It was another exciting weekend in Scottish football which was split between Viaplay Cup semi-final action and the battle for cinch Premiership points.
Aberdeen and Rangers will play in the final of the Viaplay Cup after winning their respective last-four games, while Celtic extended their lead over the Light Blues to eight points at the top of the cinch Premiership with a 3-0 win at Ross County on Saturday. Motherwell lost again at Kilmarnock and Dundee beat Livingston.
Here, the PA news agency looks at five things from the weekend’s action.
James Tavernier continues to lead the way for RangersThe free-scoring Rangers right-back once again proved his worth with a double in a 3-1 Viaplay Cup semi-final win over Hearts at Hampden Park. Tavernier broke the deadlock with a penalty five minutes after the interval before half-time substitute Scott Wright fired in a second five minutes later. A wonderful free-kick from Tavernier in the 64th minute effectively secured a place in the December 17 final against Aberdeen, with Hearts skipper Lawrence Shankland scoring from the spot late on by way of consolation.
James Forrest keeps on keeping onCeltic winger James Forrest came off the bench against Ross County to score the third goal in the Hoops’ 3-0 win. It was the 15th successive season in which the 32-year-old has notched in green and white. Forrest first scored on his Celtic debut against Motherwell in May 2010 and with a contract going up to 2025, there is ample opportunity to extend that remarkable run.
Honeymoon period over for Hibs boss Nick MontgomeryThings appeared to have started fairly brightly for Nick Montgomery, with supporters enjoying his style of play in his early weeks after replacing Lee Johnson in September. However, the excitement following the Yorkshireman’s appointment has faded fast. Hibs have won only two of his nine games in charge in all competitions, remain in the bottom six and are currently licking their wounds following a chastening night at Hampden on Saturday in which they blew a chance to reach the Viaplay Cup final by losing 1-0 to 10-man Aberdeen. Montgomery needs a swift and sharp upturn in form in order to start convincing supporters of his merit after such a damaging defeat so early in his reign.
Miovski magic takes Aberdeen to Viaplay Cup finalHibernian were the better side against the Dons at Hampden Park on Saturday and were denied an opener in the 49th minute when VAR, after a lengthy check, ruled attacker Martin Boyle was offside before he had the ball in the Aberdeen net. Dons defender Jack MacKenzie was sent off by referee John Beaton in the 75th minute for a second yellow card but Miovski pulled him out of a hole three minutes later when he raced clear of the Hibs defence and fired in his 10th goal of the season to book a place in next month’s final.
Motherwell hit the skidsMotherwell’s current slump in form continued with a 1-0 defeat by Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, with Innes Cameron’s goal early in the second half proving decisive. The Steelmen took 10 points from the first four matches but have managed only one point since as they have slid down to eighth in the league following a sixth defeat in seven matches. “It’s not good enough for a club like Motherwell,” said manager Stuart Kettlewell, who knows the spotlight is now firmly on him.
Late Palma strike sinks St Mirren as Celtic celebrate SPL triumph on final day
Luis Palma struck a late winner as champions Celtic twice came from behind to see off St Mirren 3-2 on the final day of the Scottish Premiership season.
It was a day of celebrations at Celtic Park for Brendan Rodgers' side, who wrapped up their third successive domestic title in midweek.
However, St Mirren threatened to spoil the party when Mark O'Hara fired them in front after just seven minutes.
Top scorer Matt O'Riley equalised for the hosts in the 21st minute, but they fell behind again just five minutes later when O'Hara doubled his tally from the penalty spot after Stephen Welsh fouled Toyosi Olusanya.
Kyogo Furuhashi levelled for Celtic before half-time, and the Hoops completed the turnaround with Palma scored the winner with four minutes remaining.
Rodgers' side finished eight points clear of second-place Rangers, who were held to a 3-3 draw by Hearts.
Despite falling behind to Lawrence Shankland's strike, goals from Ross McCausland, Todd Cantwell and Fabio Silva seemingly had the visitors on course for a comfortable win at Tynecastle.
However, there was to be a late twist with Dexter Lembikisa pulling a goal back in the 82nd minute, before Kyosuke Tagawa struck deep into stoppage time to rescue a point for the hosts.
There was also nothing to separate Dundee and Kilmarnock, who drew 1-1 in the other match on the final day.
Luke McCowan cancelled out Gary Mackay-Steven's earlier effort, though the Dundee captain squandered a glorious opportunity to complete the turnaround when he missed a penalty two minutes from time.
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on
Mohamed Sherif scored late on as Al-Ittihad's winless run in the Saudi Pro League stretched to four games after a 1-1 draw with Al-Khaleej.
Al-Ittihad have endured a miserable title defence, and with just two games remaining, the highest the big-spending, PIF-backed club can finish is fourth.
Muhannad Al Shanqiti put them ahead on the stroke of half-time, yet despite having a further eight shots and accumulating 1.07 xG in the second half, Al-Ittihad could not add another.
Their profligacy proved costly in the 81st minute, with Egypt international Sherif snatching an equaliser for 11th-placed Al-Khaleej.
Al-Tai moved out of the relegation zone with a surprise 3-1 win over seventh-placed Al-Fateh, with Bernard Mensah scoring twice.
Al-Raed, meanwhile, claimed a 1-0 win at Al-Wehda.
Data Debrief: Kante the creator?
On the day he received a surprising France recall, N'Golo Kante created three chances for Al-Ittihad, leading the team.
On the flip side, Kante only attempted one tackle, with the midfielder showing a different side to his game, not that it proved fruitful for his team.
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