5 – Celtic extended their lead at the top of the William Hill Premiership to four points with a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Ross County at Celtic Park. Liam Scales, Luke McCowan, Paulo Bernardo, Callum McGregor and Adam Idah all found the net inside the opening 40 minutes. This is just the ninth time this century that a team have scored five times in the first half of a top-flight match – Celtic have been responsible for five of these, most recently in a 7-1 victory over Dundee in February. McGregor is now the Premiership’s leading goalscorer, having found the net six times in 11 appearances – this is already his most prolific season since 2019/20, when he scored nine league goals.
3 – Hibernian defeated Motherwell 3-0 at Fir Park to climb off the foot of the William Hill Premiership. Junior Hoilett, Mykola Kuharevich and Josh Campbell scored the goals for David Gray’s side as they picked up their first win since mid-September. The victory ended a run of eight away league matches without a win for the Hibees since beating St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park in April. This success followed a dramatic 3-3 draw with Aberdeen in midweek – it is the first time Hibs have scored three or more goals in back-to-back league games since August 2021. That pair of games also included a win at Fir Park – they won 3-2 there before beating Ross County 3-1 at home.
4 – Raith Rovers cruised into Round 4 of the Scottish Cup thanks to a 4-0 victory over Linlithgow Rose at Prestonfield. A Dylan Easton double plus goals from Lewis Gibson and Jack Hamilton ensured that Neill Collins’ side defeated their Lowland League opponents. Rovers have won each of their last 11 Scottish Cup ties against non-league opponents – their last defeat came against Inverness Caledonian in 1965. This was Rovers’ biggest away win in any competition since they defeated Dumbarton 5-1 in the league in September 2018.
5 – Stenhousemuir thumped Irvine Meadow 5-0 at Meadow Park to make their way into Round 4 of the Scottish Cup. Euan O’Reilly netted a hat-trick, with Matty Aitken and Aaron Steele also on the scoresheet in a comprehensive victory over their West of Scotland League opponents. The Warriors recorded their biggest away win in any competition in eight years, since they defeated Airdrie by the same scoreline in the league in December 2016.
3 – Elgin City moved into Round 4 of the Scottish Cup thanks to a 3-2 victory over Kelty Hearts at Borough Briggs. Two goals from Ryan Sargent and one from Dylan Gavin helped Allan Hale’s side defeat the William Hill League 1 leaders. This was the third meeting of these sides in three different cup competitions this season – they drew 1-1 in the Premier Sports Cup group stage and Kelty won 3-1 in the SPFL Trust Trophy. Elgin have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions, with the only blip being a 2-0 loss to Bonnyrigg Rose in early November.
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