BBC Sportfootball

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Related BBC sites

Page last updated at 13:06 GMT, Saturday, 28 August 2010 14:06 UK

Saturday's Scottish football as it happened

GOALFLASHES AND MAJOR INCIDENTS (all times GMT)

MY SPORT: DEBATE

To get involved use My Sport or text us your views & comments on 80295. (Not all contributions can be used)

By Thomas McGuigan


1720: So, Rangers continue their winning run to move three points clear at the top of the table with a narrow win over St Johnstone. Kilmarnock leave it late to beat Aberdeen and Hamilton halt their recent slump with a morale-boosting win away to Inverness. You can view highlights of today's three games on our website from 1800 BST tomorrow. We're back tomorrow afternoon for another day of SPL action, starting with Motherwell v Celtic. Hope you can join us then. Thanks for your company. Cheers!

1714: "I think I dislocated my finger in the celebrations! Now we can enjoy the journey back down the road. The boys have been working hard and picking up an away win is vital. Hopefully we can kick on from here now." Kilmarnock match-winner Jamie Hamill

1703:
My Sport
From DiegotheDestroyer On My Sport: "I knew it! I go through to make a cup of tea and Rangers score."

1701: Kenny Miller's purple patch continues as his second half strike seals victory for Rangers as they come from behind to beat St Johnstone and move three points clear at the top of the table.

Full time
1658: FULL-TIME RANGERS 2-1 ST JOHNSTONE

Full time
1653: FULL-TIME INVERNESS 0-1 HAMILTON

Kilmarnock goal: With the final whistle imminent, James Dayton finds Jamie Hamill with a superb through ball and the midfielder keeps his cool to nab the ball between keeper Mark Howard and defender Andrew Considine to lash the ball home. A dramatic late winner as Aberdeen's two-game winning run is brought to a shuddering halt.

Full time
1651: FULL-TIME ABERDEEN 0-1 KILMARNOCK

1650: Four minutes of stoppage time at Inverness. Can Hamilton hang on for their first points of the season?

Goooooooaaaaaaaaal
1649: GOAL! ABERDEEN 0-1 KILMARNOCK (JAMIE HAMILL)

1648: Vladimir Weiss trots off the pitch to be replaced by Maurice Edu as Rangers manager Walter Smith looks to close out the game.

1646: "Rangers have a vital lead."
BBC Scotland pundit Gordon Smith

Rangers goal: Rangers make the breakthrough against St Johnstone as Kenny Miller collects a fine Lee McCulloch through ball and turns the ball into the corner of the net past goalkeeper Graeme Smith with the outside of his boot.

Goooooooaaaaaaaaal
1644: GOAL! RANGERS 2-1 ST JOHNSTONE (KENNY MILLER)

1640: Kilmarnock's Jamie Hamill blasts in a 20-yard shot that Mark Howard tips over the bar, then Mackie clears off the line from Mahamadou Sissoko's close range effort.

1639: The second half at the Caledonian Stadium is lacking in goalmouth action. Prior to the match Terry Butcher had said he wanted the stadium to become like a fortress - he will not be happy at trailing 1-0.

1637:
My Sport
From JodyMorris4England On My Sport: "I really hope St Johnstone can get something out of this match. It's not about getting the points at this stage so much as setting the tone for the season. A result here will really lift the whole club. Haber could prove to be a great signing as well. Pace, power and he can finish - a pretty impressive list of attributes."

1635: Nikica Jelavic makes an immediate impact for Rangers, finding Stevie Naismith with a neat chip, but the Scotland forward heads straight at goalkeeper Graeme Smith from 10 yards.

1633: Nikica Jelavic, who arrived from Rapid Vienna, makes his debut for Rangers, replacing James Beattie up front as Stevie Naismith recovers from his shoulder knock.

1631: Kilmarnock's David Silva spurns the best opportunity of the match to open the scoring with 15 minutes remaining, when he goes one-on-one with Howard, but pulls the trigger too late and the big English keeper palms the ball wide.

1630: Rangers forward Stevie Naismith looks like being forced out of the game against St Johnstone with a shoulder injury.

1626: Who's going to be top of the league come full-time? Aberdeen and Rangers, who are on six points, are both drawing.

1624: Inverness Caley's Adam Rooney gets beyond Simon Mensing for the first time in the match and has an effort on goal but Andy Graham heads clear to concede a corner.

