St Mirren produced a dominant first-half performance at Easter Road as they ran out comfortable 3-0 winners over pitiful Hibernian.

The Paisley side opened the scoring early on through Alex Gogic’s header before a Greg Kiltie penalty and a close-range finish from Mikael Mandron put them in full command by the interval.

Hibs remain in the bottom six of the cinch Premiership after taking just two points from their last six league matches and many of their supporters left the stadium long before the end of what was a humiliating afternoon for the Edinburgh side.

Three of Hibs’ seven January recruits were selected for starting duty, with Nectarios Triantis handed a debut at centre-back. The 20-year-old Australian’s fellow Sunderland loanee Eliezer Mayenda was named on the bench alongside Chris Cadden, who returned to the squad for the first time since rupturing his Achilles on the last day of last season.

St Mirren handed a first start to former Hibs forward James Scott, who joined on loan from Exeter in January, but it was another ex-Easter Road player who opened the scoring for the visitors in the eighth minute.

Caolan Boyd-Munce seized on a loose ball following a Buddies corner and clipped in a cross from the right, allowing Gogic – who had two years with the Hibees – to power in between Rory Whittaker and Will Fish and head home from inside the six-yard box.

The hosts struggled to conjure a response and St Mirren doubled their lead in the 33rd minute when Kiltie slotted home a penalty after Mandron flicked the ball up against the hand of Triantis in the box.

The Paisley side were in full control and they almost stretched their advantage five minutes later when right wing-back Elvis Bwomono latched on to Scott Tanser’s cross and saw a low angled shot from 12 yards out blocked by David Marshall.

A minute before the break the Buddies got their third when Mandron somehow found himself free just a couple of yards out to knock home Boyd-Munce’s corner.

Hibs – who had failed to muster any notable attempts at goal – were booed off at the interval by their furious supporters and then jeered back on for the start of the second half.

Manager Nick Montgomery responded by making a triple change for the start of the second half, sending on Dylan Vente and debutant pair Mayenda and Nathan Moriah-Welsh for Jair Tavares, Dylan Levitt and Elie Youan.

However, the abject home side rarely looked like finding a way back into the home game as Saints saw out the second half in professional fashion to keep themselves fifth in the table.

Zac Ashworth scored for a second successive weekend to earn Bolton a 1-1 comeback draw against Skybet League One promotion rivals Barnsley.

But the Tykes will rue a series of missed chances before the West Brom loanee headed in a cross by substitute Aaron Collins after 64 minutes.

Bolton were beaten in last season’s third tier play-off semi-finals by the Oakwell outfit.

And they trailed after five minutes as Adam Phillips flicked on Barry Cotter’s long throw for Devante Cole’s 17th goal of the campaign.

Barnsley should have gone 2-0 up after 28 minutes as Josh Sheehan’s error gave Neill Collins’ side a four-on-two advantage but Phillips dragged his eventual shot wide.

Bolton continued to labour in the second half. They were indebted to keeper Nathan Baxter for three saves in quick succession from Cole, Phillips and John McAtee.

Boss Ian Evatt’s response saw Collins replace top scorer Dion Charles. And with his first touch the ex-Bristol Rovers star centred for Ashworth to rescue a point.

Collins almost won it for Wanderers but his deflected effort was tipped away by Liam Roberts.

Roy Hodgson cut a forlorn figure as Crystal Palace slumped to a dispiriting 4-1 defeat at their fierce rivals Brighton in the Premier League.

Goals from Lewis Dunk, Jack Hinshelwood, Facundo Buonanotte and Joao Pedro once again left the future of the veteran Eagles boss under scrutiny.

Palace sacked their previous manager, Patrick Vieira, following a 1-0 defeat in this fixture last season so Hodgson, on a run of just four wins from 17 matches, could be on thin ice.

The 76-year-old is hamstrung by the absence of Eberechi Eze through injury while his other key man, Michael Olise, was only deemed fit enough for the bench.

Yet when Olise was sent on, at half-time, his side were already 3-0 down, and the winger lasted just eight minutes before pulling up again.

A late goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta could not mask the flaws in Hodgson’s ailing side, and the loss of captain Marc Guehi to a first-half knee injury just compounded a thoroughly rotten day for the Eagles.

If Brighton were suffering a hangover from their 4-0 midweek drubbing at Luton, they were over it in double quick time.

With their first attack and just two minutes in, Tariq Lamptey forced a corner down the left, Pascal Gross swung the ball in and Dunk gave Joachim Andersen a gentle shove as he rose above him to glance into the net.

