Ross County picked up what could be a vital three points in their fight to avoid relegation with a 2-0 victory over Livingston.
Going into the weekend four points adrift at the bottom of the table, County knew they could not afford to lose against Livi and goals in either half from Alex Iacovitti and Alex Samuel secured a valuable win.
Livingston finished the match with 10 men after substitute Kurtis Guthrie was dismissed following a VAR review with eight minutes to go.
The stakes involved for the Staggies perhaps had an impact on how they started the match, as it was the visitors who did most of the probing.
Certainly it was Livingston who had more possession across the opening 20 minutes, but without much substance as Ross Laidlaw in the home goal barely got a touch of the ball.
Slowly, County then started to find something of a rhythm.
Some neat footwork from Victor Loturi just inside Livingston’s box beat his man, but his low cross was cleared off the line by Morgan Boyes.
Bruce Anderson – County’s conqueror the last time these two met in Dingwall – fashioned a shooting opportunity for himself at the edge of the box in response, but could only clip the side-netting.
Simon Murray then should have scored for the hosts when he met Yan Dhanda’s cross at the back post, only for a combination of Nicky Devlin and the woodwprk to deny him.
However, a similar ball from Dhanda five minutes before half-time led to the breakthrough, as Iacovitti made the most of being totally unmarked to head into the far corner.
County would then make it 2-0 on the hour mark.
Just beforehand, manager Malky Mackay made a triple substitution that involved Samuel coming on, and he would score his first goal for the club.
Again it was Dhanda who provided the assist, crossing for the Welshman to open his account over 20 months after moving to Dingwall – and having spent 10 months on the sidelines with a cruciate injury.
While that gave County a comfortable lead on the scoreboard, things would go from bad to worse for the visitors in Dingwall in the 82nd minute.
Guthrie, not long introduced as a substitute himself, was initially shown a yellow card for catching Keith Watson in the face, but on review by VAR it was upgraded to a red for violent conduct.
That meant it was a comfortable end to the match for County, who closed the gap at the bottom to a single point with results elsewhere.
Kilmarnock 0-5 Celtic: Bhoys capture third straight Scottish Premiership title
Celtic have won the Scottish Premiership for the third consecutive season after a dominant 5-0 win at Kilmarnock on Wednesday.
Rangers beat Dundee United 5-2 on Tuesday to make Celtic wait an extra day to secure another league title, but the Hoops brushed aside Kilmarnock with little fuss.
Adam Idah, Daizen Maeda and James Forrest scored in a dominant first half, with Matt O'Riley helping himself to a brace after the interval to cap a memorable display.
Celtic now have an unassailable six-point lead over their Old Firm rivals with one game to play, and they will celebrate their latest crown at home to St Mirren on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Bhoys closing in on rivals
Celtic have won the Scottish title for the 54th time, pulling them within one of rivals Rangers, who have lifted 55.
They have also finished top of the pile in 12 of the last 13 seasons, their only failure to lift the trophy since 2011 coming when Steven Gerrard's Rangers went unbeaten in 2020-21.
Rangers 5-2 Dundee: Cantwell and Wright keep Celtic's title party on hold
Rangers kept Celtic's Scottish Premiership celebrations on ice after Todd Cantwell and Scott Wright inspired a remarkable turnaround to hammer Dundee 5-2 at Ibrox Stadium on Tuesday.
Philippe Clement's side could not afford to drop points in this clash and seemed set to do so after Jordan McGhee bundled home before Antonio Portales headed past Jack Butland in the first half.
Ross McCausland managed to slice the deficit on the stroke of half-time for the hosts, sliding in to convert from Leon King's cross and teeing up a monumental comeback.
The Ibrox crowd were offered further inspiration to keep the title race alive when Cyriel Dessers glanced in from Cantwell's delivery after 52 minutes.
Former Norwich City midfielder Cantwell's fortuitous cross then dipped over Jon McCracken as Rangers hit the front for the first time, before Wright's pair of late finishes sealed the much-needed three points.
Yet this Rangers salvaging act could still matter for little, with Celtic requiring just a point away to Kilmarnock on Wednesday to seal a third successive top-flight trophy.
Data Debrief: Attacking barrage pays dividends
Clement may apportion this victory to Rangers' unrelenting desire to keep the title race ongoing, blasting 31 shots – and 13 of those on target – at the Dundee target for their 3.34 expected goals (xG) tally.
A plethora of attacking opportunities must be credited to star man Cantwell, who created a game-leading six chances – four more than any other Rangers team-mate.
Rodgers hits back at criticism as Rangers triumph puts Celtic on brink of title
Brendan Rodgers hit back at his critics after Celtic overcame Rangers to put one hand on the Scottish Premiership title, with the Bhoys manager suggesting he had been treated "like a novice".
Rodgers' side moved six points clear of Rangers after Saturday's 2-1 victory at Parkhead, needing only a point ahead of Wednesday's trip to Kilmarnock to secure the top-flight trophy.
Soon-to-be champions Celtic have struggled at times after Rodgers' return to the club, though the former Liverpool boss has been hampered by injuries to numerous key players.
Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate, Callum McGregor and Daizen Maeda have all suffered from fitness struggles this term, though Celtic have still responded to move within touching distance of the title.
Earlier in the season, former Celtic striker Chris Sutton suggested Rodgers was "going through the motions" after defeats against Hearts and Kilmarnock – and Rodgers clearly took note of those comments.
"From a professional perspective there will be doubt," Rodgers told his post-match press conference after downing Rangers.
"From a personal perspective, I am surprised in a way where I heard somebody saying 'Brendan Rodgers was going through the motions' earlier in the season.
"Now, I get to work between half seven and eight o'clock every day of my life. I leave the training ground between half six and seven o'clock at night. And then when I get home, I have my dinner and probably flip on the computer and watch more football.
"Now, if that's going through the motions, I want to know what every other manager is doing. So, from a personal level, I have been treated like a novice since I've come back here. Like it's my first job.
"However, my first objective is to make sure Celtic win. Part of that is a part of the criticism and I understand that.
"But it's the mentality of the team that is most important to me, and that mentality you can see from where we were, with injuries, how we progressed, how we stayed unified and together, and how we then get to this point where we are nearly crossing the finishing line.
"And we don't just want to cross it, we want to sprint over it. We have two games to go, plus a final, and that is our mentality."
Rodgers and Celtic's celebrations could start sooner than Wednesday, if Rangers fail to beat Dundee the day before.
Another title would mark Celtic's 54th Scottish Premiership trophy and their 12th in the last 13 seasons.
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