, that was a great victory against Kilmarnock away from
:43:53. > :43:56.home. Tommy Wright, such a good manager, so much consistency from
:43:57. > :44:02.his team. We always talk about it, it is a consistent team, manager and
:44:03. > :44:07.that is a really good finish from Murray Davidson, who manages to
:44:08. > :44:11.steal a march on Nathan Tyson. One of those things where you have
:44:12. > :44:18.people at the pose, that would be in the net and you could potentially
:44:19. > :44:24.get a point out of the game. He does get spoken about for jobs. For other
:44:25. > :44:31.managerial post? He does, because he does a really good job. He has got
:44:32. > :44:34.at St Johnstone what a lot of other clubs are striving for, good
:44:35. > :44:39.consistency, the team punches above their weight. Where do you see
:44:40. > :44:46.Coleman at being in that incredible bottom half of the table? It is
:44:47. > :44:50.obviously still so tight down there. They are struggling a little bit and
:44:51. > :44:56.continually relying on Coulibaly to score goals for them. Will they hold
:44:57. > :45:03.onto him in the January window? This is the question. Celtic can make it
:45:04. > :45:10.13 Premiership victories with victory at Douglas Park. Watching
:45:11. > :45:23.for us, Robert McClane. Greg Docherty is out injured, three
:45:24. > :45:25.changes in total, including the return of the Italian Massimo Donati
:45:26. > :45:40.against his old team. Mousa Dembele and James Forrest on
:45:41. > :45:46.the bench. Clever movement from Leigh Griffiths. Useful cutback.
:45:47. > :45:51.Georgios Sarris tacking the ball behind for the corner kick. Giving
:45:52. > :46:04.himself... Keeping himself, on-site, Griffiths. Good ball in from
:46:05. > :46:12.Sviatchenko. A goal saving header for Hamilton Accies. They did so
:46:13. > :46:21.well to keep that out. Neil is biting stuff already! Another great
:46:22. > :46:25.delivery and a really good save by Gary Woods. Stuart Armstrong got the
:46:26. > :46:41.faintest of touches. Good goalkeeping. Ali Crawford against
:46:42. > :46:48.Mikael Lustig. That is for Dougie Imrie, in with Cristian Gamboa, in
:46:49. > :46:54.re stays down. A penalty claim here from the home team. Maybe a lucky
:46:55. > :47:06.escape for Gamboa. Scott Sinclair. Callum McGregor
:47:07. > :47:10.shaping for the shot and Dougie Imrie involved at one end is very
:47:11. > :47:18.quickly involved in the other. That is a foul by McGregor. That will be
:47:19. > :47:26.yellow for the Celtic midfielder. Pulling back McKibben. After Dougie
:47:27. > :47:28.Imrie did well to get himself at the end of that goal bound effort from
:47:29. > :47:40.McGregor. Good feet and a useful ball. Out
:47:41. > :47:48.wide for Longridge. Dougie Imrie. Lining up the shot. He struck it
:47:49. > :47:54.well. But it was always straight down the throat of Craig Gordon.
:47:55. > :48:03.McMann's cross, fended away by Sviatchenko. Callum McGregor send it
:48:04. > :48:10.straight back. Griffiths fires Celtic in front. Four minutes away
:48:11. > :48:18.from half-time. A ghastly mistake by the Greek central defender. But a
:48:19. > :48:24.terrific bit of finishing from Griffiths, clinical, 1-0.
:48:25. > :48:37.20-year-old Scott McMann gets it back from Redmond. In went McGregor.
:48:38. > :48:42.Down went McMann. Into his pocket goes Willie Collum for a second
:48:43. > :48:46.yellow card. Celtic down to ten men. He seemed to pull out of this,
:48:47. > :48:51.Callum McGregor, that was Willie Collum's view. Celtic will be a man
:48:52. > :49:01.down for practically the whole of the second half.
