Weekend in Numbers

4 – St Mirren defeated Motherwell 4-1 at Hampden to make it to the Premier Sports Cup final for just the fourth time in their history. A double from Mikael Mandron plus goals from Dan N’Lundulu and Richard King ensured a comfortable victory for Stephen Robinson’s side. The Buddies were beaten finalists in 1955/56 and 2009/10, but finally won the League Cup in 2012/13, beating Heart of Midlothian in the final. It is just the third time in their history that the Paisley side have scored four goals in a national cup semi-final – the others were a 4-0 victory over Celtic in the 1958/59 Scottish Cup and a 4-1 win over The New Saints in the 2016/17 Challenge Cup.

38 – Celtic reached the Premier Sports Cup final thanks to a 3-1 extra-time victory over Rangers at Hampden on Sunday. Goals from Johnny Kenny, Callum McGregor and Callum Osmand ensured that Martin O’Neill tasted victory in his first game in the Hampden dugouts since the 2005 Scottish Cup final. Celtic have reached the League Cup final for a 38th time, equalling the competition record set by Rangers last season. The Hoops have now won six consecutive League Cup ties against their city rivals, all of them at Hampden – Rangers’ last victory came in the 2010/11 final.

1 – Falkirk moved up to fifth place in the William Hill Premiership thanks to a 3-1 victory over Kilmarnock at the Falkirk Stadium. Ethan Williams, Ross MacIver and Calvin Miller all scored in a first-half blitz to make it three wins out of four for John McGlynn’s side. This was the Bairns’ first ever league win over Killie at the Falkirk Stadium – they had drawn four and lost four of the previous eight meetings there, although they did beat them in the first leg of the Premiership play-off final in 2016. “Spaceman” by Babylon Zoo was UK number 1 the last time the Bairns beat Killie at home in the league – that was a 4-2 win at Brockville in February 1996, with Tony Finnegan, Albert Craig, Dominic Iorfa and Stevie Kirk all on the scoresheet.

5 – Partick Thistle thumped Queen’s Park 5-0 at the Wyre Stadium at Firhill to keep themselves just three points off the top of the William Hill Championship. Paddy Reading, Ben Stanway, Logan Chalmers, Tsoanelo Letsosa and Luke McBeth were all on the scoresheet for Mark Wilson’s side as they swept aside their city rivals. The Jags are now unbeaten in 11 league matches against the Spiders, and have won their last six league meetings. This was Thistle’s biggest win at Firhill since they beat Falkirk by the same scoreline in April 2021 to seal the League 1 title.

13 – Inverness Caledonian Thistle returned to the top of William Hill League 1 thanks to a 1-0 victory over Montrose at the Sarens PSG Stadium. Chanka Zimba’s goal just after half-time was enough to extend Scott Kellacher’s side’s unbeaten home run to seven matches in all competitions – they have picked up six wins and a draw since they lost to Stenhousemuir in August. The Caley Jags are unbeaten in their last 13 matches against the Gable Endies, a run which stretches back over three decades – their last defeat was a 3-0 loss at Telford Street Park back in April 1995.

6 – Spartans beat East Kilbride 2-1 at the Vanloq Community Stadium to extend their lead over their opponents at the top of the William Hill League 2 table to six points. Goals from James Craigen and Cammy Russell helped Dougie Samuel’s side pick up their eighth win in 11 league matches – no other League 2 side has won more than five. This was Spartans’ third win over Kilby already this season – they beat them at home in the Scottish Cup last week, and also won 3-1 away from home on the opening day of the league season.