Tawanda Maswanhise struck twice to keep Motherwell snapping at the heels of Celtic with a 2-0 victory at the basement club, Livingston. The Zimbabwe international opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a looping header and as the half-hour mark approached he curled home a second. Elijah Just hit the woodwork and Maswanhise could have scored a third in a match dominated by the visitors.
Livingston’s problems mounted with news that 11th-placed Kilmarnock had crushed Aberdeen 3-0 at Rugby Park to move six points clear of the bottom. A glancing header by Brad Lyons and a well-taken finish by Bruce Anderson, scored in quick succession, propelled Kilmarnock into an early lead. The Dons’ problems mounted when their captain, Graeme Shinnie, was shown a straight red card for a high challenge and Tyreece John-Jules added the third soon after.
St Mirren and Dundee fought out a goalless draw at Love Street.
On Saturday night, Hearts, the leaders, are in action at Dundee United, looking to build on their four-point advantage over Rangers. On Sunday, the Old Firm are in action after Thursday night’s Europa League endeavours. Rangers kick off first, at Hibernian, while Celtic are at home to Falkirk.