:49:02. > :49:16.Stuart Armstrong! It is a Christmas cracker. Unstoppable. And ten man
:49:17. > :49:25.Celtic are 2-0 in front. In spectacular fashion.
:49:26. > :49:40.In those Longridge to win it. Stopped by Sviatchenko. Longridge
:49:41. > :49:50.had the shot. It was well struck. A castle by Craig Gordon. -- tussle.
:49:51. > :49:59.Desperate for a way back into this game, Hamilton Accies. Good save by
:50:00. > :50:06.Gordon. Just try to flick it beyond the keeper. As he came off his line,
:50:07. > :50:17.Craig Gordon got just enough to keep it out.
:50:18. > :50:34.Forrest against Saracens. -- Sarris. Mousa Dembele scores his 18th Celtic
:50:35. > :50:36.goal and it ties things up at New Douglas Park. No way back for the
:50:37. > :50:49.home team now. Our quality just wasn't there. We
:50:50. > :50:53.could be standing and saying different things if we had but if
:50:54. > :50:58.you can't beat these top teams, you will never win the game. It was
:50:59. > :51:07.proved today this is a difficult place to come. A lot... A really
:51:08. > :51:14.good professional performance from us despite difficult conditions. The
:51:15. > :51:19.stadium will surprise that the sending off I think. Ridiculous
:51:20. > :51:24.because you have a young guy that will miss a game now, when it was
:51:25. > :51:33.clearly not a sending-off. What does it say about Celtic, that they can
:51:34. > :51:36.stroll to a victory with ten men? The interesting thing about the ten
:51:37. > :51:42.man was that Brendan Rodgers spoke about it, something they have worked
:51:43. > :51:47.on pre-season and they haven't had a game where they have had to put it
:51:48. > :51:51.into practice. Having done something similar myself during my career,
:51:52. > :51:55.working on down to ten men, I think it shows you have a manager who is
:51:56. > :52:00.meticulous, works on every facet of the game and coupled with the fact
:52:01. > :52:08.they have got good players, they are a step ahead of most of the people
:52:09. > :52:12.in the league. When you work on these things and you had done it in
:52:13. > :52:14.trading, you can do things like that because everyone understands what
:52:15. > :52:21.they will be doing in certain situations. When I did it in a Acho-
:52:22. > :52:28.two - three situation, we sacrifice the number ten player. Celtic have
:52:29. > :52:36.got two of the top and three tight in the midfield. What it shows is,
:52:37. > :52:41.you have a manager and players that are really tuned in with what they
:52:42. > :52:45.are trying to do. Some impressive football from Celtic, good to watch,
:52:46. > :52:51.but is detrimental to the competition because they seem to be
:52:52. > :52:54.so far out? I don't think so, I figured is grateful Celtic. They
:52:55. > :52:58.have been impressive and one man has really caught my eye, Leigh
:52:59. > :53:05.Griffiths. His goal yesterday was a thing of beauty, top quality. A lot
:53:06. > :53:11.of chat about the Callum McGregor sending-off. Brendan Rodgers said it
:53:12. > :53:21.was a bad decision, was it? Yes in respect of, it wasn't a second a la
:53:22. > :53:28.carte. This is his first one. -- wasn't a second yellow card. This is
:53:29. > :53:33.definitely not a yellow card. I think Callum McGregor is the victim
:53:34. > :53:40.of a couple of unfortunate... In that the position Willie Collum is
:53:41. > :53:45.here, he can see there is a collision and he thinks there is a
:53:46. > :53:50.high foot. The linesman is looking through McMann and he catches him in
:53:51. > :53:55.the groin area. The linesman is in a good position as well. But it is
:53:56. > :53:59.difficult because he is looking through McMann. Does the player not
:54:00. > :54:07.have to be a little careful now he is already on a yellow card? It is
:54:08. > :54:12.unfortunate. Talking about last week, in terms of the player
:54:13. > :54:17.upfront, again, Brendan Rodgers slightly critical of Leigh
:54:18. > :54:25.Griffiths. Good linkup play, though. It is overplayed. This is everything
:54:26. > :54:34.in one. That first touch and Spain is phenomenal. Then he goes on and
:54:35. > :54:43.finish in which he is great at. The ability he has, only three touches
:54:44. > :54:47.here. This one is top drawer. He spins in behind, not great
:54:48. > :54:51.defensively. To be editors like that into the bottom of the corner like
:54:52. > :54:57.he does, shows why he is such a good striker. I don't think there are a
:54:58. > :55:05.lot of people who are fans but for me, he is the best striker. Stuart
:55:06. > :55:09.Armstrong's goal? This could steal the title of goal of the week and
:55:10. > :55:15.the season. A wonderful strike and I think it goes to show a continued
:55:16. > :55:21.form and improvement of Stuart Armstrong of late. It is a strike of
:55:22. > :55:28.real precision, beauty. Fantastic. No chance of stopping that.
