Casalinuovo and Gomis give Dundee United New Firm win at Aberdeen

• Lucasz Jutkiewicz double earns Motherwell draw with St Mirren
• Falkirk show resolve to pick up a point in 0-0 draw with Hearts

Dundee United were deserved 2-0 winners in the New Firm derby against Aberdeen at Pittodrie. The Dons were made to pay for some poor finishing as United won the contest in the first half. Fraser Fyvie and Lee Miller were both guilty of missing gilt-edged chances, before the Argentinian striker Damian Casalinuovo found the net for the visitors on the half-hour mark from a Mark Fotheringham corner. The United midfielder Morgaro Gomis doubled the lead five minutes later with a smart finish from the edge of the area to consign the home team to their first defeat since the opening day of the season.

Motherwell fought back from two goals down to earn a 3-3 draw at St Mirren. Hugh Murray gave the Buddies a half-time lead with a cool finish three minutes before the interval. Billy Mehmet and Tom Brighton combined to set up Murray to steer the ball past John Ruddy for his first goal in two and a half years.

The visitors equalised when they were awarded a penalty four minutes after the interval, Ross Forbes dispatching it for his eighth goal of the season. Andy Dorman regained the lead for the home team after 59 minutes before Murray added to a fine performance to pounce on a corner and score his second from close range.

Motherwell responded immediately when the on-loan Everton striker Lukas Jutkiewicz pulled a goal back for Jim Gannon's side. Jutkiewicz then completed a fine comeback for 'Well when he held off several defenders to lash the ball high into the net with nine minutes remaining.

Hearts fans showed their consternation as Csaba Laszlo's team failed to break down the bottom-placed side, Falkirk, in a goalless draw at Tynecastle. After David Obua and Andy Driver wasted first-half chances to find the net, the Bairns battled their way to a well-deserved point after the break. Kjartan Finnbogason wasted the visitors' best chance, in the first half.

Two goals from Kevin Kyle gave Kilmarnock a 2-1 win against St Johnstone at Rugby Park. Saints were the better side in a scrappy first half with both Jody Morris, with a header, and Colin Sammon coming close to breaking the deadlock. Kyle took advantage of a moment of hesitation by goalkeeper Alan Main to head the ball into the net for his fifth goal of the season six minutes into the second half. Kyle then picked up on a clearance to strike a 30-yard volley over Main to give his team a two-goal advantage with 64 minutes played. Frazer Wright headed into his own net for the visitors' stoppage-time consolation.

Celtic play Hamilton today seeking to recover from their midweek defeat to Hamburg and earn a win that would take them above their Old Firm neighbours.

Sasa Papac strikes late for Rangers to deny inventive St Johnstone

Sasa Papac came to Rangers' rescue with a late winner against St Johnstone to send the Scottish champions to the top of the SPL.

The full-back's decider at McDiarmid Park - which came after Kris Boyd had cancelled out Collin Samuel's opener - was harsh on a plucky Saints side who had enough chances to follow up their first league win last week with another victory.

There was mystery surrounding the Rangers team ahead of the game with Madjid Bougherra absent amid reports of being dropped after going AWOL while on international duty. The defender - who missed the Old Firm derby with flu - helped Algeria to a win over Rwanda last weekend but was missing from training at Murray Park on Friday.

Only the woodwork prevented St Johnstone taking a shock lead with just three minutes gone. Samuel burst down the left flank before delivering a cross into the box for Martin Hardie, whose header cracked off Allan McGregor's right-hand post.

Rangers failed to heed the warning signs and found themselves trailing with 17 minutes gone when Samuel raced onto a superb ball from Murray Davidson before bearing down on goal and doing well to keep his composure and slot under McGregor.

Rangers claimed for handball when a Boyd ball came off David MacKay but the pleas were ignored by referee William Collum, who awarded a corner rather than a penalty. But Walter Smith's men were back on level terms four minutes before the break anyway when a Kevin Thomson shot was inadvertently blocked by Papac and broke for Boyd to rifle home the rebound from eight yards.

Saints should have had the stuffing knocked out of them after conceding an equaliser but emerged for the second half determined to reclaim their advantage. Chris Millar saw a 25-yard drive fizz past the post before Davidson squeezed between David Weir and Lee McCulloch and threw himself in front of a Hardie cross only to connect awkwardly and nod just wide.

St Johnstone appeared unwilling to settle for the point and could have snatched victory when Filipe Morais set up Samuel but his ferocious shot was blocked by the body of McGregor.

Rangers had already thrown Steven Naismith and Nacho Novo into the action and they were joined by Kenny Miller with less than 10 minutes to go in a desperate late push for a winner.

They did claim the decisive goal after 83 minutes but it came from an unusual source. Naismith provided the pass for Papac in plenty of space and he had time to switch from his right to his preferred left foot before lashing into the back of the net.

Scottish Premier League: St Johnstone 1-2 Rangers

As Walter Smith stood by his assertion that Rangers should be operating in an environment other than the Scottish Premier League, one of his key players decided a Saturday lunchtime in Perth was not for him either.

Madjid Bougherra's failure to return anything like on time from playing a part in Algeria's World Cup qualifying victory over Rwanda eight days ago ensured he was a notable absentee at McDiarmid Park. It led to a rap on the knuckles from Smith during talks today; the only earlier explanation offered for Bougherra not arriving in Glasgow until just before midnight on Friday was that the defender's bag, which contained a passport and mobile phone, was stolen last Monday.

Smith will not have the luxury of punishing Bougherra further by leaving him out of the team for Tuesday's Champions League visit of Dan Petrescu's Unirea Urziceni. The visitors' makeshift central defence was exposed time and again by St Johnstone, whose bullish performance, coupled with Motherwell's scoreless draw at Celtic Park, belied the theory that the Old Firm have things all their own way.

