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After the fifth round of matches in the Scottish Premier League, the sole leader Edinburgh Hearts continue to maintain their unbeaten record - this time the capital club managed to beat Motherwell quite easily, with Lithuanian Edgaras Jankauskas scoring the winning goal.
For Hearts, E. Jankauskas and S. Mikoliunas started the game, while D. Cesnauskis, as usual this season, watched the match from the bench. The hosts started the game actively, with P. Hartley and R. Bednar having scoring opportunities, while the visitors responded with a dangerous attack from S. Macdonald.
The first shot by E. Jankauskas from distance was saved by the goalkeeper, and a header from S. Pressley went wide. Hearts took the lead in the 40th minute when R. Skacel received a pass from S. Mikoliunas, burst into the penalty area, and sent the ball into the net.
After the break, S. Mikoliunas was replaced by S. Simmons. E. Jankauskas' shot after an hour was saved by the goalkeeper, but the striker managed to score after ten minutes when Fyssas passed the ball into the penalty area and the Lithuanian deceived the defender with a shot from a few meters out.
However, with Edinburgh easing off, J. Brellier committed a foul against J. Hamilton in the penalty area in the 75th minute. Motherwell earned a penalty, which was converted by R. Foran. In the last minute of the match, the visitors almost equalized, but Hearts were saved by the goalkeeper C. Gordon's excellent performance.
Another sensational victory was achieved at Glasgow's Ibrox Stadium by another Edinburgh club, Hibernian, who crushed the defending champions Rangers 3-0. All three goals for the winners were scored by I. Sproule in the last 23 minutes. After this setback, Rangers are now six points behind the leaders, Hearts.
In second place now is Kilmarnock, who thrashed the league's bottom team, Livingston, thanks to C. Nish's hat-trick in the first half. Aberdeen also secured a crushing victory with a three-goal margin against Falkirk at home. J. Smith scored two goals for the hosts, and C. Clark added one.
League table
Saturday's results
3 - 0
3' [1 - 0] Jamie Smith
22' [2 - 0] Jamie Smith
33' [3 - 0] Chris Clark
2 - 1
41' [1 - 0] Rudi Skacel
70' [2 - 0] Edgaras Jankauskas
76' [2 - 1] Richie Foran (11m.)
3 - 0
28' [1 - 0] Colin Nish
35' [2 - 0] Colin Nish
43' [3 - 0] Colin Nish
0 - 3
67' [0 - 1] Ivan Sproule
86' [0 - 2] Ivan Sproule
90' [0 - 3] Ivan Sproule
