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Two matches on the first day of the New Year marked the 23rd round of the Scottish Premier League. Among the teams at the bottom of the standings, Dundee Utd triumphed over Falkirk as visitors and Inverness defeated St. Mirren at home.
Before the start of the round, Dundee Utd and Falkirk had the same number of points, so a victory for one of the teams could help them climb higher. Playing at home, Dundee Utd fell behind after Patrick Cregg converted a penalty, but Barry Robson equalized with a header in the 41st minute. Just before the break, Stephen O'Donnell restored Falkirk's lead.
The second half belonged to Alan Gow - Falkirk's striker took over as the team's attacking leader from the league's top scorer Anthony Stokes, who returned to London Arsenal after his loan contract expired and scored three goals to secure Falkirk's crushing victory away.
Following this triumph, Falkirk shares 6th-7th place with Kilmarnock with 30 points, while Dundee Utd and Inverness have 27 points each, with Inverness defeating St. Mirren at home. Graham Bayne and Dennis Wyness scored two quick goals for the hosts, but Kirk Broadfoot reduced the deficit for the visitors in the 77th minute. At the end of the match, Inverness almost let victory slip away as St. Mirren's Mark Corcoran hit the crossbar.
The remaining matches of the round will take place on Tuesday - league leader Glasgow Celtic will host Kilmarnock, Glasgow Rangers will play away against Motherwell, Hearts will travel to face Dunfermline, and in one of the most interesting matches, Hibernian will compete against second-placed Aberdeen.
Monday's 23rd round match results:
Dundee Utd 1 - 5 Falkirk
17' [0 - 1] Patrick Cregg (11m.)
41' [1 - 1] Barry Robson
45' [1 - 2] Stephen O'Donnell
64' [1 - 3] Alan Gow
76' [1 - 4] Alan Gow
89' [1 - 5] Alan Gow
Inverness CT 2 - 1 St. Mirren
5' [1 - 0] Graham Bayne
22' [2 - 0] Denis Wyness
77' [2 - 1] Kirk Broadfoot
