A second-half double from substitute Hamza Igamane rescued a 2-2 draw for Rangers at Motherwell but the disjointed visitors fell further behind Premiership leaders Celtic.
Philippe Clement came under fresh fire following the 2-1 Boxing Day defeat at St Mirren and there was uproar among the travelling supporters as Apostolos Stamatelopoulos put the hosts ahead in the 16th minute before Tawanda Maswanhise added a second in the 35th minute. Half-time replacement Igamane reduced the deficit in the 50th minute before Well boss Stuart Kettlewell was shown a red card by referee Kevin Clancy, possibly for dissent.
Then, after Motherwell twice had the ball in the Rangers net only for infringements to rule out goals, Igamane’s curling shot in the 68th minute made it 2-2. Despite 10 added minutes the comeback could not be completed which means the Light Blues are 14 points behind Celtic, with the title all but gone and Clement’s future uncertain.
Kyogo Furuhashi netted twice in five second-half minutes as Celtic extended their lead at the top with a one-sided 4-0 win over St Johnstone. Nicolas Kühn opened the scoring and substitute Daizen Maeda rounded off Celtic’s second 4-0 victory in three days.
The win put Celtic further out of sight of Rangers before their visit to Ibrox on 2 January. It also completed a highly fruitful 2024 for Celtic, who end the year with just two defeats in all competitions plus all three major domestic trophies in their cabinet as well as their healthy lead in the table.
Dundee United finished 2024 with a flourish as they secured a dramatic late 1-0 victory against Aberdeen at Tannadice. The game looked like it was heading for a goalless draw before Kevin Holt soared highest to head past Dimitar Mitov deep in stoppage time.
The result means United have only lost once in nine games while Aberdeen have now failed to win any of their last eight, with the home side now just three points behind the third-from-top Dons.
Ross County scored two goals deep into stoppage time to claim a valuable 2-2 draw against fellow strugglers Hearts in Dingwall. Goals early in both halves from 17-year-old James Wilson had seemingly set the second-bottom Jambos on course for a comfortable victory, with VAR getting involved on three separate occasions afterwards to the detriment of both sides. However, those delays meant eight minutes of stoppage time were added on, and the Staggies took full advantage with goals from Josh Nisbet and Jordan White giving them something to show for their efforts.
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Simon Murray scored two headers as Dundee battled to a hard-fought 2-1 victory over St Mirren at the SMiSA Stadium. And resurgent Hibernian made it four wins in succession for the first time since October 2022 as Nectar Triantis’s first-half header proved enough to secure a 1-0 victory over 10-man Kilmarnock.