:55:29. > :55:38.He has got great technique. It would have been great if there were loads
:55:39. > :55:48.of fans in the stands behind the goal. Celtic obviously have games
:55:49. > :55:53.midweek, as the Rangers. Celtic play Ross County. So which focus on the
:55:54. > :55:58.Hogmanay derby. What do Rangers need to do to win that match against
:55:59. > :56:01.Celtic who are looking so unstoppable? No one has managed to
:56:02. > :56:07.stop them domestically. Rangers will have to put their best forwards of
:56:08. > :56:12.the season in. They have to go to a level they haven't yet reached. If
:56:13. > :56:16.Celtic turn up and play as well as they could do with a full strength
:56:17. > :56:22.team, they will win. I don't think you will see another hiding as we
:56:23. > :56:25.did earlier in the season. It will be an interesting game. Mark
:56:26. > :56:31.Warburton is unbeaten in the league at home. Celtic go into the game
:56:32. > :56:37.undoubtedly as favourites but Rangers have picked up some form.
:56:38. > :56:44.They have as good a chance as any of beating them. Inverness had about
:56:45. > :56:47.six or seven chances against Rangers and Rangers didn't have any. They
:56:48. > :56:55.need to be better than that on Saturday. Which side goes in with
:56:56. > :57:02.more pressure in this matter? When you are going into a game of this
:57:03. > :57:05.magnitude and a derby, it will be levelled, balanced out. There is
:57:06. > :57:11.pressure building up with Celtic in terms of going as long as they can
:57:12. > :57:16.through the season unbeaten and Ranger want to get closer to Celtic.
:57:17. > :57:25.Mark Warburton has never lost a league match at Ibrox. When you have
:57:26. > :57:28.got a game of that magnitude, two rivals in the same city, the game
:57:29. > :57:37.speaks for itself. Pressure on both teams. Leigh Griffiths hobble. With
:57:38. > :57:42.a slight injury. I think maybe he had something to do with the
:57:43. > :57:46.surface. They had Dembele there as well. His 18th goal of the season
:57:47. > :57:52.yesterday. Griffith have something, real confidence, he believes in
:57:53. > :57:57.himself. It always looks like he's going to score a goal. Dembele will
:57:58. > :58:05.start? I think Griffiths is in the position. Fascinating to watch.
:58:06. > :58:08.Thank you both. The Ladbrokes Premiership table looks like this
:58:09. > :58:29.after all that. Celtic miles in front.
:58:30. > :58:36.That is it for the first part of the festive season, well done for making
:58:37. > :58:42.it through the highs and lows of 2016. We will keep the faith, until
:58:43. > :59:03.next time, goodnight from all of us. # I've got to have faith.
:59:04. > :59:33.MUSIC: I'm Gonna Be by The Proclaimers
:59:34. > :59:37.New Year really does personify everything that's great about us.
:59:38. > :59:41.Let's talk technique. Do you have a favourite stroke?
:59:42. > :59:53.There's only one place to see in the bells this Hogmanay.