Key facts and figures from the weekend's SPFL action, summarised by our resident stat-man @SPLstats.
21 – Kane Hemmings notched a double on Saturday to take his tally to 21 for the season – he is the first Dundee player to reach 20 goals in a top-flight season since Nacho Novo in 2003/04. Dundee all but secured their place in next season’s Premiership after defeating Partick Thistle 2-1 in Glasgow on Saturday. Since beating Kilmarnock on the opening day of the season, Paul Hartley’s side have won just three away league matches, but amazingly, all of those three victories have been at Firhill. This victory continued their top-flight dominance in this fixture; the Dee are now unbeaten in 14 top-flight meetings with the Jags, with their last defeat coming way back in 1994.
7 – Motherwell kept themselves in fourth place in the Premiership after beating Heart of Midlothian 1-0 at Fir Park on Saturday. The Steelmen are unbeaten in their last seven home matches against the Jam Tarts, having picked up five wins and two draws. Stretching further back, Motherwell have picked up eight victories out of 11 against Hearts at Fir Park, with the Edinburgh side’s only victory coming in December 2012, when Kevin Kyle scored the winning goal. Mark McGhee’s side have been in incredible form in recent weeks; Saturday’s success was their sixth win in seven matches.
4 – Dumbarton secured their safety by defeating St Mirren 2-1 at the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium on Saturday. The Sons will therefore compete in the Championship for a fourth consecutive season, which is their longest spell in the second tier in over 30 years. Stephen Aitken’s side owe their survival to their excellent home form in the second half of the season – they have lost just one of their last 10 matches at the Rock. Saturday’s success was Dumbarton’s third win in four league meetings against Saints this season, making it their best ever campaign against the Paisley side.
6 – Brechin City climbed out of the League 1 relegation zone after defeating Stranraer 1-0 at Glebe Park on Saturday. City have now recorded six consecutive home wins, a run which is even more incredible when you consider that they only won two of their first 13 home games this season. Their current run of six straight home wins equals their best streak in the last decade – they also managed six in a row under Jim Duffy in 2009/10. Darren Dods and his side are now just one victory away from a great escape – they won just four of their first 26 fixtures, but have now picked up seven victories in their last nine.
6 – Berwick Rangers continued their impressive finish to the season by beating League 2 champions East Fife 2-0 at Shielfield. John Coughlin’s side have won six home matches in a row, and have kept clean sheets in all six of them. Madonna was at No 1 with “Vogue” the last time Berwick recorded six or more straight home wins – that was way back in 1990, when Jim Jefferies was in charge. Their run of six successive home clean sheets is even more historically significant – it equals a club record originally set in 1994.
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