Palace were perpetually living dangerously at the back and when a Pedro cross found Buonanotte, the shortest player on the pitch planted a header straight at Dean Henderson.

Their cause was not helped by the knee injury suffered by Guehi, who looked distraught when he limped off midway through the first half to be replaced by deadline-day signing Adam Wharton.

Guehi’s absence was keenly felt when 18-year-old Hinshelwood, not exactly the height of a basketball player himself, nipped in to head home a cross from Lamptey.

Just 86 seconds later it was three after debutant Wharton was dispossessed by Gross, who strolled forward before slipping in Buonanotte to score.

Dismayed Palace fans unfurled their anti-board banner, which first got an airing during the 5-0 hammering at Arsenal a fortnight ago.

It was easy to see where their frustrations lie. They had to wait until first-half stoppage time for their side’s first shot in anger, a long-range effort from Jefferson Lerma which was deflected wide.

When Olise, who was presumably not remotely fit, limped off, chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ emanated from the away end. The Brighton fans, never shy to revel in their rivals’ misfortune, responded with ‘Super Roy Hodgson’.

A brief, belated Palace flurry saw Mateta head home a cross from Andersen, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Pedro played a one-two with Danny Welbeck and slotted home to finish the Eagles off.

Bristol Rovers atoned for a 1-0 home defeat by Exeter City in Sky Bet League One 11 days ago by winning by the same scoreline at St James Park thanks to Brandon Aguilera’s stunning debut goal.

Exeter started brightly and Vince Harper shot low at Jed Ward from an angle, but Rovers went in front when Aguilera, signed on loan from Nottingham Forest this week, smashed the ball into the top corner from 20 yards, although Exeter were aggrieved that the referee clearly got in the way and blocked off midfielder Reece Cole just prior to the goal.

Harper then struck the angle of post and bar with a tremendous curling effort for Exeter before goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo made a brilliant save to deny Chris Martin.

Jack Aitchison dragged a shot just wide of the near post at the start of the second half for Exeter, but the best chance came when Aitchison sent Sonny Cox through on goal, but his finish was poor and easily saved by Ward.

Exeter started to get on top with Cole forcing Ward into another good stop and then the midfielder saw a free-kick deflect off the wall before crashing back off the crossbar, but Rovers held on to take the points.

St Johnstone opened up daylight over Ross County in the battle to avoid relegation from the cinch cinch Premiership after a 1-0 win in Dingwall.

The Staggies had looked bright, getting into the final third only to see a lack of quality when it mattered most cost them.

The same could not be said for St Johnstone, who had fewer chances but crucially made one of them count through Benjamin Kimpioka in the 35th minute to seal all three points.

Both sides missed good chances to break the deadlock in the early stages.

James Brown could not beat Dimitar Mitov on a couple of occasions, while Yan Dhanda blazed over for the hosts.

Anthony Gallacher did the same at the other end with arguably the chance of the game so far, finding himself through one-on-one with George Wickens only to lift the ball over both goalkeeper and crossbar.

St Johnstone took the lead in the 35th minute, though, as Kimpioka latched on to a long ball forward after Will Nightingale misjudged his interception.

The Swedish forward still had plenty of work to do, but he dropped a shoulder to cut inside Loick Ayina and on to his right foot before picking out the far corner.

County pushed for an equaliser after the restart, forcing a number of saves from Mitov.

Brown had another effort, nearly catching the keeper out at his near post, with Simon Murray volleying straight at Mitov from the edge of the box.

Ayina also got in on the act, taking aim from 25 yards out and forcing Mitov to tip the ball over his crossbar.

Try as they might, County could not find a breakthrough, with the final whistle going as St Johnstone kept the ball by the corner flag.

Victory for the visitors lifted them five points above second-bottom County in the table, albeit having played one game more.

The crucial run of fixtures the Dingwall outfit are on, having taken one point from matches against Livingston and St Johnstone, continues on Tuesday evening when they travel to Motherwell, who now sit in 10th place after being leapfrogged by St Johnstone.

Madara, one of only three runners from the UK declared at the Dublin Racing Festival, ran out a ready winner of the Ryanair Handicap Chase.

Claimed by Sophie and Christian Leech out of an Auteuil chase in October, his three previous runs for the yard had all been at Cheltenham, winning on the most recent of them.

No stranger to running their horses in France, they snapped up James Reveley to ride, a former champion jockey over there.

