Resident statto @splstats looks at some of the numbers behind the weekend games in all four divisions of the SPFL…
10 – Celtic remain nine points clear at the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership after beating Aberdeen 2-0 at Pittodrie on Sunday. The Hoops have now recorded 10 wins in a row against Aberdeen in all competitions, which is their longest ever run of consecutive wins against the Dons. Aberdeen’s last victory over Celtic was back in February 2016, when goals from Jonny Hayes and Simon Church helped them to a 2-1 victory at Pittodrie. Brendan Rodgers’ side have now scored 100 goals this season in all competitions – Kieran Tierney’s late strike brought up the century.
13 – Hamilton Accies defeated Partick Thistle 2-1 at The SuperSeal Stadium to climb out of the Ladbrokes Premiership relegation places. Accies headed into the game on a run of five straight defeats but David Templeton’s last-minute winner handed them their first victory of 2018. It was Hamilton’s first win over Thistle in any competition since August 2014 – they had previously gone 13 games without a victory over the Jags.
10 – Morton climbed up to third in the Ladbrokes Championship thanks to a 2-0 win over Inverness Caley Thistle at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. Morton are now unbeaten in 10 away matches, which is their best run since 2012. The Ton have only lost two away games in all competitions this season – at Motherwell in the Betfred Cup in July and at Tannadice back in September. Saturday’s success was their first ever away win against the Caley Jags – their only previous victory in Inverness was a 2-1 Scottish Cup win over Clachnacuddin in 1952.
100 – Ayr United defeated Airdrieonians 3-0 at Somerset Park to close the gap on Raith Rovers at the top of Ladbrokes League 1. Ian McCall’s side now sit just four points adrift of Raith and have a game in hand over the Kirkcaldy side. Andy Geggan’s opening goal was the Honest Men’s 100th of the season in all competitions – Geggan also scored the first in a 1-0 victory over Kilmarnock in the Betfred Cup. In all, they have netted 102 goals in 36 matches, with Lawrence Shankland (23), Craig Moore (21), Declan McDaid (12) and Michael Moffat (11) all reaching double figures. Their best ever tally for a season was 139, set in 1958/59, which means they would need another 38 goals in their remaining 10 league fixtures, plus as many as four possible play-off matches, to beat the record.
5 – Stirling Albion are now on the best current winning run of any SPFL side. The Binos made it five victories on the bounce by ending Clyde’s own five-game streak with a 2-1 success at Forthbank. It’s been a superb return to form by Dave Mackay’s men who led the Ladbrokes League 2 table from August until mid-November but slipped to sixth after a poor run of results. They are now back up to third spot and are looking good for at least a play-off place.
4 – Edinburgh City eased their Ladbrokes League 2 relegation worries thanks to an emphatic 4-0 victory over Elgin City at Ainslie Park. City started 2018 just a point clear of Cowdenbeath but have now stretched that gap to 12 points, largely thanks to their impressive home form. James McDonaugh’s side have picked up 10 points from their last five home matches, with their only defeat coming against leaders Montrose. Saturday’s 4-0 victory was their biggest winning margin since their promotion to the SPFL in 2016.
