Aug 09 2008
Scottish Premier League: Week One - Round Up
Saturday saw the opening day of the Scottish Premier League and Tynecastle provided plenty of opening day action for spectators as Hearts beat Motherwell 3-2 in a see-saw thriller of a game. Hearts took the lead after 24 minutes when midfielder Michael Stewart arrived late into the box to rifle home a shot but Stephen Hughes rolled the ball across from the goal-line for David Clarkson to bundle in the equaliser for Motherwell. Hearts restored their lead five minutes before half-time when Stephen Craigan was short with a header back to his keeper and Audrius Ksanavicius nipped in to prod the ball home.
It didn’t end there, however, and the Edinburgh club paid the price for defending too deep in the second half when David Clarkson levelled the scores again on 81 minutes. But Hearts immediately responded and it was Michael Stewart who again did the damage, setting up Saulius Mikoliunuas to dart into the box and shoot past Smith and win the game for Hearts.
It wasn’t a victory for their City rivals as Hibernian lost 1-0 to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. Hibs strikers Colin Nish and Steven Fletcher both missed good opportunities to open the scoring. Ex-Killie striker Nish found himself unmarked 16 yards from goal when he received a Steven Fletcher pass with 16 minutes played, but he failed to connect properly with the ball. At the other end, Hibs keeper Andy McNeil pulled off a fine save from Killie midfielder Mehdi Taouil, then Danny Invincible came close as Jim Jefferies’ side finished the half strongly.
The second half continued in much the same open fashion as the first period with chances at both ends, but it was the Ayrshire side who took the spoils when, with 10 minutes remaining, substitute Jamie Hamill drove home a fierce shot into the bottom corner from 25 yards.
It took 18 attempts but Inverness Caley finally recorded their first competitive victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie. It was lone striker Andy Barrowman who gave the visitors a first-half lead when he knocked in a Ross Tokely cross at the back post and Caley secured the 2-0 victory in the dying minutes of the game when midfielder Roy McBain capped his 300th appearance by finishing off a fine counter-attacking move with a powerful strike past Dons keeper Jamie Langfield.
In Sunday’s game, St. Mirren travel to Celtic Park to face the champions while new boys Hamilton take on Dundee Utd on Monday evening.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Not A Member? Register for Free!