1623: Rangers have another penalty claim rejected when a low cross appears to strike the hand of Alan Maybury. But it would have been harsh if anything had been given as it looked completely accidental.

1622:
My Sport
From Scamilton On My Sport: "It's weird hearing "Hasselbaink" on the radio again. It's even weirder hearing it when mentioned as part of a Hamilton team. If he's even half as good as his uncle..."

1619: Hamilton's Andy Graham flicks a header at the Inverness goal but Ryan Esson makes an easy save.

1617: "St Johnstone have pretty much been on the back foot as Rangers go all-out for three points." BBC Radio Scotland pundit Gordon Smith

1613: Rangers have come haring out the traps at the start of the second half. There are shouts for a penalty when a Lee McCulloch effort strikes Alan Maybury, but the referee decides there was no hand ball. McCulloch then fires a drive from 18 yards a few yards wide.

1611: The second half gets under way at Ibrox.

1610: Darren Mackie shakes off two Kilmarnock defenders and turns to shoot for goal, but the ball is deflected for a corner.

1607: Hamilton's Nigel Hasselbaink speeds away from Russell Duncan, sets up Flavio Paixao, who in turn provides Dougie Imrie with a chance, but he blasts a shot over the crossbar.

1605:
My Sport
From ahcannymind On My Sport: "Thomas Good morning. By any chance would you know the Dundee v Falkirk score? My father called me. I cannot seem to find it." Dundee are 2-0 up, goals courtesy of O'Donnell and Riley.

1603: The second half begins at the Caledonian Stadium.

1602: We're back under way at Pittodrie.

1554:
My Sport
From Edge On My Sport: "Rangers need to up the ante if they are to see off Saints. Derek McInnes is a great coach and has done wonders at St Johnstone."

Half time
1553: HALF-TIME RANGERS 1-1 ST JOHNSTONE

1552: Howls of frustration from the Rangers fans as Kenny Miller is flagged offside as the number 9 looked to hare away from the Saints defence.

1550: We're into the third of five minutes of injury time at Ibrox.

Half time
1548: HALF-TIME INVERNESS 0-1 HAMILTON

1547: "Hamilton Accies are winning the 50-50 battles when they are there to be won." BBC Scotland football pundit Brian Irvine

Half time
1546: HALF-TIME ABERDEEN 0-0 KILMARNOCK

1545: Not much to report from sleepy Pittodrie. Aberdeen's early cavalry charge has been replaced by a more sedate pass-a-thon in the middle of the park...

1543: Josh Magennis tries to break the deadlock from 20 yards with a hopeful strike that sails wildly over the bar.

1541: A listener to Open all Mics - Col from Edinburgh - has sent a text to 80295 to say: "Love Derek Ferguson's enthusiasm! Always makes me smile. It'd be great to have a seat by him at a football match!"

1540: Rory McCardle prevents a Kilmarnock goal when Sammon breaks free in the penalty area and strikes past keeper Mark Howard, but the former Rochdale man is there to clear off the line.

1538: Connor Sammon sends in a right-foot shot from the edge of the box that drifts wide, soon after Craig Bryson tries to break into the Aberdeen penalty area, but fails to get the ball under control and runs out of steam.

Rangers goal: Vladimir Weiss's cross is headed towards goal by Stevie Naismith. Goalkeeper Graeme Smith does enough to send the ball against the far post, but Sasa Papac slides the ball towards the goal-line, where Kevin Rutkiewicz is unable to prevent a scrappy goal. It's all-square at Ibrox.

Goooooooaaaaaaaaal
1534: GOAL! RANGERS 1-1 ST JOHNSTONE (SASA PAPAC)

1530: "Rangers have not been outstanding. They have pushed forward since losing the goal, but they need to do better. Haber is finding room behind the Rangers defence."
BBC Radio Scotland pundit Gordon Smith

St Johnstone goal: Saints take the lead at Ibrox, Danny Grainger firing home a 25-yard drive after the home side failed to properly clear a corner. What a strike! That's two corkers we've had this afternoon...

Goooooooaaaaaaaaal
1527: GOAL! RANGERS 0-1 ST JOHNSTONE (DANNY GRAINGER)

1526: Caley Thistle's Ryan Esson tips a Marco Paixao curling effort round the post.

