@splstats looks at some of the numbers behind the weekend games, with the focus on Dundee United, Motherwell, Rangers, Peterhead and Elgin City.
11 Motherwell climbed to eighth in the Ladbrokes Premiership table after defeating Partick Thistle 3-1 at Fir Park. The Steelmen are now unbeaten in their last 11 home matches against Thistle, picking up seven wins and four draws. The Jags have not won at Fir Park in over 20 years - their last success was back in January 1996, when Tommy Turner and Gregg Watson gave them a 2-0 victory. Louis Moult notched a double on Saturday to take his total to 16 goals for the season – Leigh Griffiths, Adam Rooney, Kane Hemmings and Liam Boyce are the only top-flight players to score more.
3 Dundee United defeated Ross County 3-0 at the Global Energy Stadium to close the gap at the foot of the table to just eight points. It was United’s first away win in the Ladbrokes Premiership since August, and just their third victory in their last 21 league matches on the road. Saturday’s success did, however, mark a third consecutive away clean sheet for United in all competitions, following their 1-0 win over Airdrie in the Scottish Cup last month, and a 0-0 draw with Hamilton Accies in the Premiership. Ian McCall was in charge of United the last time they managed three clean sheets in a row away from home – that was back in September and October 2003.
20 Rangers moved 11 points clear of Hibernian at the top of the Ladbrokes Championship after beating St Mirren 1-0 at Ibrox on Saturday. The Gers are one of just two SPFL clubs who remain unbeaten at home in the league this season, with League 2 leaders Elgin City being the other. Mark Warburton’s side have taken 37 points from a possible 39 at Ibrox – the only time they dropped points was a 2-2 draw with Morton in December. It has been over a year since anyone beat Rangers at Ibrox in the Championship – they are unbeaten in 20 matches since losing to Hibs on February 13, 2015. Only two sides have won at Ibrox in the intervening period – Motherwell in the play-offs and St Johnstone in the League Cup.
15 Peterhead kept up the pressure on Dunfermline at the top of Ladbrokes League 1 with a 4-1 victory over Brechin at Balmoor. Jim McInally’s side are now unbeaten in their last 15 league matches - their best run since joining the SFL in 2000. The Blue Toon’s last defeat came way back in October, when they led Stenhousemuir 3-0 but contrived to lose 4-3. Since then, they have picked up 37 points from a possible 45, including victories in each of their last five games. Rory McAllister continued his prodigious goalscoring form, netting his third hat-trick of the season to take his tally to 30 goals. McAllister has now scored 102 league goals for Peterhead, making him the first Blue Toon player to reach a century in the SFL/SPFL.
5 Elgin City moved back to the top of Ladbrokes League 2 by defeating East Stirlingshire 2-0 at Borough Briggs on Saturday. The Black and Whites remain unbeaten at home in the league this season, having picked up 10 wins and two draws from their 12 fixtures. Jim Weir’s men haven’t even conceded a league goal at Borough Briggs in over five and a half matches – the last player to score there was East Fife’s Nathan Austin back in November, over 500 minutes of football ago.
