@splstats looks at some of the numbers behind the weekend games, with the focus on Ross County, Hibernian, Rangers, Peterhead and East Fife.
1 Ross County defeated Celtic 3-1 at Hampden on Sunday to reach their first ever League Cup final. The Staggies maintained their enviable record in cup semi-finals, picking up their sixth victory in seven semi-finals. County won their only Scottish Cup semi-final, also against yesterday’s opponents Celtic, back in 2009/10. They also picked up four wins out of five in Challenge Cup semi-finals, with their only defeat coming against Inverness in 2009/10. The Dingwall side have been less successful at turning their final appearances into trophies, though, having won just two of the previous five. County are the 22nd different club to reach this stage of the competition - Highland rivals Inverness CT were the previous final debutants in 2013/14.
10 Hibernian made it to their 10th League Cup final by defeating St Johnstone 2-1 at Tynecastle on Saturday. Hibs’ most recent final appearance was back in 2006/07, when they also defeated Saints in the semi-final before going on to demolish Kilmarnock in the final to win their third League Cup. Alan Stubbs’ side are the first club from outside the top flight to reach the final of this competition since Ayr United in 2001/02 – Ayr defeated Hibs in the semi-final that year. Only two second-tier clubs have ever won the trophy – East Fife did it way back in 1947/48, and Raith Rovers repeated that feat in 1994/95.
19 Rangers moved eight points clear of Hibs at the top of the Ladbrokes Championship table after a dramatic late victory over Falkirk at Ibrox. Mark Warburton’s side remain unbeaten at home in the league this season, picking up 34 points out of a possible 36. The Gers have not lost a league fixture at Ibrox since Hibs beat them 2-0 on February 13 last year – that run will have extended to more than a year by the time of their next home league fixture. Their unbeaten home run stretches to 19 matches, equalling the streak set by Ally McCoist’s side between May 2013 and May 2014.
11 Peterhead defeated Albion Rovers 5-1 at Balmoor to move to within eight points of Dunfermline Athletic at the top of the Ladbrokes League 1 table. The Blue Toon also moved 11 points clear of their opponents in the race for the play-offs, though Rovers do still have three games in hand. Jim McInally’s side are now unbeaten in 11 league matches, their best run since the 2004/05 season, when they went 14 games without defeat on their way to promotion from the fourth tier. Saturday’s win was the fifth time in the last nine matches that Peterhead have scored four or more goals – they scored seven against Cowdenbeath, five against Rovers and Stranraer, and four against Airdrie and Stenhousemuir.
4 East Fife moved to within two points of Elgin at the summit of Ladbrokes League 2 after defeating Clyde 2-0 at Bayview on Saturday. Gary Naysmith’s side have now recorded four consecutive league wins, which is the Fifers’ best run in eight years. The last time they put together this kind of streak was their 2007/08 campaign, when they went on to comfortably win the Third Division title. East Fife have risen from sixth to second in the table thanks to this run.
