A spectacular 88th-minute strike from recent signing Kevin McHattie gave Kilmarnock their first victory of the Scottish Premiership campaign, as they left it late to defeat Dundee United 2-1 at Tannadice and move off the foot of the table. The result was a relief for the under-pressure Killie manager, Gary Locke, with the strain now transferred to his Dundee United counterpart, Jackie McNamara, after the home fans made their disdain felt.
Billy McKay’s second-half penalty for United had cancelled out Kallum Higginbotham’s 44th-minute opener from the spot for Kilmarnock. The defeat meant McNamara’s side suffered a fourth straight league defeat, to leave them second-bottom in the standings. There was a minute’s silence prior to kick-off in memory of former United forward Ralph Milne, who died last Sunday at the age of 54.
Dundee were victorious courtesy of a fine second-half goal from Greg Stewart, as Partick Thistle’s winless run continued despite hitting the woodwork three times at Firhill. The hosts dominated the bulk of the play, particularly in the first half, but their failure to find the back of the net remained their achilles heel. Thistle were punished 14 minutes from time when Stewart’s cool finish earned a 1-0 victory for the visitors.
Louis Moult scored his fourth goal in four games to earn Motherwell a 1-1 draw against Ross County with a stoppage-time equaliser at Fir Park. Moult was on hand to convert a driven cross from substitute Marvin Johnson from close range in the first of five minutes added on. County had been heading for a fourth consecutive win after Michael Gardyne scored in the 33rd minute when Motherwell failed to deal with a basic free-kick into the box.
In-form Steven MacLean ran the show for St Johnstone for the second successive home match, as his expertly executed hat-trick inspired a fine 4-1 win over Hamilton. The 33-year-old’s two close-range finishes and composure to convert a penalty took his tally for the season to six goals in seven matches. MacLean also assisted for Liam Craig’s first-half opener. Hamilton responded when Lucas Tagliapietra headed home an Ali Crawford cross, but the visitors will rue Andrew Dallas’s decision not to award an early penalty.
In the Championship, Rangers maintained their perfect start with a 3-0 win over Livingston at Ibrox thanks to goals from Lee Wallace, Martyn Waghorn and Nicky Law.
