Saints stun Hoops, Well stay top

Saints stun Hoops, Well stay top

Published Sep. 15, 2012 3:17 p.m. ET

St Johnstone beat Celtic 2-1 in the SPL on Saturday, while Motherwell came from behind to win 2-1 at Dundee and stay top of the table.

Rowan Vine's first goal for St Johnstone gave the home side a shock win over the champions at McDiarmid Park.

Kris Commons drove Celtic into the lead in the third minute but Saints striker Gregory Tade levelled in the 18th minute before the visitors were denied what looked a clear penalty when Steven Anderson challenged Commons inside the box.

But Celtic were well off the pace all afternoon and in the 80th minute they paid dearly when former QPR striker Vine curled the ball in from the edge of the penalty area to hand the Perth club their first win of the league campaign.

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It was not the result or performance Neil Lennon was looking for ahead of their Champions League opener against Benfica at Parkhead on Wednesday.

However, the result will delight St Johnstone manager Steve Lomas who had seven players down with a virus on Thursday, which led him to cancel training.

Elsewhere, a Michael Higdon double helped Motherwell come from behind to defeat Dundee 2-1 and stay top of the table.

Colin Nish had opened his Dundee account with a fine header after 20 minutes, but Higdon equalised from close range after 74 minutes before heading home the winner 10 minutes later to deny the Dens Park side a first home win of the season.

The result preserves The Steelmen's unbeaten start to the season but was harsh on a Dee side that had defended bravely for the majority of the match.

Leigh Griffiths was on target as Hibernian stretched their unbeaten SPL run to five matches with a 2-1 victory over Kilmarnock.

An inswinging Griffiths corner ricocheted in off Kilmarnock goalkeeper Kyle Letheren and defender Rory McKeown as Hibs took a 14th-minute lead before anny Racchi tucked in an equaliser after 32 minutes.

Griffiths converted a 45th-minute penalty which proved decisive as Hibs claimed their second win at Easter Road this season, just one behind their tally of home SPL wins in the whole of the last campaign.

Hibs appear far removed from the side which flirted with relegation last term and now trail only Motherwell in the standings.

St Mirren registered their first home SPL victory of the season as they defeated Hearts 2-0.

Jim Goodwin fired a superb 35-yard strike beyond Jamie McDonald seven minutes before half-time to give the hosts the lead.

And Lewis Guy doubled their advantage three minutes after the interval after a fast counter-attack ended with Steven Thompson cutting the ball back for the striker to blast into the net.

The visitors pushed men forward in an effort to find a way back into the game, however they struggled to test Craig Samson in the St Mirren goal.

Aberdeen substitute Cammy Smith's late header denied Inverness their first win of the season in a match which finished 1-1 and saw both sides end with 10 men.

The 17-year-old's first senior goal with six minutes to go cancelled out Richie Foran's penalty, which gave the hosts the lead mid-way through the second half.

Inverness's Owain Tudur Jones was dismissed in the 53rd minute and Aberdeen captain Russell Anderson was given his marching orders 13 minutes later, both for dangerous challenges.

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