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Monday 14th August 2017

Weekend in numbers

Resident statto @splstats looks at some of the key numbers behind the weekend’s games across all four divisions of the SPFL.

Resident statto @splstats looks at some of the key numbers behind the weekend’s games across all four divisions of the SPFL.

1 St Johnstone moved to the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership after beating Motherwell 4-1 at McDiarmid Park on Saturday. ‘Band on the Run’ by Wings was UK No 1 album the last time Saints won their opening two matches of a top-flight campaign – that was back in 1974/75, when they went on to finish ninth. Saints are unbeaten in their last eight home matches against Motherwell; the Steelmen last tasted victory in Perth in November 2012, when a Jamie Murphy double helped them to a 3-1 win.

10 Hibernian continued their excellent start to the season with an impressive 3-2 victory over Rangers at Ibrox. Neil Lennon's side have won six of their seven matches so far, with their only blip coming against Ross County in the Betfred Cup, when they lost on penalties after a 0-0 draw in Dingwall. Simon Murray has made a sensational start to his Hibs career – his goal on Saturday was his 10th in seven appearances. Amazingly, he isn’t the fastest player to reach double figures for the Hibees; Joe McBride managed 10 goals in his first five games for the Easter Road men.

5 Dunfermline Athletic bounced back from their heavy midweek Betfred Cup defeat at Ibrox by thumping Inverness Caledonian Thistle 5-1 in the Ladbrokes Championship. The Pars had previously gone 12 matches without a win against ICT in all competitions; Stephen Kenny was their manager the last time they beat the Caley Jags, 3-1 in the Highland capital back in March 2007 when Stephen Glass netted a double. Allan Johnston's side have won 6-0 (v Elgin City), 5-1 (v Peterhead) and 5-1 (v ICT) in their three matches at East End Park this season – the last time they scored five or more goals in three consecutive home games was way back in November 1965, when a certain Alex Ferguson was on the scoresheet in two of those matches.

14 Raith Rovers moved up to second in the early Ladbrokes League 1 table after beating Stranraer 3-0 at Stark's Park. Rovers extended their unbeaten league run against the Blues in Kirkcaldy to 14 matches – Stranraer's last league win at Stark's Park came back in November 1984. Lewis Vaughan scored for the fifth consecutive match – his tally of seven goals is already higher than the six he managed in 32 matches for Raith and Dumbarton last season.

4 Stirling Albion climbed to the top of the Ladbrokes League 2 table after thumping Berwick Rangers 4-0 at Forthbank on Saturday. Dave Mackay's side have won their first two league matches – the last time they did so was in 2013/14, when they went on to gain promotion to the third tier via the play-offs. In all competitions, the current winning run extends to four matches – they beat Forfar Athletic and Brechin City in the Betfred Cup – with the Binos racking up an impressive 12 goals in the process.