Derek McInnes applauded his Rangers squad after they climbed to the league summit, although he felt the lengthy international break contributed to an uneven display in their 3-1 victory over Kilmarnock.
Rangers held a three-goal advantage by half-time at Ibrox, with Ryan Naderi scoring two headers on either side of Kevin Kelsy’s effort. Killie created opportunities throughout the match, particularly in the second half, and substitute Nicky Clescenco eventually replied with a counterattacking goal in the final minute. The visitors registered six shots on target compared with Rangers’ four, but goalkeeper Ivor Pandur was only seriously tested once before conceding.
A sixth straight league victory lifted Rangers one point above Celtic, who play Motherwell on Sunday.
McInnes selected eight of the 13 players who had been away representing their countries. He said: “We must not overlook the importance of moving to the top of the league. There were plenty of encouraging aspects, even though our performance lacked rhythm at times.
“I was delighted by how ruthless we were before half-time. We delivered the ball into dangerous areas and converted our opportunities, although we did not do that often enough. In truth, there were long periods when we looked like a group that had not trained together for three weeks.
“I can understand why the players were not completely settled after being away. Nearly three weeks is an excessive amount of time for clubs to be without them, especially when we employ and care for these players. Nevertheless, we completed the task, and the squad deserves praise for showing determination and collecting all three points.”
Hearts recorded their largest home league victory in three and a half years, sweeping aside St Mirren 5-0 to remain close behind Rangers and Celtic.
The third-placed Jambos controlled the contest from the opening stages, with Laurent Mendy breaking the deadlock after 20 minutes. Calvin Miller converted two penalties, one on each side of the interval, before Cláudio Braga and Josh McPake completed an emphatic win ahead of Thursday’s home Conference League opener against Nordsjaelland.
It was Hearts’ most convincing league success at Tynecastle since their 6-1 triumph over Ross County under Steven Naismith in April 2023. The result also strengthened their position as the division’s leading scorers.
Manager Wouter Vrancken said: “Our aim is to produce positive, constructive and proactive football rather than simply reacting to our opponents. Supporters come to the stadium hoping to watch entertaining play and see their team score goals.
“We also want to give the players a style they can enjoy. When you first played football as a child in the street, your objective was to score, not to stand in front of your own goal and concentrate only on stopping the opposition.
“Scoring is one of the greatest feelings in the sport. It will come together more effectively on some occasions than others, but it was very satisfying to see our approach succeed today.”
Ashley Hay struck a dramatic stoppage-time winner as Dundee secured a 2-1 victory away to Falkirk. The forward, sidelined since early August by a ligament injury, met Ethan Hamilton’s free-kick and finished from close range in the first minute of added time.
Hay’s late goal completed Dundee’s comeback after Owen Bevan’s second strike for the Dark Blues had drawn them level following Jacob Murrell’s first-half penalty at Falkirk Stadium.
Marink Reedijk’s first match in charge of Hibernian ended in frustration as his team lost 1-0 to Dundee United at Tannadice. On-loan QPR winger Daniel Bennie scored the only goal during the first half, while Hibernian finished with 10 players after Jacob Devaney received a red card.
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