Paisley, Scotland – Rangers had two players sent off and lost 1 against St. Mirren on Saturday, as its lead atop the table dropped to one point over Celtic ahead of the Old Firm derby.
Rangers moved in front after 11 minutes through Lee Wallace, but Lee McCulloch was sent off after 23 minutes, and St. Mirren scored twice in the final stages of the first half for just its second-ever win against Gers.
Dorin Goian was sent off with 3 minutes remaining in regular time, as Rangers lost momentum and two players before the Glasgow derby.
Celtic defeated Kilmarnock, 2-1, on Saturday, as it closed to within one point of Rangers for the league lead ahead of their clash Wednesday at Parkhead.
Wallace put Rangers in front early when drove a shot from 6 yards to the lower right, but McCulloch was given his marching orders just over 10 minutes later, after a bad foul on Carey.
St. Mirren eventually took advantage, as Aaron Mooy hit an 18-yard shot to the upper-left corner in the 44th, and Paul McGowan followed with a goal into the bottom left from inside the area in first-half stoppage time.
Rangers failed to respond after half, and Goian's late red sealed the loss and added even more importance to the Old Firm, as the winner will sit alone atop the standings.
Celtic 2, Kilmarnock 1
Glasgow, Scotland - Georgios Samaras scored on each side of halftime as Celtic edged Kilmarnock, 2-1, on Saturday at Celtic Park to climb within one point of first-place Rangers in the Scottish Premier League ahead of the Old Firm.
Samaras scored 2 minutes into first-half stoppage time and added his second in the 53rd minute, as Celtic won its eighth straight league game on the trot and extended its SPL unbeaten streak to 11 games.
Celtic hosts Rangers, which lost to St Mirren on Saturday 2-1, in the Old Firm on Wednesday.
Danny Racchi pulled a goal back 4 minutes from time for Kilmarnock, which last won at Celtic more than 50 years ago.
Inverness 2, Aberdeen 1
Inverness, Scotland - Roman Golobart and Gregory Tade scored 5 minutes apart, and Inverness snapped a two-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over Aberdeen on Saturday at Caledonian Stadium in the Scottish Premier League.
Golobart opened the scoring after 64 minutes, and Tade followed in the 68th as Inverness won for just the fourth time in its history against Aberdeen in 21 all-time meetings.
Rory Fallon scored in the 78th for Aberdeen, which had its three-game unbeaten streak and two-game win streak snapped.
Inverness moved four points off the bottom of the standings, two points behind Aberdeen for ninth place.
Hearts 2, Motherwell 0
Edinburgh, Scotland - Ian Black and Stephen Elliott scored in the opening half as Hearts defeated Motherwell, 2-0, on Saturday at Tynecastle Stadium for its eighth road win in 10 games this season in the Scottish Premier League.
Black opened the scoring after 17 minutes and Elliott followed in the 28th, as Hearts remained within one point of St. Johnstone for fourth place in the SPL.
Motherwell had its four-match unbeaten streak snapped, as it slipped 13 points behind Celtic for second place in the standings.
Dundee United 3, Hibernian 1
Edinburgh, Scotland - Jon Daly scored a brace after the 75th minute, as Dundee United defeated Hibernian, 3-1, at Tannadice Park on Saturday in the Scottish Premier League.
Leigh Griffiths put Hibs in front after 23 minutes, but Johnny Russell leveled the score after 59 minutes and Daly scored in the 76th and 88th for his eighth and ninth goals of the season.
Dundee is sixth in the table, while Hibs' winless run reached six as it stayed level on 14 points with Dunfermline at the bottom of the standings.
St. Johnstone 3, Dunfermline 0
Dunfermline, Scotland - Francisco Sandaza scored his seventh goal this season in St. Johnstone's 3-0 win over Dunfermline on Saturday, its first-ever win in 13 all-time games between the clubs in the Scottish Premier League.
Dunfermline had six wins and six ties in the teams' previous meetings, but the struggling promoted side could not extend its streak, as it remained buried at the foot of the table.
Liam Craig also scored and an own goal accounted for the third score for St. Johnstone, which snapped a three-game losing streak to remain fourth.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.