Resident statto @splstats looks at some of the numbers behind the weekend games in the IRN-BRU Cup, Championship, League 1 & League 2.
2 – Inverness Caledonian Thistle defeated Dumbarton 1-0 at McDiarmid Park to win the 2017/18 IRN-BRU Cup. Carl Tremarco was the hero, netting a stoppage-time winner to earn the Caley Jags the trophy for the second time. John Robertson was also at the helm for Caley Thistle’s previous success against Airdrie in 2003/04 – he has become the second manager to lift the trophy twice, following in the footsteps of Terry Christie, who won it with Stenhousemuir in 1995/96 and Alloa Athletic in 1999/00.
10 – Livingston extended their unbeaten run in the Ladbrokes Championship to 10 matches thanks to a topsy-turvy 3-3 draw with Queen of the South at Palmerston. David Hopkin’s side came from 2-0 down to lead 3-2, but a late goal from former Livi loanee Nikolay Todorov denied the Lions all three points. Queens were the last side to beat Livingston in the Championship – that was a 1-0 victory at the Tony Macaroni Arena on January 6. Since then, Livi have picked up six wins and four draws to climb from fifth to second in the Ladbrokes Championship table. This run of 10 league games without defeat is their best in the second tier since 2000/01, the season in which they gained promotion to the SPL.
4 – Ayr United defeated Queen’s Park 4-0 at Somerset Park to stay six points clear at the top of Ladbrokes League 1. Lawrence Shankland came back to haunt his former club, netting the first hat-trick of his career to take his tally for the season to 25 league goals. Shankland is just the fourth Ayr United player since World War II to score 25+ goals in a league season – Peter Price managed it three times in the 1950s, John Sludden twice in the 1980s and Michael Moffat netted 26 goals in 2013/14. Saturday’s win ensured that Ayr completed a clean sweep against Queen’s Park this season and extended their unbeaten run against the Spiders to 15 matches.
10 – Raith Rovers kept up the pressure on Ayr in the Ladbrokes League 1 title race thanks to a 2-1 victory away to Airdrieonians. Rovers are six points behind the Honest Men at the top of the table, but have a game in hand at home to East Fife tomorrow night. Saturday’s victory extended Raith’s unbeaten run against Airdrie to 10 matches in all competitions – the Diamonds’ last victory over Rovers was a 2-0 success in a League Cup tie in August 2011.
5 – Clyde moved to within two points of the Ladbrokes League 2 promotion play-off spots thanks to a 3-0 victory over title-chasing Montrose at Broadwood. The Bully Wee have taken 28 points from their last 12 matches, a run which started with a 3-1 win at Links Park in their previous meeting with the Gable Endies back on January 20. Prior to that, Clyde were 17 points off the play-off spots and just five points ahead of bottom club Cowdenbeath. Danny Lennon’s side have recorded five consecutive home league wins for the first time since September-December 1998.
