Resident statto @splstats looks at the numbers behind the weekend games, with the focus on Partick Thistle, Rangers, Dunfermline, Livingston and Forfar.
6 – Partick Thistle secured their spot in the top six of the Ladbrokes Premiership with a 1-0 victory over Motherwell at Firhill on Saturday. Alan Archibald’s side have thus guaranteed Thistle’s highest league finish since 1980/81, when Peter Cormack led them to sixth place. The Jags extended their unbeaten run to eight league matches, which is their best run in the top flight since October to November 1977. Partick Thistle are the 15th different club to finish in the top six of the Premiership since the split was introduced in 2000/01 and are the first new entrants since Inverness CT and Ross County both made their top-half debuts in 2012/13.
3 – Rangers beat Aberdeen 3-0 at Pittodrie on Sunday to move to within nine points of the Dons in the Ladbrokes Premiership table. It was the Gers’ biggest away league win since they defeated Dumbarton 6-0 at the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium back in January 2016, a match in which Kenny Miller scored a hat-trick. Pedro Caixinha’s side were the first visiting team to score three goals at Pittodrie this season – the only team who had even scored twice were Motherwell… in a 7-2 defeat. The Light Blues are unbeaten in seven matches since the start of March, picking up four wins and three draws and scoring 18 goals in the process.
7 – Dunfermline Athletic defeated Raith Rovers 1-0 in Saturday’s Fife derby to move eight points clear of the Ladbrokes Championship relegation spots. The Pars are now unbeaten in their last seven league matches against Rovers at East End Park, with Raith’s last victory coming back in August 2009. Allan Johnston’s side have lost just one of their last eight Championship fixtures to ease their relegation worries but the nine-point gap to fourth-placed Dundee United may be too large to bridge with just five matches left to play.
3 – Livingston secured the Ladbrokes League 1 title and promotion straight back to the Championship after beating Alloa Athletic 2-1 at the Tony Macaroni Arena. Livi have led the division since beating Alloa back in October and managed to keep the Wasps at arm’s length in the title race for most of the season before delivering the knock-out blow this weekend. Saturday’s win was a fifth consecutive league victory for David Hopkin’s side, which marked Livi’s best run since they won seven in a row at a similar stage of their 2010/11 SFL2 title-winning campaign. The Lions have now won the third tier title on three occasions (1998/99, 2010/11, 2016/17) – only four-time winners Stirling Albion and Clyde have won it more often.
1 – Forfar Athletic and Arbroath remain separated by just a point at the top of Ladbrokes League 2 after their clash at Station Park finished in a 1-1 draw. Gary Bollan’s Loons hit a bit of a slump in February and March but have taken four crucial points from their last two matches and have kept the title in their own hands with four matches remaining. Dick Campbell’s Red Lichties remain hot on their heels and are now unbeaten in their last 13 away league matches since losing to Clyde in September. Arbroath are unbeaten on their last eight visits to Forfar – their last defeat was in the SFL2 play-off final back in May 2010.
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