British and Irish race fans had a recent reminder of the Yorkshireman’s qualities on Boxing Day when Il Est Francais led his rivals a merry dance at Kempton.

Reveley bided his time on this occasion, making sure not to hit the front too soon on the seven-year-old – but approaching the final fence, he could wait no longer.

Once over that obstacle, he put the race to bed, stretching clear to win by two and three-quarter lengths as the 4-1 joint-favourite.

Sophie Leech said: “He’s a fantastic horse and I’m so happy. My son Ed and my husband Christian do all the race planning and this fitted timing-wise.

“We are used to travelling, as we have more runners in France than we do in England. It looked like a really nice opportunity and Bryan (Drew, owner) and all the lads involved were really keen to come over and have a go.

“We’re a very small yard and the team at home work tirelessly, so thank you to them. We’re delighted.

“We’re staying for the racing tomorrow, so it’ll be a good old night tonight!

“We’ve had runners at Punchestown before and love coming over here.”

When asked if Madara could now head for the Grand Annual, she added: “We were thinking of the Plate for him (at Cheltenham), because we thought he’d like a step up in trip.

“He was beat over the Old course and I think the New course suits him better. I don’t know now because he looked to have plenty of pace there. It’s a nice problem to have.”

Reveley commented: “I’m over the moon, it’s my first winner in Ireland. To be fair, it was a good bit of placing by Sophie and Christian.

“I watched his Cheltenham race over and over and thought yeah, Leopardstown will suit him down to the ground – big fences, stiff track and a bit of soft ground, it was ideal for him.”

Maxxum produced a fine weight-carrying performance to give young jockey Carl Millar by far the biggest success of his fledgling career in the Race And Stay At Leopardstown Handicap Hurdle.

Millar only had eight previous winners to his name but proved great value for his 7lb claim on Gordon Elliott’s top weight.

Maxxum had won at Leopardstown last Christmas and went off 7-4 favourite for this very race 12 months ago, only to disappoint.

Having looked in the grip of the handicapper, Elliott sent him chasing.

He had been back over hurdles for his last two outings but was sent off at 28-1, having been pulled up on the most recent of those.

Millar was positive from the outset, though, and while Gaoth Chuil travelled much better, Maxxum stuck to his task to win by three-quarters of a length.

“Carl is a good lad. He’s well able to ride and just needs to tidy himself up a little bit now, get on the simulator. He’s a good lad and works hard,” said Elliott.

“Maxxum is a bit hot and cold and I thought the ground might have gone a bit soft for him. When you are in these handicaps, you never know.

“We said we’d keep it simple, pop him out handy and see what happens.”

Harry Kane headed his 24th Bundesliga goal of the season as Bayern Munich came from behind to beat Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 at the Allianz Arena and stay two points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

Monchengladbach, who had held Leverkusen 0-0 a week earlier, grabbed the lead through Nico Elvedi’s 35th-minute finish before Aleksandar Pavlovic equalised just prior to the interval.

Kane then nodded home in the 70th minute as he became the fastest player to reach 24 Bundesliga goals, doing so in 20 games to surpass Erling Haaland’s mark of 25, and equalled Luca Toni for most goals in a maiden season with the club.

Matthijs de Ligt added a late header of his own as the two-point gap was retained between second-placed Bayern and Leverkusen, who won 2-0 at bottom side Darmstadt, ahead of the top two meeting at BayArena next Saturday.

Leroy Sane was to the fore as Thomas Tuchel’s champions looked to make an early breakthrough, cracking one shot against the bar and sending another wide.

Monchengladbach made an ambitious attempt in the 27th minute with Florian Neuhaus’ shot from the halfway line being caught by Manuel Neuer, before the goalkeeper’s opposite number Moritz Nicolas did well to tip a Kane free-kick over the bar.

Four minutes later the visitors were ahead as Neuer’s ball to Thomas Muller was intercepted by Elvedi, who played a one-two with Jordan and side-footed into the bottom corner of the net.

Bayern hit back in the final minute of normal time before the break when Pavlovic fired past Nicolas having been teed up by Muller, the 19-year-old midfielder registering his second Bayern goal a week on from his first in the 3-2 win at Augsburg.

Jamal Musiala found Nicolas’ side-netting early in the second half and Kane subsequently had a shot saved.

The England captain then made it 2-1 when Leon Goretzka delivered the ball into the box, Nicolas got a glove to the ball under pressure from Muller but could only send it bouncing to Kane and he headed in.

