@splstats looks at some of the numbers behind the weekend games, with the focus on Celtic, Hibernian, Stranraer, Queen’s Park and East Stirlingshire.
5 Celtic became champions of Scotland for a fifth consecutive time after defeating Aberdeen 3-2 at Parkhead on Sunday. This is just the fifth occasion in the 125-year history of Scottish league football that a club have won five or more titles in a row. Celtic won nine in a row between 1965/66 and 1973/74 and six in a row between 1904/05 and 1909/10, while Rangers won nine in a row from 1988/89 to 1996/97, and five in a row between 1926/27 and 1930/31. The Bhoys have now taken their overall major trophy tally to 99 – they have 47 league titles, 36 Scottish Cups, 15 League Cups and 1 European Cup.
20 Hibernian progressed to the Ladbrokes Premiership play-off semi-final after defeating Raith Rovers 2-0 in Edinburgh on Saturday. The victory continued Hibs’ incredible home form - they have picked up 20 wins in their last 25 matches at Easter Road, with their only defeat coming against Morton in February. Hibs will now face Falkirk in the semi-final over the next week, with the winners taking on Kilmarnock for a spot in next season’s Ladbrokes Premiership. Alan Stubbs’ side have already played 51 matches this season and still have the Scottish Cup final to come - if they reach the play-off final they will have played 56 games, which is more than any other season in their history.
14 Stranraer reached the Ladbrokes Championship play-off final after defeating Livingston in a thrilling semi-final. Brian Reid’s side led 5-2 from Wednesday’s first leg, but Livi fought back to take the game to extra time, scoring twice in the last two minutes to lead 4-1. However, the Blues scored twice in the extra half hour, to win 8-6 on aggregate and progress to a final against Ayr United. With 14 goals scored, this is the highest-scoring play-off tie in any division since they were introduced in 2005/06. The previous best was 12, when Stirling Albion beat Annan Athletic 8-4 on aggregate in 2013/14.
8 Queen’s Park defeated Cowdenbeath 2-1 on aggregate to set up a Ladbrokes League 1 play-off final clash with Clyde. The Spiders have competed in these play-offs in eight of the last 10 seasons, but have been successful just once. In 2006/07, they gained promotion to the third tier after defeating East Fife 7-2 on aggregate, but since then they have lost six semi-finals and one final. That play-off final defeat came last season, when Stenhousemuir beat them 2-1 on aggregate.
4 East Stirlingshire moved a step closer to retaining their place in Ladbrokes League 2 after holding Edinburgh City to a 1-1 draw at Meadowbank Stadium in the first leg of the play-off final. They remain unbeaten against City in all competitions - they have now met on four occasions, with the Shire winning one and the other three finishing level. The second leg takes place at Ochilview this Saturday but East Stirlingshire are without a win in nine home matches since beating Stirling Albion 3-2 on January 2.
