The weekend just gone was another action-packed chapter in the wonderful world of Scottish football.
Celtic beat rivals Rangers on penalties to lift the Scottish League Cup, while there were goals and storylines aplenty in the four Scottish Premiership fixtures.
Here are your thoughts on what went on…
League Cup final agony & ecstasy
Celtic fans were understandably pleased to win the season’s first trophy, despite thinking their team performed below their best.
Peter: Not our best performance but still, it’s trophy 119. A sign of a good team is digging out results when not playing well. Players gave everything. Great to see wee James Forrest get his 25th major title. What are the odds of him getting to 27 by May 2025? Onwards and upwards.
Steven: Celtic miles off the pace first half especially, defensive errors across the park. Rescued by our talented wingers Nicolas Kuhn and the ice-cold Daizen Maeda. Lots of lessons for Brendan Rodgers for the upcoming New Year trip across the city.
Michael: Cup final football, Celtic know how to stay calm and get the job over the line as they have dominated the Scottish game for the best part of 15 years. Rangers played well but don’t have the winning mentality.
Stephen: In the first half Celtic were very poor, in the second half we only really played our real football for 15 minutes. The bottom line is, Celtic were nowhere near their best and still won
Michael: We didn’t push them hard enough, too much playing backwards when we had the pace to get at them. Still, we’ll take the win. Well done Celtic, a great win, showed great strength and determination.
Hugh: It was a compelling and entertaining game and one of the most competitive Old Firm finals ever. However, let’s not get too carried away; Rangers played to their maximum potential and fell short, Celtic underperformed but again found a way to win. The next two transfer windows could determine who will be the dominant force for the next few years.
John: Cameron Carter-Vickers = player of the match. Four-vs-one? Not a problem. Tough game, Rangers are back playing better, they silenced Callum McGregor, and they silenced Kyogo but still can’t silence Daizen Maeda.
Rangers fans took positives from the defeat at Hampden.
Sally: Rangers played extremely well and were tactically sound. Nicolas Raskin kept Callum McGregor in check and Celtic’s play suffered for it. The players gave everything for the entire match and their commitment could not be faulted. Penalties are a lottery and any player could have missed one, sadly it was a Rangers player. They need to continue to play as a team.
Stephen: Gutted! We didn’t deserve it, but yet again Celtic get the breaks, who knows if Philippe Clement will ever beat Celtic!
Ronnie: We gave 100% and should have won the game. The four-vs-one was pivotal, not to score at that point ultimately cost us the final. The team has improved greatly in the past four weeks & we showed we can go toe to toe with Celtic. We must gather ourselves keep winning then beat them in the New Year derby. It’s a sore loss in a fantastic final.
Anon: Great performance at last. Maybe now those supporters will stop harping on about getting rid of Clement, appreciate the work that the manager is doing with the extremely limited budget and stop this nonsense about the likes of Derek McInnes coming in to replace Clement.
Brian: Firstly I must say what a cup final, two teams all out to win the cup. A great advert for Scottish football, but I have to say what a way to win or lose a cup final. I would like to see the golden goal rule coming in, I think that would be a better way to have a winner.
Fraser: A ray of hope for the New Year’s game, it was a sore way to lose with a poor penalty but Philippe Clement has now got something to build on, we can only hope he gets the backing from the board. Definitely our best Old Firm performance in over a year.
Tom: A draw was a fair result, both teams had good spells, so based on this game and the cup final last season you would expect Rangers to beat Celtic at Ibrox and for Celtic to win their home games, the gap between the teams isn’t that big but a poor start to the season means the league is over but long term we are on the right track.
Peter: Very proud of the performances put in by many players in the Rangers team. However, even though he’s saved us before, I think the reason we lost that cup final was down to Jack Butland. Just throwing yourself to the ground isn’t an ideal tactic to save penalties. I can see now how he’s only had nine caps for England.
