Aberdeen 2 St Mirren 0
On-form Aberdeen sunk Saints thanks to two second-half Scott Vernon goals.  New Don Robert Milsom came closest in the first half with a 25-yard drive which was well saved by Paul Gallacher.  Five minutes after the break Aberdeen broke the deadlock when Chris Maguire's angled shot was knocked in by Vernon, they then doubled the lead with an identikit move, Maguire crossing for the striker to nod home.  Aberdeen will now go to Celtic Park next weekend having taken ten points from their last four games.
 
Hibernian 0 Celtic 3
Celtic temporarily opened up an eight-point gap over Rangers at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League after a comprehensive Easter Road win.  Neil Lennon's side bounced back in decisive style from their midweek draw at Hamilton and should've led when Dan Majstorovic headed wide from Mark Wilson's free-kick.  Gary Hooper put Celtic in front when he slotted in Anthony Stokes' through ball just before the interval.  After the break ex-Hibs striker Stokes doubled the lead when he was brought down by Lewis Stevenson and scored from the penalty spot, he then added a third with an acrobatic overhead kick into the roof of the net.  Stokes came close to completing his hat-trick when he chipped Mark Brown only for Francis Dickoh to clear off the line.  The defeat increases the pressure on home boss Colin Calderwood, whose side have now gone eight games without a win.
 
Kilmarnock 1 St Johnstone 1
Sub Cleveland Taylor snatched a later leveller to shock Kilmarnock.  The Ayrshire side could have been well in front by half-time after dominating the first-half but only had Conor Sammon's cool finish following Alexei Eremenko's free-kick to show for it.  Sammon - who could be set for a move to Championship strugglers Scunthorpe this week - could have made it 2-0 near the end but blasted over.  Killie were left rueing that miss when Taylor robbed Frazer Wright of possession and beat Cammy Bell to equalise four minutes from time.
 
Motherwell 0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0
Neither side managed to overcome the elements in a disappointing game at Fir Park.
The few chances which were created in the first-half came from the visitors but Adam Rooney's effort from Ross Tokely's cross-cum-shot didn't trouble Darren Randolph.
Inverness CT also missed the best chance of the game when Shaun Hutchinson's error gave ex-'Well star Richie Foran the chance to bear down on goal but he pulled his shot wide.  There was further disappointment for the home side with defender Mark Reynolds sealing his move to Sheffield Wednesday.
 
Rangers 4 Hamilton Academical 0
Rangers romped to a comfortable win over Accies - and could top the table before Celtic next play.  Rangers face Inverness CT on Tuesday and Hearts on Saturday at lunch-time so they could be back on top before Celtic face Aberdeen next Saturday.  Rangers won comfortably against an Accies side who were so short of players they'd to give first-team debuts to under-19 defenders Mikey Devlin and Lee Kilday.  Gers went ahead when Vladimir Weiss drilled in Jamie Ness's pass, the lead was then doubled from the penalty spot when Kilday tripped Weiss and Steven Whittaker fired in the penalty.  Weiss scored the third from a free-kick after he'd been fouled just before the break and Rangers added a fourth eight minutes from time when substitute Maurice Edu drilled home from Kenny Miller's pass.
 
The other Clydesdale Bank Premier League fixture between Dundee United and Hearts was postponed due to flooding at Tannadice.

By cbfootball.co.uk   Last updated: 17 January 2011