Newz Forum: SOCCER: Bank of Scotland Scottish Premier results 30/04/05

Hibernian threw Rangers a lifeline in the Bank of Scotland Premier League championship race with a shock 3-1 victory over Celtic at Parkhead.

Garry O'Connor ruthlessly finished a great move involving Derek Riordan and Scott Brown to give them a surprise first-half lead. Substitute Craig Beattie pulled the scores level but the Edinburgh side showed great spirit to go on to take the points through late Ivan Sproule and Brown goals. It all means that Rangers can close the gap at the top to two points if they win at Aberdeen on Sunday.

Elsewhere Richie Foran missed a penalty in the final minute of the first half against Hearts at Tynecastle to prevent Motherwell completing a clean sweep over the Jambos this season, the match eventually finishing goalless. The Fir Park side, with four victories over Hearts so far this season, were awarded a spot-kick when Steven Pressley was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the area. However, Foran stepped up to send his spot-kick crashing against the post. And, although the Steelmen looked impressive in the second half, they could not break the deadlock.

A dubious-looking second half penalty, which was converted by Peter Leven, gave Kilmarnock a 2-1 win at Inverness. Killie had taken the lead through Gary McDonald but Caley equalised before the break through Ross Tokely, who slotted away a spot-kick which had also been questionably awarded by referee Eddie Smith. Livingston took a massive step towards SPL survival - and left Dunfermline staring into the relegation abyss - with a 2-0 victory at Almondvale. Both teams headed into the game joint bottom and knowing the outcome could play a massive role in deciding who will be playing in the Bell's First Division next season. Burton O'Brien showed why he is at the centre of an international tug of war between Scotland and South Africa when he grabbed the opener before James McPake secured the victory after just three minutes on the park.

Just above that pair, goals from Mark Wilson and Jim McIntyre handed Dundee United their first win over Tayside rivals Dundee for over three years and moved the club to within touching distance of safety. Wilson's mis-hit freekick split the teams after a goalless first-half, but plucky Dundee - as they have done so often in this fixture - fought back and grabbed an equaliser through top-scorer Steve Lovell. The Dark Blues' joy was short-lived, however, as McIntyre struck from point-blank range to hand Gordon Chisholm's team a 2-1 success and their first win over Dundee since April 2002. Jim Duffy's men, who have now lost their last three fixtures, had Tom McManus sent off in the dying minutes and will be without him for the crucial trip to Dunfermline next weekend.

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