De Ligt extended the advantage in the 86th minute, meeting Sane’s free-kick with a powerful header beyond Nicolas.

And there was almost a fourth for Bayern on 89 minutes via another header, substitute Mathys Tel seeing his effort saved.

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti brushed off suggestions this week could prove decisive in the LaLiga title race as his side prepare to host city rivals Atletico.

Ancelotti’s men head into the contest 10 points clear of their opponents and locked in a tight battle at the top of the table with next week’s opponents Girona.

A win on Sunday would ensure they go into that contest in top spot, regardless of how the Catalan side get on against Real Sociedad.

Ancelotti refused to put any kind of conclusive weight on the next seven days but did acknowledge the significance of the two upcoming home clashes.

He told a press conference: “(The week is) not decisive, but important. It’s very important to pick up points at this moment, before the Champions League.

“These are very important games and we’re going into them in the best possible way. We have to take advantage of these two games at home to get points.

“Given the value of the opponent and the importance of the match, it’s good for us to be back at the Bernabeu. It has always helped us and it will do so tomorrow. They are intense matches with a lot of pressure.”

Sunday’s meeting will mark the third Madrid derby in less than a month after Ancelotti’s men beat their rivals 5-3 in their semi-final en route to winning the Spanish Super Cup before Atletico gained revenge with a 4-2 triumph in the last 16 of the Copa Del Rey, with both ties settled in extra-time.

The Real boss is managing a number of injuries, with defenders Eder Militao and David Alaba and midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni all unavailable and Antonio Rudiger a doubt with a muscle strain.

On Rudiger, Ancelotti said: “He’s improved a lot in the last few days. I expect the same improvement between today and tomorrow.  He will be in the squad and I will decide tomorrow if he plays or not.

“The height of the team without (Rudiger and Tchouameni) drops and we have to make the right decision regarding set-pieces.”

Nevertheless, Ancelotti remained upbeat about those who remain available for selection and was not concerned that his club did not sign another centre-back in January.

He added: “We thought, after Alaba’s injury, that Tchouameni could do well as an an emergency measure in the centre-back position. Tomorrow is an absolute emergency, but only for one game. Besides, Militao will be back before the end of the season. He’s starting to look very good.

“(Eduardo) Camavinga can also play as a centre-back. He brings the ball out very quickly, he is quick and strong in tackles.

“I also have the options of (Ferland) Mendy and (Dani) Carvajal. All three options give me confidence and I think they can do very well tomorrow. The centre-back job is the easiest in football because you have to use your head more than your energy.”

Atletico go into the game on a five-game winning run in all competitions, kick-started by the cup win over Real, but, like his opposite number, boss Diego Simeone was reluctant to put too much weight on the outcome of the game.

“With so many days left, it is not good to think this way,” he told a press conference.

“It is an important game, they are first in LaLiga, they are strong at home, they are supported by their fans. We will have to be very good.”

Nickle Back galloped to a memorable Grade One victory in the Virgin Bet Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase at Sandown following a bold front-running ride from James Best.

It was a fairytale first success at elite level for the jockey and West Wratting trainer Sarah Humphrey, although the race was marred by a fatal fall for Hermes Allen at the second-last.

Best and 10-1 shot Nickle Back established a healthy lead in the early stages, with 8-13 favourite Hermes Allen heading the chasing pack.

Some exuberant leaps allowed the pacesetter to extend his advantage to fully 20 lengths with three to jump and he was again foot-perfect at the Pond Fence.

After Nickle Back bounded clear from two out, Djelo clawed back some of his lead up the stiff home stretch but Best’s mount was not for catching, prevailing by seven lengths,

“I just cannot believe it,” Best told ITV Racing. “As a small child growing up, you watch these races on the television on a Saturday and you dream of becoming a jockey and winning races like this.

“A massive thank you to Sarah and all the team, I’m just gobsmacked, as I was when winning on him in his first chase at Warwick.

“For them to put their faith in me on this wonderful horse, it means so much and I just can’t believe it.

“He was a bit brave early on and that kind of twisted my arm second time down the back – for goodness sake, just go with him!

“He loves galloping and he loves jumping, so just get a breather when I could.

“Congratulations to Sarah, as she has done a wonderful job with this horse, who is quite fragile and not easy to train.”

Nickle Back was cut from 50-1 to 20-1 for the Turners Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham by Betfair, with Defi Du Seuil having done the same double five years ago.

