Falkirk moved 11 points clear at the top of Scottish League One after beating their nearest rivals Hamilton 3-2.
The battle between the top two looked to be done and dusted after Falkirk scored three times during 12 first-half minutes.
Callumn Morrison, Ross MacIver and Calvin Miller all found the target, but Ahkeem Rose’s double either side of half-time kept Hamilton in touch.
Alloa maintained third place with a 4-1 victory over Cove Rangers thanks to goals from Taylor Steven (2), Scott Taggart and Bobby Wales, while Kyle Connell netted for Cove.
Montrose moved into the play-off spots after defeating Kelty Hearts 4-2, but they required goals during the final 13 minutes from Graham Webster and Kane Hester after Craig Johnston’s quickfire double had cancelled out first-half efforts by Blair Lyons and Andrew Steeves.
Elsewhere, Michael Ndiweni scored the winner in a 2-1 win for Annan against Stirling, and Ruairidh Adams’ stoppage-time goal secured a 1-1 draw for bottom club Edinburgh City against Queen of the South, who led through a Joel Mumbongo goal.
In League Two, Stenhousemuir remain 16 points clear despite being held to a 2-2 draw at Elgin.
Russell Dingwall’s penalty cancelled out Nat Wedderburn’s opener for Stenny before Brian Cameron put the home side in front. However, Euan O’Reilly restored parity 11 minutes into the second half.
Second-placed Peterhead fought back from three goals down to draw 3-3 at Forfar.
Russell McLean handed Forfar a 13th-minute lead and added his second of the game in first-half stoppage time after Stuart Morrison had doubled their advantage in the 37th minute.
Rory McAllister pulled a goal back for Peterhead and Flynn Duffy ensured a nervy finish, with Alfie Stewart levelling in the fifth minute of time added on.
Ayrton Sonkur netted twice in stoppage time as the Spartans denied struggling Stranraer a much-needed win with a 2-1 victory.
Tam Orr had given Stranraer a first-half lead but they have dropped to second-bottom, eight points clear of Clyde, who beat Dumbarton 2-0 at home.
Martin Rennie bagged a brace either side of the break, the second from the spot, before they had Jordan Allan sent off late on.
Goals from Brian Easton and Alan Trouten (penalty) inside the space of three minutes helped East Fife to a 2-0 win at Bonnyrigg Rose, who had Reis Peggie dismissed.
Scotland 'never lost belief' to get Nations League lifeline, says Clarke
Steve Clarke says Scotland "never lost belief" as they secured a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Poland to give themselves a lifeline in the Nations League.
Scotland needed a win to avoid automatic relegation and finished third in Group A1. They now face a relegation play-off to defend their place in the top tier of the competition.
Scotland made a lightning-quick start in Warsaw as John McGinn, who was rewarded with a place in the starting line-up after scoring the winner against Croatia, cushioned in his 20th goal for the national team after just three minutes.
Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay both hit the woodwork as they attempted to double their lead before the break, while Craig Gordon produced some fine saves to protect their advantage.
Kamil Piatowski's stunning strike pulled Poland level just before the hour-mark, but Andy Robertson, on his 80th appearance, proved the difference, rising high to send a towering header past Lukasz Skorupski in the 93rd minute.
Robertson is the first player to score a 90th-minute winner for Scotland since McTominay against Israel in a World Cup qualifier in October 2021.
It is the first time since March-September 2023 (a run of five) that Scotland have won back-to-back internationals, and Clarke was delighted to finish the Nations League group stage on a high.
"A good way to end this Nations League campaign. You always believe. It was a very open game, a lot of chances," Clarke said.
"We always felt one more chance would come, maybe not from the source it actually came from, but it was a fantastic cross from John Souttar, who was outstanding defensively, and a great header from the captain.
"We started with three defeats, three narrow defeats, with good performances. The players didn't lose belief. I didn't lose belief in the players, and they end up taking seven points from the last three games, which gets us into the play-off.
"The more you play at this level, the better you get. The players never lost belief.
"There's been a lot of good moments over my five-and-a-half years, and this is just another step on the journey."
The draw for the Nations League play-offs will take place on Friday, with the ties to be played in March.
Pedri: 'Everything going well' with Barcelona contract talks
Pedri says "everything is going well" in the talks over a contract extension with Barcelona.
The youngster has played in all 13 of Barcelona's LaLiga matches this season, helping them to sit top of the pile, with 11 wins so far.
He has already proved key in their midfield, with none of his team-mates making more interceptions than him (eight, level with Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal), while he has also scored three times.
Barcelona sporting director Deco has made no secret of his desire to sign the 21-year-old to a contract extension, and Pedri issued a promising update on the talks taking place.
"I'm very calm, my agents are handling it, I haven't had any news, everything is going well," he told Sport.
Pedri has suffered from hamstring injuries since 2021, after playing 73 matches for club and country in the 2020-21 season.
He missed a total of 25 games for Barcelona and Spain last season, including the semi-final and final of Euro 2024, having been forced off in the early stages of La Roja's quarter-final win over Germany.
However, his injury troubles look to be behind him this season, and he is hopeful he can stay settled in the Barcelona side.
"Physically, I feel good. I have consistency, which makes me enjoy football," he said. "It's a great start to the season and I hope it will continue for a long time.
"Both in the national team and in Barca, I feel comfortable. It is positional football.
"It [his injury issues] was given more airtime, perhaps because I was playing in important tournaments [for Spain] and at Barcelona, I didn't have that continuity.
"I'm working out my body. When you relapse, you look for solutions until you find the key. I have found what suits me well, and I have the continuity that I like."
Doncic backs Mbappe to turn fortunes around at Real Madrid
NBA superstar Luka Doncic has backed Kylian Mbappe to "figure it out" after his underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 16 games for Madrid in all competitions since joining as a free agent following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
He has gone four matches without a goal – a run that includes losses to Barcelona and Milan – and has been left out of France's latest squad.
However, Dallas Mavericks guard Doncic – a Real Madrid supporter due to his previous ties with the sports club – can see Mbappe turning things around.
"Obviously [their season] could be better," Doncic told Managing Madrid after the Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
"But when you get a guy like Mbappe, it takes some time to get used to it. We'll figure it out."
Mbappe has scored six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances for Madrid but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
The forward is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes for PSG in his last of seven seasons in Paris.
Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last time out in the league to return to winning ways but still trail leaders Barcelona by six points.
Asked about his connections with Madrid, former Los Blancos basketball player Doncic said: "I follow Real Madrid every time.
"I grew up there. They taught me everything, so it's a part of my life. You can call it a secondary home.
"I learned a lot of stuff there and, especially, they gave me a way to be here right now [in Dallas]. I always appreciate that 100%."
Madrid return to action after the international break with a trip to Leganes on Sunday.
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