Rangers remain in pursuit

By Alex O'Henley

Rangers FC held on for a narrow win against Aberdeen FC at Pittodrie on Sunday to stay in touch with Scottish Premier League leaders Celtic FC, who had cantered to victory against Motherwell FC 24 hours earlier.

Mackie goal
Alex McLeish's side looked to be cruising after 15 minutes, when Kevin McNaughton's headed own goal made it 2-0 following Dado Pršo's ninth-minute opener. But McNaughton wasted little time in making amends for his error when his cut-back teed up Darren Mackie to sidefoot in at the right end four minutes later.

Celtic canter
It was Aberdeen's first goal in 432 minutes of league action but their search for another was to no avail as Rangers closed the gap at the top back to three points. Celtic had briefly held a six-point lead following a perfunctory 2-0 win against Motherwell at Celtic Park on Saturday.

Sutton strike
Bulgarian midfield player Stilian Petrov broke the deadlock on the half hour, linking with Chris Sutton before slotting past goalkeeper Gordon Marshall. Sutton then turned goalscorer early in the second half, curling in a shot from 18 metres.

Riordan hat-trick
Derek Riordan enhanced his burgeoning reputation with a first senior hat-trick in Hibernian FC's 3-0 victory against Kilmarnock FC at Easter Road. The 22-year-old striker scored twice in the first half and completed his treble nine minutes after the interval to take his tally for the season to 15. With Aberdeen losing against Rangers, Hibs are now seven points clear in the race for third.

Dundee draws
Stevie Crawford returned to haunt his former Dunfermline Athletic FC team-mates, scoring a late equaliser for new club Dundee United FC at East End Park. The Scotland striker got a touch to Barry Robson's goalbound header with 17 minutes remaining to cancel out Jesper Christiansen's 43rd-minute opener. Heart of Midlothian FC also came from behind to earn a point against Dundee FC. After Fabian Caballero had broken the deadlock in the 54th-minute, Joe Hamill scored with his first touch following his introduction as a substitute on the hour.

Inverness inspired
Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC recorded their biggest win of the season with a resounding 4-1 victory at Livingston FC. Richie Hart and Russell Duncan scored first-half goals before Ferenc Horvath reduced the arrears with his first goal for the bottom side just before the interval. But their hopes were quickly dashed as first Graham Bayne, and then Juanjo, struck to help Inverness move to eighth.