5 – Motherwell thumped St Mirren 5-0 at the SMISA Stadium to boost their William Hill Premiership title hopes. Elijah Just, Tawanda Maswanhise, Ibrahim Said, Emmanuel Longelo and Eythor Bjorgolfsson were all on the scoresheet for Jens Berthel Askou’s side, who recorded their biggest win of the season. This equalled their biggest ever away win over Saints – they also beat them 5-0 at Love Street in 1966. This is the first time five different players have scored for the Steelmen in a league game since a 5-1 win over Partick Thistle in December 2013, when the scorers were Keith Lasley, Zaine-Francis Angol, James McFadden, Lionel Ainsworth and John Sutton. Motherwell have taken 42 points from their last 19 matches – they have 12 wins and six draws, with their only defeat being a 1-0 loss to Rangers at Ibrox in December.
Motherwell's defence compares favourably against teams in Europe's top 5 leagues. The Steelmen have conceded 18 goals in their 27 William Hill Premiership matches, with only AS Roma (16 goals in 26 games) holding a better record.
Roma 16 goals (26 games), Motherwell 18 goals (27 games), Como 19 goals (26 games), PSG 19 goals (23 games), Lens 20 goals (23 games), Arsenal 21 goals (28 games), Bayern Munich 21 goals (23 games), Real Madrid 21 goals (25 games).
16 – Hibernian boosted their hopes of European qualification by defeating Celtic 2-1 at Parkhead on Sunday. Felix Passlack’s opener was cancelled out by Benjamin Nygren but Kai Andrews scored a late winner to keep David Gray’s side within five points of Motherwell and moved them six clear of sixth-placed Falkirk. The Hibees have three wins in their last four matches, with their only defeat coming in the Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle. This is Hibs’ first win at Celtic Park in 16 years, since a 2-1 success in January 2010, when Anthony Stokes and Danny Galbraith were on the scoresheet. Since then, the Hibees had lost 18 and drawn five in 23 visits to the East End of Glasgow.
0 – Partick Thistle defeated Airdrieonians 1-0 at the Wyre Stadium at Firhill to close the gap at the top of the William Hill Championship. Ben Stanway scored the only goal of the game for Mark Wilson’s side as they took advantage of St Johnstone’s draw at Raith Rovers to move just three points behind the leaders. The Jags remain unbeaten at home in the league this season, with 10 wins and three draws from their 13 matches. Premiership leaders Heart of Midlothian are the only other side in the SPFL without a home league defeat. Thistle have not lost any of their last 15 matches against Airdrie at Firhill – they have 14 wins and a draw since their last defeat back in May 2009.
9 – Peterhead kept their promotion hopes alive with a 3-1 victory over East Fife in William Hill League 1. Dylan Forrest, Jason Brown and Kieran Shanks found the net for the Blue Toon, who now sit seven points between fourth-placed Queen of the South, with two games in hand. Shanks has four goals in his last five matches – he is now the second-top scorer in League 1 with 11 goals. Peterhead are unbeaten in their last nine home league matches against the Fifers, winning seven and drawing two since their last defeat in December 2019.
5 – Clyde thumped Edinburgh City 5-0 at New Douglas Park to keep themselves in the hunt for the William Hill League 2 title. A hat-trick from James Hilton and goals from Darren Hynes and Kyle Connell moved Darren Young’s side to within eight points of leaders East Kilbride, having played two games fewer. This was Hilton’s first SPFL hat-trick and takes his tally to 12 goals in all competitions – this is the first time he has reached double figures. He is the second Clyde player to score a treble this season – Marley Redfern also did so in a 6-0 win over Annan Athletic in September. The Bully Wee have lost just one of their last 21 league matches – that was a 2-1 defeat at home to Stirling Albion in December.
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