Humphrey said: “I’m elated and it hasn’t really hit me yet, because to be perfectly honest, we never thought we would win.

“We thought we would put up a good show and give them a good run for their money, but to win is what dreams are made of. There will be a big party when it all sinks in.”

She added: “James does a very good job and if you just leave him alone, he knows what he’s doing. If you interfere, you are in trouble.

“James did a brilliant job today, he knows him well now and he trusts him and that’s just what you’ve got to let him do – get into that rhythm.

“He’s very slick from the front to the back of the fence, so let him pop away and trust him.

“He’s quite quirky, but in a very nice way – he’ll jump out of his field on a regular basis. You just have to keep a lid on him really and keep everything nice and calm.

“Like all good horses, they all have their quirks don’t they, but we’ve found a way to manage him.”

England survived a scare at the Stadio Olimpico to launch their post-World Cup rebuild with a 27-24 victory over Italy in their Guinness Six Nations opener.

For only the third time in the history of a rivalry spanning 31 Tests, inspired Italy led at the interval, but their 17-13 advantage was methodically picked apart by Steve Borthwick’s men.

Tommy Freeman proved England’s most effective weapon in attack, the Northampton wing roaming the pitch in search of impactful moments, but it was Elliot Daly and Alex Mitchell who finished the tries.

As promised by new captain Jamie George, the favourites played with greater freedom and there was less kicking than in the first year of Borthwick’s reign, at least until the focus switched to grinding Italy down in the final half-hour.

But overall the more exciting rugby was played by the Azzurri, who showed ingenuity and ambition in their pursuit of a maiden victory against their rivals and their second try scored by Tommaso Allan was a beauty.

New caps Ethan Roots, Fraser Dingwall, Fin Smith, Chandler Cunningham-South and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso brought a freshness to England, who ended their four-year stretch of beginning the Six Nations with a defeat, but the initial outlook was far less rosy.

They lost replacement prop Ellis Genge to a foot injury shortly before kick-off and that was only the start of their problems as early enterprise from Italy engineered a try for Alessandro Garbisi.

It rewarded their brighter start and came when Lorenzo Cannone was sent through a gap, with Garbisi able to scoop up the offload.

With Allan and George Ford exchanging penalties the score read 10-3, but the deficit provided the jolt England needed as Freeman glided into space and delivered the scoring pass to Daly.

The try had been coming but it was quickly overshadowed by a stunning riposte from Italy, whose precise passing and clever running off set-piece ball was executed beautifully for Allan to score.

Two penalties by Ford kept England snapping at the Azzurri’s heels at half-time and they needed to regroup quickly, particularly in defence, to spare themselves an unwanted slice of history.

Reassurance came when Mitchell jinked and spun his way over the whitewash in the 45th minute and for the first time the visitors led.

Italy’s play now lacked its earlier precision and they were pinned deep in their own half as England tightened the screw with Ford landing successive penalties to propel them 10 points ahead.

Handling errors cost the Azzurri time and again and their line-out continued to malfunction in an exasperating period for the hosts that also saw Allan miss an important penalty.

Daly was sent to the sin-bin for a trip as Italy hunted the try that would haul them back into contention, but they were unable to produce any more magic as the upset slipped from their fingertips despite a last-gasp Monty Ioane touch down.

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou felt goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario deserved more protection from referee Michael Oliver after Everton earned a last-gasp 2-2 draw.

The Italian, having endured a similar problem in their FA Cup exit to Manchester City last week, failed to deal with Dwight McNeil’s inswinging corner under his own crossbar which allowed Jack Harrison to equalise to initially make it 1-1.

And while the Spurs boss was reluctant to criticise the officials, he felt there could have been more intervention as Spurs missed the chance to move level on points with second-placed City.

“It just seems to be in general referees are reluctant to call these now and leave to VAR,” said Postecoglou on the first goal.

“At the moment any contact in the box referees seem reluctant to call.

“It is disappointing to concede any goal. There were about 30 set-pieces. It is stuff you have to deal with.

“It is obviously a difficult place to come and play and dominate and for the most part I thought we handled it OK.

“We started the game really well, lost a bit of our composure, the second half was OK and we created some good chances and probably needed a third to kill the game off.

“In the last 10 minutes it is almost inevitable you will be put under pressure here. We have to take it on the chin and move on.”

Everton manager Sean Dyche denied they had deliberately targeted Vicario.

“No, not necessarily. We want to be competitive on set-pieces all over the pitch. Delivery is massively important as is the intent and desire to score a goal,” he said.

