Scottish Premiership roundup: Hibs hit bottom as Rangers let top spot slip

Hibernian dropped to the bottom of the Scottish Premiership as Kilmarnock fought back to beat Motherwell, before Rangers missed their opportunity to replace Celtic at the summit.

Jacob Murrell’s double condemned Hibs to a 2-1 defeat against Falkirk at Easter Road. Greg Kiltie’s two goals helped Kilmarnock climb above them with a 3-2 victory, while Rangers surrendered a second-half lead to draw 2-2 at Dundee.

Aberdeen strengthened their position just outside the top six by beating St Mirren 3-1, and St Johnstone and Dundee United shared the points in Perth.

Scottish Premiership results: Saturday 17 October

Home	Score	Away
Aberdeen	3-1	St Mirren
Hibernian	1-2	Falkirk
Kilmarnock	3-2	Motherwell
St Johnstone	1-1	Dundee United
Dundee	2-2	Rangers

Scottish Premiership roundup: Hibs fall to the bottom

Marink Reedijk’s first home match in charge ended with Hibernian at the foot of the table after Murrell’s first-half double gave Falkirk a valuable away victory.

Owen Elding reduced the deficit before the interval, but Hibs could not find an equaliser despite their second-half pressure. Their new head coach has now lost both matches since taking charge.

Reedijk’s assessment centred on the mistakes that had left his side chasing the game.

“We are thieves of our own wallet because we gave away two easy goals,” he said, while maintaining that he had seen signs of improvement.

For Falkirk, the result brought a second league victory of the season, with both coming against Edinburgh opposition following their earlier success against Hearts.

Hibs have little room to recover before another demanding assignment: Celtic visit Easter Road on Sunday 25 October, with a noon kick-off.

Kiltie lifts Kilmarnock as Motherwell’s slide continues

Kilmarnock’s escape from bottom place required two changes of momentum at Rugby Park.

Kiltie opened the scoring in the second minute, but Alex Lowry equalised and Seb Palmer-Houlden subsequently put Motherwell ahead. Tyreece John-Jules brought the hosts level before Kiltie struck again in the 69th minute.

There was also a significant reprieve for Killie defender George Stanger. Referee Calum Scott initially showed him a straight red card after the restart, but a VAR review resulted in the punishment being reduced to a yellow. Kilmarnock therefore completed their comeback with 11 players, as the club’s match report confirms.

Neil McCann’s side secured their first home league win of the campaign. Motherwell, meanwhile, suffered a fifth consecutive league defeat and now sit level with Kilmarnock on eight points, just one above Hibs.

Rangers recover, then surrender their chance to go top

Rangers had done the difficult part at Dens Park by overturning Bradley Fink’s 37th-minute opener.

Badredine Bouanani equalised five minutes later and Nicolas Raskin put the visitors ahead on the hour. Their advantage lasted only nine minutes, however, before Callum Jones punished Dan Neil’s loss of possession to make it 2-2.

The draw ended Rangers’ seven-match winning run in all competitions and left them one point behind Celtic, having played a game more.

It was a missed opportunity to apply pressure before Sunday’s meeting between Celtic and Hearts. Dundee, fourth on 14 points, had the satisfaction of recovering after seeing their own lead disappear.

Read our Dundee 2-2 Rangers match report for the full story.

Aberdeen’s substitutes help turn the game

Aberdeen climbed above St Mirren after a stronger second-half performance at Pittodrie.

Brad Lyons struck after two minutes, but Eseosa Sule equalised in the 42nd minute to send the teams into the interval level.

Stephen Robinson introduced Stuart Armstrong and Tony Yogane at half-time, and Yogane won the penalty that led to Aberdeen’s second goal. Jacob Chapman saved Kevin Nisbet’s spot-kick, but the striker reacted first to convert the rebound in the 58th minute.

Another substitute, Ayoub Mouloua, added the third shortly after coming on, finishing a move started by Afeez Aremu’s quickly taken free-kick.

Aberdeen finish the day seventh, one point outside the top six. St Mirren drop to eighth.

Cameron earns United a point, Steward prevents a winner

Lyall Cameron’s 79th-minute equaliser secured Dundee United a 1-1 draw at St Johnstone, although the visitors threatened to leave with all three points.

Josh Fowler had put Saints ahead in the 21st minute from Enes Alić’s delivery. Cameron eventually levelled after Zach Sapsford’s dummy allowed a cross to reach him.

Toby Steward then protected the point with two saves in quick succession in the 89th minute, denying Sapsford before stopping Cameron’s follow-up.

The draw leaves the clubs together on 12 points, with St Johnstone fifth and United sixth.

Scottish Premiership table after Saturday’s matches

Pos	Club	Played	GD	Points
1	Celtic	8	+12	21
2	Rangers	9	+6	20
3	Hearts	8	+11	16
4	Dundee	9	+3	14
5	St Johnstone	9	0	12
6	Dundee United	9	−1	12
7	Aberdeen	9	0	11
8	St Mirren	9	−8	10
9	Falkirk	9	−3	9
10	Motherwell	9	−5	8
11	Kilmarnock	9	−10	8
12	Hibernian	9	−5	7

Source: official SPFL table, updated after Saturday’s fixtures.

Celtic host Hearts at 3pm on Sunday 18 October. Victory would extend their lead over Rangers to four points, while Hearts can move within two points of the leaders by winning.

With Tony Bloom standing by Hearts’ title ambitions before the trip, Sunday’s remaining fixture gives both clubs a chance to capitalise on Rangers’ dropped points.