Weekend in numbers

@splstats looks at some of the numbers behind the weekend games:

5 Rangers defeated Raith Rovers 5-0 at Ibrox to move five points clear at the top of the Ladbrokes Championship.  Mark Warburton’s side have now scored five goals in three consecutive matches, having beaten Queen of the South 5-1 and Airdrieonians 5-0 in their previous two outings. The last time the Gers scored five or more goals in three consecutive matches came back in February 1999, when Britney Spears was at UK No 1 with “…Baby One More Time”.  Back then, Dick Advocaat’s side beat Hamilton Accies 6-0 in the Scottish Cup, before seeing off Dundee 6-1 at Ibrox and Kilmarnock 5-0 at Rugby Park on SPL duty.

8 Morton defeated Livingston 4-2 at Almondvale to move into fourth place in the Ladbrokes Championship with eight points. Jim Duffy’s side have already recorded two away wins this season, more than the Ton managed in their entire 2013/14 Championship campaign. Morton have a superb recent record in Livingston – Saturday’s victory extended their unbeaten run in West Lothian to eight matches, of which they have won four and drawn four. Prior to this sequence, Morton had suffered 10 consecutive defeats in Livingston, the most recent of which was in November 2008.

3 Dunfermline Athletic climbed to the top of the Ladbrokes League 1 table courtesy of an impressive 4-0 victory away to previous leaders Forfar Athletic. Allan Johnston’s side had a Joe Cardle hat-trick to thank for their success, with the winger scoring three times before Andy Geggan rounded off the success with a stoppage-time goal. Cardle was the first Pars player to score a hat-trick away from home for five years – the last player to do so was Andy Kirk in a 5-1 win against Stirling Albion in August 2010, a match in which Cardle himself played and scored.

9 Airdrieonians scored twice in the last 15 minutes to defeat Cowdenbeath 3-2 at the Excelsior Stadium and move into fourth place in the Ladbrokes League 1 table. The Diamonds have been notoriously slow starters in recent years, and looked to be going down the same path this season after losing their opening two fixtures, but they have raced into form with three consecutive league wins. Their current tally of nine points from their opening five games represents their best start to a season since the club was resurrected in 2002.

3 Montrose defeated Elgin City 2-0 at Links Park to move into third place in Ladbrokes League 2, just a point behind leaders Annan Athletic and Berwick Rangers. Paul Hegarty’s side have won all three of their home matches, a run which extends to four in a row when you include the victory over Brora Rangers in the play-off at the end of last season. This is the first time since 1981/82 that the Gable Endies have won their opening three home league matches – they are already halfway to their tally of home league wins in the whole of 2014/15.