4 – Motherwell held on to fourth place in the cinch Premiership thanks to a 2-1 win over Livingston at Fir Park. Kevin van Veen netted a double to ensure that Well remained two points clear of Hibernian, and just five behind third-placed Heart of Midlothian. Graham Alexander’s side have recorded four consecutive home wins for the first time since October-December 2019. The Steelmen picked up 59 points in the cinch Premiership in the calendar year 2021 – more than any other club aside from Rangers and Celtic.
6 – Hibernian defeated Dundee United 3-1 at Tannadice to make it back-to-back victories for new boss Shaun Maloney in his first week in charge. Kevin Nisbet, Chris Cadden and Jamie Murphy were all on the scoresheet for the Hibees, who moved four points clear of their opponents in the battle for a top-six place. Maloney is the fourth consecutive Hibs manager to win their first two league games in charge – Neil Lennon, Paul Heckingbottom and Jack Ross also started with six points out of six. Hibs are now unbeaten on their last six visits to Tannadice in all competitions – they have picked up five wins and a draw since their last defeat back in December 2016.
9 – Ayr United beat Raith Rovers 2-0 at Somerset Park to end a run of nine cinch Championship matches without a win. Tomi Adeloye and Mark McKenzie were on the scoresheet to move the managerless Honest Men four points clear of the relegation play-off spot. It was Ayr’s first win over Rovers in six attempts – their previous victory was back in March 2018, when Lawrence Shankland, Robbie Crawford and Craig Moore found the net in a 3-0 win.
5 – Clyde climbed into the top half of the cinch League 1 table thanks to a 2-1 victory over Falkirk at the Falkirk Stadium. Ally Love and Aaron Splaine scored the goals as Danny Lennon’s side came from behind to leapfrog the Bairns and Peterhead into fifth place. Clyde had previously lost five consecutive matches against Falkirk in all competitions – this was their first win since February 2020. The Bully Wee have now gone six league matches without defeat, which is their longest unbeaten run since being promoted to this division in 2019.
3 – Annan Athletic recorded the biggest win on Boxing Day, trouncing cinch League 2 leaders Kelty Hearts 5-1 at Galabank. Goals from Owen Moxon and Michael Garrity plus a Tony Wallace hat-trick saw Annan emphatically end Kelty’s unbeaten record. This was the second time in the last three matches that an Annan player had scored a hat-trick – Dominic Docherty netted a treble against Elgin City a fortnight ago. Wallace’s hat-trick was extra special given that he only came on as a sub in the 73rd minute – he became the first Annan player to score a hat-trick as a substitute since they joined the SFL in 2008.
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