Article body analysed

Clive Lindsay Blair Lyons Liam Scullion Aberdeen 0-1 St Johnstone James Mc Garry gets down the left-hand side for Aberdeen and puts in a dangerous cross, but striker Kevin Nisbet can't get on the end of it. Sivert Nielsen then can't connect with a brilliant free-kick from fellow midfielder Leighton Clarkson. St Mirren 0-0 Motherwell Gully Singh BBC Sport Scotland at St Mirren Park Stuart Kettlewell is far from hiding his frustration on the touchline and you can't blame the Motherwell manager. There's been a distinct lack of quality from his team despite several changes. Come the second period, will it be a switch in personnel and system? Connor Young Robbie Leitch Aberdeen 0-1 St Johnstone St Johnstone defender Lewis Neilson clips the ball off the crossbar! Aberdeen have had 62% of possession at Pittodrie but have done very little with it. Saints, meanwhile, are really purposeful when they do get their foot on it. Celtic 1-0 Hibernian Celtic's high line almost gets them in trouble again, but centre-half Liam Scales races back to thwart midfielder Josh Campbell. Dundee United 0-0 Kilmanock That's a brilliant tackle from Kilmarnock defender Robbie Deas as he just gets a toe on a through ball to knock it out for a corner before Sam Dalby receives the pass. United's tempo has dropped, but they are still finding the openings. Aberdeen 0-1 St Johnstone Tyrone Smith BBC Sport Scotland at Pittodrie Stadium While the away support are enjoying themselves at Pittodrie - the home fans aren't. You can sense their frustration from the stands at the one-paced football they are seeing. Celtic 1-0 Hibernian Celtic striker Adam Idah misses an open goal. Nicolas Kuhn is in acres of space inside the box, squares it to the striker, but he inexplicably attempts a backheel and fluffs his lines. Lawrence Shankland Lawrence Shankland at the double! James Penrice is down the left, his cross is palmed out by Jon Mc Cracken straight to the Scotland striker, who sclaffs it into the ground and into the back of the ground. Like Lothian buses. .. Graham Webster Heart of Midlothian 1-0 Dundee Almost a second for Hearts and Lawrence Shankland! It's James Wilson who gets in behind and cuts it back. Shankland takes a touch and drills it towards the front post, where an upright Jon Mc Cracken saves with his feet. St Mirren 0-0 Motherwell A nice ball from Greg Kiltie picks out teammate Conor Mc Menamin on the right, but the St Mirren forward is denied the opener by the crossbar. Mark Gallagher Heart of Midlothian 1-0 Dundee That's not what Neil Critchley needs. Blair Spittal is down after jarring his knee in a tackle. The midfielder is getting back to his feet but looks uncomfortable. Celtic 1-0 Hibernian Hibs are forced into an early change. Mykola Kuharevich - who should have scored twice - limps off and is replaced with midfielder Josh Campbell. One assumes Elie Youan will now lead the line. Celtic 1-0 Hibernian Kheredine Idessane BBC Scotland at Celtic Park Hibs have carved out three "must score" chances inside the first 25 minutes here at the home of the champions. The ease with which they've carved through the Celtic backline begs the question: as well as Liam Scales and Auston Trusty have played in partnership with Cameron Carter-Vickers this season, are Celtic missing the American international's calming influence this afternoon? Dundee United 0-0 Kilmarnock Ryan Strain is one of the United players to have been denied by Kilmarnock goalkeeper Robby Mc Crorie in the first half. Shankland had gone 70 days without scoring for Hearts Hearts moved off the bottom of the Scottish Premiership with their first win in six games as Lawrence Shankland ended his goalscoring drought. The Hearts captain had gone 12 games without netting before his first-half double put Neil Critchley's side in a comfortable position. The first was a pinpoint back-post header, and the second a sclaffed rebound that suggests his luck has finally turned. The Tynecastle side leapfrog Edinburgh rivals Hibernian to rise up to 11th, while Dundee drop to sixth. Subscribe to Hearts news and updates Get all your Dundee analysis in one place All the pre-match talk was about a first Hearts start for 17-year-old James Wilson, who had already scored two league goals this season. Perhaps the spotlight shifting off Shankland lifted some pressure and his cushioned, looping header that gave Hearts the lead was the kind of finish he produced last season. The cross had come from the left and the boot of James Penrice, who set up numerous chances from his flank - teeing up Wilson and Musa Drammeh for first-half opportunities. Thankfully for them, Shankland was on hand to make it two when Jon Mc Cracken palmed a cross into the middle of the box and the Hearts captain scuffed the rebound in. Tony Docherty made two changes at half-time, clearly unhappy with the first-half display, but it did little to change the visitors' fortunes and in a duller second half. There was a moment of comedy when Mc Cracken's clearance cannoned off Antonio Portales and back to Drammeh, who raced through towards an empty net. However, the flag was up to spare any Dundee blushes. The drought is over, the floodgates opened, and Shankland finally scored a goal - and then another - in maroon again. Given his strike-rate in the last two seasons, the last 70 days must have felt like an eternity. The pressure has told at times, particularly against Cercle Brugge in the Conference League when he missed a late penalty, but now the weight has lifted. That should, in theory, allow Hearts to rise up the table. They were up to 10th before Kilmarnock's late leveller at Dundee United. They are just three points off eighth-placed Ross County, with a better goal difference than the teams immediately above them. Domestically, an away trip to Kilmarnock follows before they host St Johnstone and Hibs, finishing 2024 with a visit to Dingwall. All are winnable games and Critchley will be targeting at least nine points. Docherty's side were brilliantly clinical against Motherwell through the week and the manager admitted the changes he made - dropping captain Simon Murray and winger Scott Tiffoney - were purely to bring "energy and freshness". That didn't work. They rarely troubled Craig Gordon and squandered their best chance - an 87th-minute Portales header that would have set up a tense finale. Perhaps they didn't expect Shankland to show such a cutting edge given his season so far, but they conceded too many chances and Hearts made them pay. It was a disappointing showing given the strength they have shown at Dens Park this season and their performances on the road - given they have trips to Ibrox and Paisley this month - must improve. Last Updated 7th December 2024 at 17: 00 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Neil Critchley Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Tony Docherty Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Manager: Neil Critchley Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Tony Docherty Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Scottish Premiership All competitions All competitions All competitions Hearts have won both of their last two Scottish Premiership home games against Dundee, this after losing two of their previous three beforehand (D1). Dundee have won three of their last six top-flight league games against Hearts (L3), as many as their previous 14 beforehand (W3 D3 L8). No side has earned fewer points at home in the Scottish Premiership this season than Heart of Midlothian (6). Hearts have won just one of their last eight home games in the competition (D4 L3). Dundee have won three of their last five league games (D1 L1), more than they had in their previous 18 (W2 D6 L10). They’re looking to pick up back-to-back league victories for the first time since March. Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland has had more shots than any other player in the Scottish Premiership this season (48). However, he’s found the net with just one of these shots, giving him a conversion rate of just 2%. © 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.