Hamilton Academical 1 Hibernian 0
Accies gave themselves a Clydesdale Bank Premier League lifeline with their first home win of the season.  Nigel Hasselbaink scored the vital goal from Gary McDonald's knockdown seven minutes before the break and Hibs' chances were dealt a blow when Francis Dickoh, who'd been booked earlier, was sent off for a foul on the scorer just before the interval.  Ali Crawford hit the bar and forced a good save out of Jakub Divis as Accies closed the gap on St Mirren to three points.

Aberdeen 0 St Johnstone 2
Aberdeen's disappointment continued but Saints earned back-to-back wins for the first time this season.  Steven Smith's early own goal from Liam Craig's corner gave St Johnstone the perfect start and they dominated the game, having a penalty claim turned down when Peter MacDonald went down following Zander Diamond's tackle.  Chris Millar had an effort saved by Jamie Langfield but Jamie Adams clinched victory when he headed in Andy Jackson's cross on the hour.

Dundee United 4 Motherwell 0
Jon Daly's hat-trick eased United to a comfortable win over a Motherwell side who made several changes with the Cup Final looming.  Daly opened the scoring when his header from Paul Dixon's free-kick eluded Darren Randolph in the visitors' goal and he added a second just before the break when he turned home Garry Kenneth's pass.  He completed his hat-trick two minutes after the re-start when he took advantage of Gavin Gunning's error to volley home, and sub Andis Shala made it four late on when he deflected in Keith Watson's drive.  United are now five points behind third-placed Hearts with two games to play.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 St Mirren 0
Inverness CT made it two successive home wins despite finishing with ten men - but Saints still aren't safe from the drop.  Adam Rooney came on as a sub for Alex MacDonald and struck the woodwork three times before firing past Paul Gallacher with five minutes to go.  Caley Thistle earlier had Russell Duncan sent off for retaliation following a tackle by Lee Mair, which means he'll miss Wednesday's game against Hibs - the game that would have been his final appearance at Inverness after it was announced he was being released at the end of the season.  Michael Higdon's drive was one of the few attempts which brought home 'keeper Jonny Tuffey into action and Saints are now only three points ahead of Hamilton.

Rangers 4 Hearts 0
Rangers - watched by new owner Craig Whyte – kept their place at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League with a comfortable win over ten-man Hearts.  The home side romped into a three-goal half-time.  First Nikica Jelavic, who'd already driven wide, took Steve Davis' cross and drove under Jamie MacDonald for the opener after 22 minutes.  Kyle Lafferty side-footed a second from Gregg Wylde's cross six minutes before the break and Davis headed the third from another Wylde cross four minutes later.  Hearts' Eggert Jonsson was shown a straight red card for a foul on Jelavic after 62 minutes but although Stevie Naismith and substitute David Healy both drove against the woodwork, it took until three minutes from time for Rangers to add a fourth with Ryan Stevenson turning the ball into his own net after sub El Hadji-Diouf's shot was saved.  Despite a good amount of possession, David Templeton's narrowly wide drive and Ian Black's shot saved by Allan McGregor were practically the only times a disappointing Hearts threatened.

Kilmarnock 0 Celtic 2 (Sunday)
Celtic responded to close the gap at the top of the table with a well-deserved victory over Kilmarnock.  Killie might have gone ahead early on when James Dayton, making his first start since September, shot just wide.  Celtic however gradually gained control and went ahead in first-half stoppage time.  Daryl Murphy crossed to the back post, James Forrest headed back across goal, and Scott Brown dived to head home from six yards.  Celtic later added a second when Kris Commons gathered Brown's pass and drove into the top corner from 25 yards.  Celtic saw out the rest of the game comfortably though Clydesdale Bank Player of the Year Emilio Izaguirre limped off late on with an apparent hamstring injury.

By cbfootball.co.uk   Last updated: 09 May 2011