1525: Ross Tokely comes on for Inverness full-back Kevin McCann. Tokely had surprised the club by how speedy he had recovered from a knee injury to claim a place on the bench. Now the 31-year-old has been thrown into the thick of the action.

1524: "St Johnstone have done okay so far. Rangers haven't really created any chances and will have to step it up if they want to win this game." BBC Radio Scotland pundit Gordon Smith

1523: There is a rogue vuvuzela at Inverness - or is it a boat sounding its horn just behind the stadium?

1521: Sympathetic applause rings out at Ibrox as Murray Davidson is stretchered off after a four-minute stoppage and is replaced by Liam Caddis.

1520: Kilmarnock appear content to sit deep and try to hit the Dons on the break; Aberdeen are enjoying the lionshare of possession but haven't really threatened to break the deadlock. Yet.

1519: St Johnstone look like losing midfielder Murray Davidson to injury. A stretcher has been called at Ibrox.

1517:
My Sport
From ascotinmpls On My Sport: "McCulloch in for Edu? No thanks... Edu should be in the starting 11."

1516: The Caley fans must still be rubbing their eyes in disbelief: "did we really let Imrie leave?" they'll be asking through chomping pies and sipping bovril.

1515: Dougie Imrie's howitzer to give Hamilton the lead is the only goal so far from our three games.

1513: Kilmarnock's first attempt on goal with nearly 15 minutes gone. Jamie Hamill blasts a long-range free-kick over the Aberdeen bar. That won't improve Mixu's mood...

1512: "A hawk? Is this Sportsound or 'Britain's got Talons'?" Beautiful text from Jim in Netherlee.

1511: "Sloppy possession from both sides so far and St Johnstone have been fairly comfortable."
BBC Radio Scotland commentator Liam McLeod

1510: Aberdeen are playing some lovely stuff at Pittodrie and are playing with the swagger you would expect of SPL leaders.

1507: Kilmarnock boss Mixu Paatelainen emerges from the dugout at Pittodrie like an angry bear waking up from hibernation to bark some tactical instructions, it remains goalless.

1506: "Aberdeen have hired a hawk to stop the gulls from nabbing pies from fans in the Dick Donald Stand." Detailed scene-setting from eagle-eyed BBC Scotland football pundit Jim Spence

1505: Rangers full-back Sasa Papac tests keeper Graeme Smith with a free-kick but he's equal to it. Good open game so far at Ibrox.

1503: Aberdeen's Josh Magennis sets up Peter Pawlett from eight yards out, but Killie keeper Cammy Bell smothers the shot.

Hamilton goal: Accies boss Billy Reid's pep-talk has an instant effect as his side take the lead against high-flying Inverness. Dougie Imrie fires an absolute screamer into the top corner from about 20 yards. A howitzer of a strike against his former club, well worth seeing in the highlights on our website tomorrow. First blood to Accies...

Goooooooaaaaaaaaal
1501: GOAL! INVERNESS 0-1 HAMILTON (DOUGIE IMRIE)

1500: We're off and running on week three of the Scottish Premier League.

1455: "We've had to freshen things up a bit. It's a new-look Hamilton defence and we'll give some younger players an opportunity to show me what they can do. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong," Hamilton boss Billy Reid on stuttering form

1449:
My Sport
From Budgerigar 14 On My Sport: "Will the curse of Rangers debutants crocking themselves against St Johnstone continue? I hope not! Looking forward to seeing Weiss in action again."

1448: Steven Anderson returns from suspension for St Johnstone, Jody Morris is back from injury, while Marcus Haber is given a start for St Johnstone, while Sam Parkin, Scott Dobie and Cleveland Taylor drop out.

1447: "It's a positive start to the season. Fraser Fyvie's injury is a blow to us as we've got a small squad. We're gutted for him and disappointed for us." Aberdeen manager Mark McGhee.

1444: Inverness make two changes to the side which beat Peterhead, with goalkeeper Ryan Esson and full-back Kevin McCann coming back in - making it the same starting 11 who destroyed Dundee United 4-0 at Tannadice last Sunday.

1443: Dutch 19-year-old striker Nigel Hasselbaink - nephew of former Chelsea frontman Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - comes in for his Accies debut, while Andrew Graham, David Buchanan, Kyle Wilkie, Jon Routledge and Grant Gillespie also featured in the starting line-up.

