Hibernian 2 St Mirren 0
Hibs brought an end to their poor run with a well-deserved win over St Mirren.  Goals from Derek Riordan and David Wotherspoon saw Hibs leapfrog the Paisley side into tenth position in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.  New Hibees Richie Towell, Akpo Sodje and Matt Thornhill all came close as they dominated from the start.  Hibs however had to wait until just after the hour to take the lead when Sodje set up Riordan for a cool finish.  Ian Murray hit the post with a header but Wotherspoon clinched victory with a low drive in the third minute of stoppage time.  Michael Higdon had Saints only effort of note, which was saved by recalled 'keeper Graham Stack.  Saints are now four points above bottom club Hamilton having played a game more, while Accies have two games in hand on Hibs.

Motherwell 0 Kilmarnock 1
Kilmarnock grabbed a late win at Fir Park after having absorbed long spells of Motherwell pressure.  David Silva headed in Tim Clancy's cross with nine minutes left to stun the home side.  'Well had looked much more dominant and Killie 'keeper Cammy Bell made good saves from Jamie Murphy and Steve Jennings, while Steven Hammell's free-kick rebounded from the crossbar.  Kilmarnock finished with ten men for the third match in succession when Garry Hay was red-carded late on for a trip on Chris Humphrey.  A win would've seen Motherwell rise to fifth - but instead they remain eighth.

Rangers 1 Hearts 0
Rangers closed the gap at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League to five points with a hard-fought win over Hearts.  Kyle Lafferty fired what turned out to be the game's only goal with a well-taken strike from Steven Whittaker's cross after four minutes.  Lafferty also headed over from debutant El Hadji Diouf's free-kick just before the break, after the Senegalese international had come on as a sub for knee injury victim Lee McCulloch.  Madjid Bougherra had a drive saved after the break and Steven Davis had a late effort ruled out for offside after Diouf's shot was saved by Marian Kello.  Disappointing Hearts barely managed a shot at goal and Jim Jefferies's side had six players booked.

By cbfootball.co.uk   Last updated: 03 February 2011