@splstats looks at some of the numbers behind the weekend games, with the focus on Celtic, Dundee, Alloa, Peterhead and Elgin.
30 Leigh Griffiths notched his 30th goal of the season as he helped Celtic defeat Ross County and move clear of Aberdeen at the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership. Griffiths has scored a goal per game in the Premiership, netting 22 times in 22 appearances, and has also claimed three goals in the Scottish Cup, one in the League Cup and four in Europe. Griffiths is the fourth Celtic player to reach that tally in the last decade, with Scott McDonald notching 31 in 2007/08, Gary Hooper bagging 31 in 2012/13 and Kris Commons netting 32 in 2013/14. However, with a minimum of 14 matches left for Celtic this season, Griffiths will be hoping to become the first Bhoys player to score 40 in a season since Henrik Larsson managed 41 in his final year at the club back in 2003/04.
5 Dundee moved up to fifth in the Ladbrokes Premiership table after defeating St Johnstone 2-0 at Dens Park on Friday night. Paul Hartley’s side have picked up four wins and a draw in their last five matches at Dens, netting 13 goals in the process. Kane Hemmings was responsible for nine of those 13 goals – he netted a hat-trick against Hamilton, doubles against Saints and Falkirk, and also found the net against Dundee United and Motherwell. The current sequence represents their best run of five home matches since October 2010 to January 2011, when they also picked up four wins and a draw in five First Division fixtures.
8 Alloa Athletic kept themselves within four points of Livingston at the bottom of the Ladbrokes Championship table after picking up an impressive draw at home to leaders Rangers. The Wasps took the lead on the hour mark, but were denied three points after Michael O’Halloran scored his first Rangers goal with seven minutes remaining. Alloa picked up just five points in their first 16 fixtures, but have now gathered eight in their last eight to boost their hopes of survival. The Wasps have an enviable record against Rangers – they have played the Glasgow side eight times since the start of last season, and have suffered just three defeats.
13 Peterhead defeated Forfar Athletic 3-2 at Balmoor to remain eight points behind Dunfermline Athletic at the summit of Ladbrokes League 1. Back on October 31, the Blue Toon slumped to seventh after throwing away a three-goal lead to lose 4-3 to Stenhousemuir at Ochilview, and were looking over their shoulders at the relegation spots. Since then, however, Jim McInally’s side have embarked on a 13-match unbeaten run, picking up 31 points from a possible 39 and climbing to second place in the table. Peterhead are now just one match short of equalling their best unbeaten league run since they joined the SFL in 2000 – their 2003/04 side went 14 games without defeat on their way to promotion from the fourth tier.
11 Elgin City remain two points clear at the top of the Ladbrokes League 2 table after defeating Clyde 1-0 at Borough Briggs on Saturday. Jim Weir’s side have yet to lose a home league fixture this season, picking up nine wins and two draws from their 11 matches. This unbeaten run is a new club record for the Black and Whites since they joined the SFL in 2000. Saturday’s shut-out was Elgin’s seventh league clean sheet of the season at Borough Briggs – they have conceded just six goals at home, the equal best defensive record in the SPFL alongside Falkirk.