Hibs climb table, plus wins for St Mirren, Motherwell & Kilmarnock
Hibernian climbed off the bottom of the Scottish Premiership table with a 3-1 home win against Ross County.
Matt: We were terrible for 40 minutes and pretty good for 50, which summarises the ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ nature of this team. A deserved and very big three points which rightfully lifts us off the foot of the table.
Stephen: We need to kick on from this, but we must be on it from kick-off. A better team would have put the game out of sight in the first half.
Kenny: This was a must-win game and it wasn’t pretty at times but we got the result. There are still some players not working hard enough when we don’t have the ball. We need to get points now in the next two games and hopefully we can strengthen the team in January. Pleased for David Gray.
Craig: A much-needed win but the scoreline flattered us massively. Too many times we were robbed of possession, too slow to play the pass and too greedy on the ball. That being said, it’s just great to get those three points on the board and I pray that the team take comfort in not being bottom and continue to push on. Now is the time to string some wins together!
Andy: First 20 minutes were concerning, it’s easy to turn up to Celtic Park with the pressure off but at home against Ross County, the pressure was on. Dwight Gayle used all his experience putting his body in the right position, he could prove a very good signing. We’re in a relegation battle, so a great three points.
Allan: Terrible game of football for both sets of fans but we’ve played better and not taken any points so it’s a welcome three points! The goal before half-time was needed and allowed us to kick on. Substitutions made an impact on the game for the right reasons. Ugly win but I’ll take that for the points and moving up the table.
Jordan: Very shaky start from Hibs but grew into the game and were comfortably the better side for the majority of the match. Elie Youan in particular looked much improved from recent weeks and took his penalty well under pressure.
John: Lack of courage and belief contributed to a bad start. Fortunate to be level at half-time but in the second 45, Hibs played much better and deserved the win.
Martin: Bit cagey at times and sometimes you have to win ugly. Three points are three points. The effort and camaraderie is the there to see. Look forward to what we add in January.
George: Got the win, but one to forget. Looked like nerves got the better of us, which is a shame given our last three performances. But, we turned it around second half, after a cheeky equaliser from two old pros, which is what we needed. Back to the drawing board again for Sir David in preparation for Pittodrie. At least Aberdeen won’t know which Hibs they are playing.
Motherwell overcame Dundee United in a seven-goal thriller at Fir Park.
Fraser: Lennon Miller bossed that game. It was frenetic at times with loose touches and loose balls but he made the difference. Great battling result for the Well and in the end deserved. Onto Killie and let’s have the same again. Good to see Stephen O’Donnell return.
Col: Stuart Kettlewell has certainly tweaked the formation towards a more attacking style in recent games and together with some players returning from injury our future looks a lot brighter.
Charlie: Yet again the manager answers his critics but it won’t silence them. There are fellow Well fans who still want a manager who is overachieving gone. It’s amazing.
William: Fantastic. Everyone played their part, they worked their socks off. Great win. Dundee United are a good team, we were better.
James: A decent performance. Four goals doesn’t happen too often. But to be harsh, win the ball, give it away. Have the ball, give it away. Still, a lot of encouraging signs. Some of Miller’s passing was tremendous. Hope Paul McGinn is back soon.
Ryan: Great win. I thought Apostolos Stamatelopoulos was excellent and could’ve scored a hat-trick if he had a bit more luck.
St Mirren got the better of St Johnstone in a topsy-turvy game in Perth.
Alistair: That sums up what it’s like supporting the Saints, ups and downs and never a dull moment. Congratulations to Evan Mooney for scoring the first of many, hopefully, in black and white.
Kilmarnock defied the odds to beat Hearts, despite playing for 90 minutes with 10 players.
James: I thought Joe Wright had his best performance for Killie – player of the match for me, although everyone else upped their game after sending off. A better result than the win against Rangers.
Wolfgang: I’m both angry and proud, it’s a weird feeling! On the one hand, another deserved red card which is pretty unforgivable, but on the other hand, we were the better side and the defence was spot on. Derek McInnes’ tactics were spot on for sure.
