Motherwell goes top in Scotland

Motherwell goes top in Scotland

Published Sep. 3, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

Michael Higdon's hat-trick earned Motherwell a 4-1 victory against Inverness and fired the Fir Park side to the top of the Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League.

Tom Hateley had opened the scoring for the hosts directly from a 10th-minute corner and Higdon netted the first of his three goals a minute later.

Richie Foran reduced the deficit to 2-1 before half-time but Higdon added another two goals in eight minutes of the final quarter of the game, with Inverness seeing a late penalty saved.

In Sunday's other game, Dundee won their first SPL match of the season after a 1-0 victory over Hearts at Tynecastle.

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Ryan Conroy's third-minute penalty was all that was required for Dee to secure all three points and lift them off the bottom of the table.

Hearts dominated the attacking possession but couldn't beat an inspired Rab Douglas in the Dundee goal. The veteran goalkeeper made a string of impressive stops including John Sutton's first-half spot-kick.

On Saturday, Aberdeen's scoring troubles continued as they were held to a goalless home draw by St Mirren.

The Dons have now failed to score in four of their opening five matches in the SPL.

The home side enjoyed the better of the chances and went closest to finding the net when substitute Cameron Smith headed onto the crossbar after 72 minutes, but they could find no way through.

St Johnstone are still seeking their first win of the season after their Tayside derby with Dundee United ended goalless.

Both sides created opportunities to score in an even first 45 minutes that saw Saints' on-loan Aberdeen winger Peter Pawlett and Stuart Armstrong denied by their opposing goalkeepers.

The second half was poor by comparison and it was no surprise that the stalemate continued right through to the full-time whistle.

The result leaves the home side without a win in their last 14 competitive outings.

Ross County and Kilmarnock also settled for a point apiece in an entertaining goalless draw at Global Energy Stadium.

The result stretched County's unbeaten run of league matches to 39 with another solid display against a battling Killie outfit.

There was little in the way of clear-cut chances throughout the 90 minutes with both defences on top and a draw was probably a fair result.

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