Not that Smith is for changing his views. Rangers' manager attracted criticism last week for claiming his own side and Celtic have to seek pastures new in order to benefit themselves and the Scottish game. If the 61-year-old has broken an unwritten rule of knocking the brand from within, he has no intention of backtracking. "I am quite comfortable with what I said," he said. "If you feel you can talk up the game here, fine. If you can tell me I'm wrong and there is huge investment in Scottish football at the moment, including from television and sponsorship, then I would be delighted. Nobody would be happier than me if Scottish football was in a healthy state but I don't think that is the case. The longer we delude ourselves that it is, the less action will be taken."

Smith has Sasa Papac to thank for ensuring Rangers now hold a one-point lead at the top of the SPL. The Bosnian coolly curled home a late winner. Kris Boyd had earlier equalised the opener from St Johnstone's outstanding Collin Samuel.

Pedro Mendes did return on schedule from international duty with Portugal but with a thigh problem which makes him a doubt to face the Romanians.

Man of the match Collin Samuel

(St Johnstone)

Scottish Premier League: St Johnstone 1-2 Rangers

• Hibs consolidate third place with 1-0 win against Killie
• Falkirk remain winless after 3-1 loss at home to St Mirren

A late Sasa Papac goal gave Rangers a 2-1 victory at St Johnstone and a one-point lead at the top of the SPL. Walter Smith's side recovered from falling behind to a 17th-minute Collin Samuel goal in the lunch-time contest thanks to Kris Boyd's equaliser five minutes before half-time.

Rangers had already thrown Steven Naismith and Nacho Novo into the action, and they were joined by Kenny Miller with less than 10 minutes to go in a desperate push for a winner. Naismith provided the pass for Papac in plenty of space and he had time to switch to his preferred left foot before firing home with seven minutes left.

"We were pleased to win," said Smith, but added: "The performance was patchy, we've not had a great deal of consistency since the start of the season. For us getting back-to-back wins was a big thing because we have struggled to do that ."

Aberdeen and Hearts shared a 1-1 draw at Pittodrie. The Dons went into the game three points ahead of their opponents and they took the lead after 42 minutes . Peter Pawlett and Charlie Mulgrew combined on the left to release Michael Paton and, although there was a touch on his cross, the ball found its way to Lee Miller who nodded the ball past Janos Balogh at the back post. Hearts substitute Christian Nadé slipped in England under-21 midfielder Andrew Driver, who picked his spot from 15 yards with a curling effort beyond keeper Jamie Langfield.

A penalty from Abdessalam Benjelloun with six minutes left earned Hibs a 1-0 win over Kilmarnock at Easter Road and they remain in third place. Killie's striker Kevin Kyle came the closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half when his fourth-minute header hit the post. In the same move, Conor Sammon had an effort cleared off the line by Kevin McBride.

St Mirren beat bottom-placed Falkirk 3-1 despite going a goal down. The substitute Alex MacDonald claimed the Bairns goal 10 minutes into the second half before the visitors equalised when Craig Dargo pounced at the back post with 67 minutes played. Goals from Billy Mehmet and Tom Brighton secured the points.

Hamilton Academical had a first win at Tannadice in 20 years snatched from their grasp in stoppage time when Gary Kenneth rose above the Accies defence to secure a 1-1 draw for injury-hit Dundee United. Mikaël Antoine-Curier had put the visitors ahead earlier in the second half with his second goal of the season for Accies.

Lukas Jutkiewicz ends drought to give Motherwell victory over Falkirk

• Motherwell move level with Dundee United and Rangers
• St Mirren beat Hearts to record first win at new stadium

Motherwell moved level on points with Dundee United and Rangers after their 1-0 win against Falkirk at Fir Park, taking advantage of United's draw at Hibernian and the champions being out of action until today, when they face Celtic in the Old Firm derby.

Lukas Jutkiewicz scored his first goal in two-and-a-half years to bring Motherwell victory. The on-loan Everton striker headed in from a Chris Humphrey near-post corner in the 18th minute of a low-key first half. The visitors improved considerably in the second half and looked certain to equalise when Scott Arfield's shot rebounded off the bar. It left Mark Stewart eight yards out with the goal gaping, but he blazed the chance over. Falkirk have now not scored for five games.

An impressive volley from Craig Dargo gave St Mirren their long-awaited first victory at their new stadium with a 2-1 victory over Hearts. A glancing header from José Gonçalves gave Csaba Laszlo's side the lead 31 minutes into the first half. Hearts should have doubled their advantage when Suso Santana squandered an excellent opportunity. Instead, it was Saints who scored next when Steven Thomson levelled seven minutes after conceding. Substitute Tom Brighton set up St Mirren's second when he nodded on for Dargo to volley the winner past Janos Balogh after 64 minutes.

Aberdeen extended their unbeaten run in the SPL to six games with a 1-1 draw at Kilmarnock. Both teams hit the woodwork, but failed to score in the first half. The crowd had to wait until 12 minutes before the end of an absorbing contest before the first goal was scored by Danny Invincibile. Six minutes later, a free-kick from Aberdeen midfielder Charlie Mulgrew was well saved by Mark Brown, but the goalkeeper could not gather the ball and Gary McDonald pounced to score against his former team.

St Johnstone finally ended their wait for a first league win this season with a richly-deserved 2-0 victory at Hamilton. A goal from Steven Anderson on his league debut and a stunning first for the club from Danny Grainger hauled promoted Saints off the foot of the table and above their opponents. Liam Craig struck the bar for Derek McInnes's team before they took a deserved lead on the stroke of half-time when Martin Hardie nodded Craig's corner across goal and Anderson headed in from close range. Grainger made it 2-0 when he cut in from the left and shot past Tomas Cerny.