Anon: Tremendous effort from the players and manager, nobody wanted to take Bobby Wales off but unfortunately, that’s what had to be done.
Derek: Phenomenal team performance and a great result given the circumstances – but again, a completely reckless red card that could so easily have cost us points against better opposition. The contrast between yet another moment of individual madness, and the discipline and composure shown by the rest of the team is maddening. How do we get consistency?
Anon: Great performance from the lads but once again we are left to play the game with 10 men. Don’t know the record for most red cards in a season but I think we are trying to beat it.
Hearts rooted to bottom, while St Johnstone, United & County also lose
Hearts underwhelming season continued at Rugby Park as defeat left them bottom of the table, and fans are concerned by the club’s direction.
Robert: Where has the pride of wearing the Hearts top gone? And I have to be honest about what I’ve seen, or should I say NOT seen in the managers’ style and tactics. Our strikers are missing in action, the question is… is it the strikers or the tactics?
Jim: How long are the board going to give Neil Critchley? He was meant to get more from the players, not less. We are going down without a fight.
Keith: That was dire. No intensity. No pace. No quality. No clue.
George: That performance was absolutely abysmal, the players need to have a good think to themselves. I’m tired of all the excuses.
Anon: The players should be ashamed of themselves after that performance. An embarrassment to the jersey.
Brian: As much as I don’t want to admit it Hearts are absolutely relegation material. I just can’t see them staying up on performances like that.
Chris: Brutal to watch. Just brutal. No passion. No energy. No matchwinners. Kilmarnock could have and should have won by more. Can’t differentiate between a Robbie Neilson, Steven Naismith and Critchley team just now. I’m dreading Thursday.
Chris: That was the worst performance of the season and that’s saying something. The team is going backwards and I feel for Critchley who has inherited a dreadful squad. Relegation is a real possibility.
Aldo: So poor in all departments. We missed Frankie Kent, abysmal up top again, massive changes required to avoid the drop.
Keith: We are soft, have no character, lack any leaders on the pitch and the failure to properly invest in better quality players at the end of last season points to the wider club management. Bottom of the league with the third-largest budget is ludicrous, Critchley must be bemused at the mess he’s inherited
Ross County went in front at Easter Road, but ultimately fell to a 3-1 defeat.
Alistair: Our season will not be defined by results against the Old Firm, I keep hearing and reading. What about getting thrashed by the team that has been bottom of the league all season? Does that help define our season?
Rick: I don’t get angry often at County. I am aware of our limitations, but that was infuriating! Amateur defending and we are missing Ross Laidlaw, another relegation battle lies in wait.
Dundee United fans were left bemused by refereeing decisions against Motherwell.
John: Losing 4-3 to a team that lost 3-0 to Hibs a fortnight ago is embarrassing. Emmanuel Adegboyega is a disaster waiting to happen every week. He is OK going forward but messes up too often.
Jamie: Yes, in the St Mirren game we had decisions that we benefitted from and got three points. However, in this game there was a blatant handball assist for Motherwell’s winning goal. Another point, potentially three lost due to inept officiating. An utter disgrace.
Jamie: Another loss to Lennon Miller FC, a one-man team if ever I’ve seen one. Also another atrocious refereeing performance. In the first half, I lost count of the Motherwell players throwing themselves to the floor at every opportunity.
Was Simo Valakari’s in-game management to blame for St Johnstone’s loss against St Mirren?
Sandy: Still a naivety up front, but naivety or lack of confidence pervades the whole team at times – the other Saints won the first half easy with some Perth players out of position, but there was certainly improvement in the second half.
Henri: Ignoring the poor refereeing decisions, to go 2-1 up and still have four pretty tired attackers on the field is shocking. I understand Valakari was looking for a more attacking mindset, but only bringing one substitute on the entire match is pretty disappointing. Bringing on some more defensive players would have probably secured the three points.