Postpublished at 21:47 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October
Aberdeen 2-1 Rangers
A big 'whaaahaaay' from the home fans at Pittodrie as Rangers boss Philippe Clement gets a yellow card for some touchline grouching.
Hibernian moved off of the bottom of the Scottish Premiership despite failing to find a way past a stubborn Ross County side in a goalless draw in Dingwall.
In a game of few chances, the visitors had the game's best, with opportunities for Dwight Gayle and Mykola Kuharevich missing the target.
Don Cowie's side failed to threaten with much conviction, Ronan Hale's first-half effort that sailed over the bar one of their few chances of note.
Winless in five, there remains significant pressure on Hibs head coach David Gray despite climbing off the bottom and a promising attacking display in the second half.
County drop to seventh after St Mirren's victory over St Johnstone.
Chances were scarce in the first half.
Jordan White's header forced a fine save from Josef Bursik in County's best moment and Hale blasted over for the hosts, while Junior Hoilett and Elie Youan had opportunities for Hibs.
The visitors started the second half brightly. Youan and Hoilett combined well to set up Kuharevich, who blasted over, before Newell did likewise.
Hoilett then found Kuharevich again, this time with a whipped free-kick, but the Ukrainian’s header went narrowly wide.
Cowie made five second-half substitutions and County showed some attacking impetus. Eamonn Brophy saw his well-struck effort whistle past the upright.
A late flurry of County chances failed to trouble Bursik, with both sides finishing on two shots on target apiece, an indication of the lack of final-third composure from either side.
Cowie spoke about wanting his side to back up their weekend win over Kilmarnock but they rarely looked like scoring.
Having only two shots on target in 90 minutes, and failing to break down a beleaguered Hibs side who are low on confidence, will be a concern.
This was only the second time they’ve failed to score at home this season, so it may be a blip, but they now rank second-bottom in the top flight for goals scored.
Simon Murray’s contribution last season would be hard to replicate, particularly with Yan Dhanda now departed too, but their lack of creativity was concerning.
It’s becoming difficult to assess Hibs, as based on this you would be forgiven for thinking they were unlucky not to score.
Their xG wasn’t that high but, after a similar showing in the Edinburgh derby, a more clinical and composed touch in front of goal would have them six points better off after these two games.
Hibs were relatively sound defensively and attacked well, often combing smartly to free attackers in promising positions, but the final touch let them down too often.
Five games without a victory, winning only one of their nine away games so far this campaign, is a dismal run for any side. Moving above Hearts at the bottom will be scant consolation.
Ross County manager Don Cowie: "We're happy with a really good clean sheet. Hibs have got really good forward players and I thought we managed to keep them pretty quiet throughout.
"We could have been slightly better in terms of the way we played attacking-wise, but when you don't do that, it's important you don't lose the game."
Hibernian head coach David Gray: "A point away from home and a clean sheet is never a bad thing, so we need to take the positives from that.
"I was a bit disappointed with the first half. I thought we were very flat, lacked a bit of energy, a bit of bravery on the ball, and an emphasis to go forward a little bit. The second half was much more like us.
"I think there's a wee lack of quality in the final third, or the decision-making and execution let us down a bit."
Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 3 | 26 | 28 |
| |
2 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 28 |
| |
3 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 19 |
| |
4 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 16 |
| |
5 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 15 |
| |
6 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 20 | -7 | 12 |
| |
7 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 21 | -6 | 11 |
| |
8 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 18 | -8 | 11 |
| |
9 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 23 | -9 | 10 |
| |
10 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 9 |
| |
11 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 15 | -6 | 7 |
| |
12 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 18 | -6 | 6 |
|
Manager: Don Cowie
Formation: 3 - 4 - 1 - 2
Manager: David Gray
Formation: 4 - 4 - 2
Manager: Don Cowie
Formation: 3 - 4 - 1 - 2
Manager: David Gray
Formation: 4 - 4 - 2
Scottish Premiership
All competitions
All competitions
All competitions
After their 2-1 win in May last season, Ross County could enjoy back-to-back top-flight victories over Hibernian for the first time since winning their first ever three such games against Hibs in 2012-13.
Hibernian have only won one of their last six league meetings with Ross County (D3 L2), a 2-0 victory in March last season.
The side scoring first has won just one of the last five league meetings between Ross County and Hibernian (D3 L1); before this, the side that went 1-0 ahead had won five times in a row in this top-flight fixture.
Ross County have won just two of their last 14 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) games in the Scottish Premiership (D8 L4), and are winless in midweek league games in 2024 (P7 D4 L3).
Hibernian have won just one of their last 14 away league matches (D7 L6), a 3-1 victory at St. Johnstone in April last season. Hibs have lost both of their last two on the road, last losing more in a row in the top-flight in January 2023 (run of 6).