“That is a large part of what we drill into the players. We do look a threat. There is no story there, it is just what we work on.

“Some weeks you give more time on (working on) the opposition but it is mostly what we work on.”

Jarrad Branthwaite’s first goal of the season deep into added time snatched a morale-boosting draw, with ex-Toffee Richarlison having scored twice for Spurs.

“Very pleased from top to bottom,” was Dyche’s assessment of the performance.

“The commitment is evident and some of the quality. They (Tottenham) started well and scored a very good goal from their point of view and then we went on the front foot and took the game on and played very well.

“At half-time I just said to the players ‘that is a very good half so we have to keep that going’. We kept our levels extremely high and deserved at least an equaliser, if not to take all three points.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers called on his players to focus on the football and ease the dissent among fans with results after a 1-1 draw at Aberdeen exacerbated the concerns of the Hoops support.

Celtic ran out to chants of “sack the board” from the visiting fans and a banner reading “Celtic board, on your heads be it”.

Supporters were unhappy with a transfer window that saw Nicolas Kuhn and on-loan Norwich forward Adam Idah arrive and the likes of David Turnbull and Mikey Johnston depart.

Kuhn netted Celtic’s equaliser in the 63rd minute, four minutes after coming off the bench, but many supporters believe the failure to further strengthen the squad has risked their cinch Premiership title defence and they resumed their chants of dissent after the game.

The name “Lawwell” was central to the noise, after the influence of chairman Peter Lawwell and the record of his son, head of recruitment Mark Lawwell, came under scrutiny in recent days.

Rodgers had called for unity ahead of the game and he said afterwards: “I can only concentrate with the players on what we do on the field.

“You always find that winning games and performing well can ease those situations, and that’s what we aim to do.

“Supporters pay their money, they have every right to say what they want to say.

“For us it’s the field, we can only control that. If we can do that, then we will be okay.”

Rodgers, who felt his side lacked aggression in the second half, agreed it was “very important” not to let the complaints become a distraction to his players.

Although the fans were chanting against the board before and after the game, they applauded the players and manager after the final whistle and supported throughout.

“Whatever goes on outside of the field, you have to be able to deal with that,” he added.

“At a club like Celtic, and the biggest clubs, there will always be that pressure there. I don’t need to add any more pressure to the players. They understand, playing here.

“My job is to give them the confidence to find the results we need to find. But there’s still so many games and a long, long way to go.”

Aberdeen did not manage a single effort at goal in the first half but Bojan Miovski netted on the counter-attack in the 50th minute and the Dons had several opportunities to win the game in a strong second-half showing.

Caretaker manager Peter Leven revealed his simple message to his players at half-time: “Relax.”

He added: “Celtic are a good team, they are going to pin you back but when we turned possession over, we just needed to make a few more passes.

“We knew Celtic were going to press the first five seconds. I just said ‘believe in yourselves, be a bit more braver on the ball’. And I think you could see that in the second half.

“We had a few chances in the second half. The boys ran well second half, pressed them, passed the ball a lot better. It was just about belief.”

Aberdeen players were incensed that referee Steven McLean did not send off Maik Nawrocki after the defender fouled Miovski while already on a yellow card but Leven did not make much of the incident.

“I never saw it again,” the first-team coach said. “The second yellow card never happened but it’s one of these things the referee has got to deal with.”

Galopin Des Champs is odds on for the Cheltenham Gold Cup after registering back-to-back success in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown.

Leading from flag-fall, Paul Townend was content to set a sedate pace on Willie Mullins’ 1-3 favourite, with his old rival Fastorslow never letting him get too far in front.

The pair had met three times in the past, with the score heading into this contest in favour of Martin Brassil’s chaser by two victories to one.

Team Closutton were determined to level the scores before heading to Cheltenham and Townend – who had picked the wrong Mullins-trained representative in the first three Grade Ones of the afternoon – was always in control.

J J Slevin attempted to make his move after the second-last and aimed to get the rail, but Townend was alive to it and made sure it was not straightforward, while Conflated was not completely out of it on the far side.

Galopin Des Champs jinked to his left approaching the last which just put Fastorslow off for a stride or two, while Conflated unseated Jack Kennedy, but just like at Christmas the winner’s most impressive part was the final 100 yards and he pulled four and a half lengths clear.

The winner is now 4-6 (from evens) to repeat his Cheltenham success in March with Betfair and Coral.