3 – Ross County climbed to 9th place in the William Hill Premiership thanks to a 1-0 victory over Kilmarnock at the BBSP Stadium, Rugby Park. George Harmon’s late goal was enough to give Don Cowie’s side all three points and move them above their opponents in the table. This was the Staggies’ third away win in a row, which is all the more impressive given that prior to Boxing Day they had gone over a year without an away win. It is the first time in over a decade that County have won three consecutive away league games – the last time was from February-April 2012 on their way to winning the SFL Division 1 title.
5 – Motherwell defeated Aberdeen 2-0 at Fir Park to move up to 5th spot in the William Hill Premiership. Ewan Wilson and Tawanda Maswanhise found the net before half-time to move Stuart Kettlewell’s side to within four points of both the Dons and Dundee United in the battle for third place. The Steelmen had previously drawn one and lost six of their previous seven meetings against Aberdeen – their last victory was at Pittodrie in August 2022. Maswanhise moved on to five league goals for the season – he is now Motherwell’s joint-top goalscorer alongside Apostolos Stamatelopolous.
3 – Ayr United moved into 2nd place in the William Hill Championship courtesy of a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Raith Rovers at Somerset Park. George Oakley netted a hat-trick within the opening 25 minutes to move Scott Brown’s side to within four points of leaders Falkirk, although the Bairns do have a game in hand. The only other hat-trick of Oakley’s career came on the same weekend a year ago, when he scored three times for Greenock Morton in a 3-2 victory at Tannadice. Ayr have now defeated Raith Rovers three times at Somerset Park this season – they won the first league meeting 2-0 and also beat them 3-2 in the SPFL Trust Trophy.
5 – Inverness Caledonian Thistle defeated Dumbarton 2-0 at the Caledonian Stadium to move six points clear of their opponents at the bottom of William Hill League 1. Goals from debutant Alfie Bavidge and Charlie Gilmour secured a crucial victory for the Caley Jags, who are now just seven points behind Annan Athletic in the battle to escape relegation. Bavidge is the son of former Inverness striker Martin, who scored 19 goals for the club around the turn of the century. Scott Kellacher’s side have won five of their last seven league matches as they seek to overcome their 15-point deduction to stay in the third tier.
1 – East Fife jumped to the top of William Hill League 2 thanks to a 1-0 victory over Forfar Athletic at MGM Timber Bayview Stadium. An Alan Trouten penalty midway through the second half was enough to take East Fife above both Elgin City and Peterhead – the three sides are separated by just two points at the halfway mark in the season. Thirty-nine year-old Trouten is showing no signs of slowing down – Saturday’s goal took his tally to 16 in 22 games this season. East Fife are now unbeaten in their last eight home matches against Forfar in all competitions – they have six wins and two draws since their last defeat in May 2019.
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