Scottish roundup: Kilmarnock go top after Celtic and Rangers drop points
The Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers, hinted that some of his players had failed to seize their chance after his much-changed side conceded a late equaliser at Motherwell.
The champions were heading back to the top of the table until Danny Johnson struck from a difficult angle in the 88th minute to earn the home side a 1-1 draw. “It’s good for a manager to see,” said Rodgers, “because players will knock and ask about why they are not playing and it’s good for me to see a game like that.”
Celtic opened the scoring in the 13th minute through Ryan Christie but Johnson’s goal ensured Kilmarnock moved to the top after Greg Stewart scored a first-half double for them in the 2-0 win over Livingston. “If you pick up enough points then sometimes you get quite close to the summit,” said the Killie manager, Steve Clarke, whose side have now lost only once in their last 11 league games. “But nobody is getting carried away. We’ve got an awful lot of work to do.”
Rangers relinquished their grip on top spot after only three days as Scott McKenna’s goal gave Aberdeen a second Ibrox win in 27 years and despite the Dons playing for an hour with 10 men following Sam Cosgrove’s dismissal.
The Dundee manager, Jim McIntyre, praised Kenny Miller after the veteran scored three in a 4-0 win over Hamilton at Dens Park. “He said it was his seventh or eighth hat-trick of his career and to do it at 38, he deserved a lot of credit.”
St Mirren’s manager Oran Kearney lavished praise on Adam Hammill after watching the forward score a stunning goal from inside his own half in the 2-2 draw at Hibernian. “It’s one thing to see it, another to execute it. It’s a great strike.”