St Mirren 2 Rangers 1
Rangers' lead at the top of the table was cut to a point as they finished with nine men at New St MIrren Park. Lee Wallace gave the visitors the lead when he took Sasa Papac's pass and beat Craig Samson for his first goal for the club. But things began to go wrong for Rangers when Lee McCulloch was shown a straight red card by referee Stevie McLean for swinging an elbow at Graham Carey. St Mirren took advantage and two goals in three minutes towards the end of the first-half saw them go in ahead. A neat passing move ended with Aaron Mooy going through a couple of challenges on the edge of the penalty area before firing a powerful shot beyond Allan McGregor. Then Paul McGowan raced in behind the Rangers defence to pick up David Barron's pass before placing a neat finish into the corner of the net. Rangers tried to get back into the game but struggled to break down a resolute home defence and with four minutes left they were reduced to nine men as Dorin Goian picked up his second yellow card for a tug at Kenny McLean's shirt. McGowan had a great chance to add to St Mirren's tally when he took Nigel Hasselbaink's pass and rounded McGregor but Papac got back to clear.

Celtic 2 Kilmarnock 1
Celtic closed the gap at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League to a point thanks to a Georgios Samaras' double against Killie. The Greek rose to head in the opener during first-half stoppage time from Cha Du Ri's cross. Then he pounced when Momo Sissoko slipped and advanced to drive the second past Cammy Bell. But sub Danny Racchi's spectacular strike pulled one back and ensured a nervy end, during which Gary Harkins' shot was charged down after Fraser Forster collided with James Fowler. Celtic now go into Wednesday's Old Firm game knowing victory will see them top the table going into the New Year.

Dundee United 3 Hibernian 1
Hibs' struggles continued as United came from behind to win comfortably at Tannadice. Leigh Griffiths gave Hibs the lead from Martin Scott's pass but United gradually gained the upper hand and when Gary Mackay-Stevens set up Stuart Armstrong, he played in Johnny Russell who rounded Graham Stack before scoring. United went in front with 14 minutes left when Jon Daly rose to head home Paul Dixon's cross - and the home skipper wrapped up the win when he ran on to John Rankin's pass to make it 3-1. Hibs are now stuck at the bottom of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League along with Dunfermline, both sides four points behind Inverness CT.

Dunfermline Athletic 0 St Johnstone 3
St Johnstone closed to within five points of third-placed Motherwell with a fine win at Dunfermline. Home 'keeper Chris Smith - in for Paul Gallacher - punched Liam Craig's corner into his own net to gift St Johnstone the lead nine minutes before the break. Fran Sandaza doubled Smith's misery when he fired in after the home keeper failed to gather a Marcus Haber drive. Craig made it three when Sandaza set him up on the hour. Callum Davidson came close to adding a fourth for Saints as they dominated until the final whistle.

Hearts 2 Motherwell 0
Two first-half goals sent Hearts on their way to victory over third-placed Motherwell. Hearts came close when David Templeton's shot deflected off Shaun Hutchinson and was well saved by Darren Randolph. Templeton had another effort blocked after he skipped away from Tom Hateley but the rebound fell for Ian Black, who fired a low drive into the bottom corner to give Hearts the lead. Templeton continued to cause problems for Motherwell and his run and low cross saw Stephen Elliott add to the home side's lead. Although Omar Daley hit the post for the visitors, there was no way back for them. Hearts' day finished badly as Jamie Hamill was stretchered off during the second-half.

Inverness CT 2 Aberdeen 1
Caley Thistle closed to within two points of Aberdeen after a second-half surge against the Dons. Kari Arnason's header wide was the best effort of a windblown first-half but Caley went ahead when Jonny Hayes swung the ball in and Roman Golobart headed home. Gregory Tade doubled the home lead with a low drive after 69 minutes and although Rory Fallon pulled one back with a crisp drive and Arnason missed a late chance to level, Inverness CT hung on for the three points.

By cbfootball.co.uk   Last updated: 26 December 2011