The Ladbrokes Premiership post-split games begin this weekend, with crucial matches in the bottom half of the table and the race for Europe.
The change came about in season 2000/01, when the SPL was increased from 10 to 12 clubs – we take a brief look back at the first ever weekend of post-split fixtures.
Saturday April 21, 2001
Aberdeen 1-0 Dunfermline Athletic
Arild Stavrum – who finished the season as second-top SPL scorer behind Henrik Larsson with 17 goals to the Swede’s 35 – was the matchwinner as the Dons beat the Pars at Pittodrie.
Dundee 0-3 Rangers
Rangers cruised to victory at Dens Park thanks to first-half goals from Rod Wallace, Tore Andre Flo and Jorg Albertz.
Hibernian 1-1 Kilmarnock
Christophe Cocard gave Killie an early lead but Marc Libbra equalised before the break and both clubs went on to clinch UEFA Cup places.
Motherwell 0-1 St Johnstone
Momo Sylla scored the only goal for Saints after 63 minutes of this bottom-six fixture at Fir Park.
Sunday April 22, 2001
Celtic 1-0 Hearts
Lubo Moravcik scored the only goal midway through the second half and Martin O’Neill’s side were presented with the SPL trophy after the game in what turned out to be a treble-winning season for the Parkhead club.
Monday April 23, 2001
St Mirren 1-1 Dundee United
Ricky Gillies grabbed a late equaliser to earn Saints a crucial point after relegation rivals United had gone ahead through Steven Thompson but St Mirren finished bottom in the end.
SPL table after fixture round 34
1 Celtic 91 pts
2 Rangers 73 pts
3 Hibernian 62 pts
4 Kilmarnock 50 pts
5 Hearts 47 pts
6 Dundee 41 pts
7 Dunfermline 41 pts
8 Aberdeen 39 pts
9 Motherwell 39 pts
10 St Johnstone 38 pts
11 Dundee United 23 pts
12 St Mirren 22 pts
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