1442: Hamilton manager Billy Reid makes six changes to the team which lost 1-0 to Raith in the Co-operative Insurance Cup as he looked for his players to secure their first points of the season.

1441: Teams from the Caledonian Stadium:
Inverness CT: Esson, McCann, Proctor, Munro, Gillet, Hayes, Duncan, Cox, Nick Ross, Odhiambo, Rooney. Subs: Tuffey, Tokely, Golabek, Innes, McBain, Sutherland, Sanchez.
Kilmarnock: Bell, Hamill, Wright, Sissoko, Gordon, Bryson, Pascali, Silva, Fowler, Dayton, Sammon. Subs: Letheren, Clancy, Hay, Taouil, Invincibile, Kelly, Forrester.
Referee: J McKendrick

1439: Teams from Pittodrie:
Aberdeen: Howard, McArdle, Ifil, Diamond, Considine, Maguire, Folly, Hartley, Pawlett, Mackie, Magennis. Subs: Langfield, Vernon, Young, Foster, Jack, Megginson, Shaughnessy.
Kilmarnock: Bell, Hamill, Wright, Sissoko, Gordon, Bryson, Pascali, Silva, Fowler, Dayton, Sammon. Subs: Letheren, Clancy, Hay, Taouil, Invincibile, Kelly, Forrester.
Referee: B Winter

1437: Fit-again Lee McCulloch replaces Maurice Edu in Rangers' midfield, with Vladimir Weiss coming in for the suspended Kyle Lafferty.

1436: Ally McCoist said he hoped that Nikica Jelavic would play a part in the game, but that would depend on how the game goes.

1433:
My Sport
From The Monster Masch On My Sport: "Rangers to win comfortably , 3-0, Aberdeen to win 2-1 and Inverness to win 2-0. Your predictions Thomas?" I'd maybe only venture that there could be more than two goals at the Caledonian Stadium, Monster, but three home wins looks good to me!

1431: Teams from Ibrox:
Rangers: McGregor, Whittaker, Weir, Bougherra, Papac, Weiss, McCulloch, Davis, Naismith, Miller, Beattie. Subs: Alexander, Broadfoot, Edu, Jelavic, McMillan, Little, Hutton.
St Johnstone: Smith, Maybury, Rutkiewicz, Duberry, Grainger, Anderson, Davidson, Morris, Millar, Samuel, Haber. Subs: Enckelman, Gartland, Caddis, Taylor, Dobie, Parkin, May.
Referee: C Murray

1428: Rangers, meanwhile, are free of the European gloom and the club's supporters will have a spring in their step as they make their way to Ibrox this afternoon. Six points from six in the league, a new striker brought in and the mouth-watering prospect of facing Manchester United in the Champions League. Not too shabby is it?

1426: The pre-match chat over on Sportsound is the current health of Scottish football following that midweek horror show in Europe. "It was a disaster for Scotland," is the succinct view of Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist.

1425: Rangers and St Johnstone will do battle at Ibrox and Inverness CT - fresh from mauling Dundee United last week - face Hamilton.

1420: Aberdeen lead the table on goal difference and Mark McGhee's side will aim to continue their impressive form with victory over Kilmarnock, who are without a point after two games.

1415:
My Sport
From DrFrankenfurter-PHD On My Sport: "Well done for trying to talk these matches up - 'And we've got three cracking SPL games to lift the gloom'. Nice try!" I've been impressed by the opening games in the league this season. Europe, as we all well know, has been a different matter...

1409: And some news for Celtic fans, if they have emerged from behind the couch after that drubbing by Utrecht. Neil Lennon's pursuit of Hibs striker Anthony Stokes has stalled, according to BBC Scotland's Chick Young. "The deal is stalling over the asking price," Chick has just told Sportsound listeners. With the 31 August transfer deadline looming, clubs are preparing for some last-minute shopping.

1407: Some early team news for Rangers fans. New signing Nikica Jelavic will be on the bench for this afternoon's visit of St Johnstone.

1405: We need to lift the collective gloom that set in following three of our clubs exiting Europe in midweek. And a few cracking games in Scotland's top flight involving the early pacesetters is just the tonic.

1400: Welcome to this afternoon's live text commentary of week three of the new Scottish Premier League season.



Print Sponsor


related bbc links: