Scotland round-up: Ross retains top spot for Rangers

Maurice Ross scored his first ever goal for Rangers FC on Saturday as the Ibrox side defeated Livingston FC 2-0 to remain top of the Scottish Premier League.

Ferguson settles it
The Scotland international defender scored for the visitors on the hour after a precise pass from captain Barry Ferguson. Livingston had already been reduced to ten men following Cherif Toure Maman's red card and the Almondvale side found their illustrious opposition too tough to handle. Ferguson put the result beyond doubt by slotting an 86th-minute penalty after Marvyn Andrews had brought down Danish substitute Peter Løvenkrands.

Celtic second
The victory allowed Rangers to retain their one-point advantage over second-placed Celtic FC, who scraped to a 1-0 victory at home to Hibernian FC. John Hartson's 31st-minute goal was enough to ensure the Edinburgh side stay rooted to the foot of the table.

Magic Mclaughlin
Elsewhere, Kilmarnock FC drew 2-2 with Aberdeen FC. Alan Mahood's 56th-minute strike gave Kilmarnock the lead but goals from Laurent D'Jaffo and substitute Darren Young robbed them of the lead before Barry Mclaughlin rescued a point with a last-minute header.

Dunfermline too strong
In the day's other games, Dunfermline Athletic FC proved too strong for Dundee United FC. Gary Dempsey's left-foot strike on eight minutes set them on their way and Stevie Crawford soon doubled the lead. Derek Lilley's 49th-minute goal could not spark a United revival. Partick Thistle FC and Dundee FC shared the spoils at Firhill Stadium after Jamie Mitchell's opener for the hosts was cancelled out by Gavin Rae.

Hearts recover
On Sunday, Heart of Midlothian FC climbed into third place in the table with a superb 4-2 win, having been two goals down against Motherwell FC. Dirk Lehmann and James McFadden both scored inside the first half an hour to put the visitors in control before Craig Levein's team fought back through goals from Mark de Vries, Andy Kirk and Steven Boyack. Kirk grabbed a second 13 minutes from time to complete Mortherwell's misery.