SPL round-up: Lee McCulloch's double secured a 2-1 win for Rangers over Hearts at Ibrox in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, moving them to within two points of leaders Celtic who play Inverness on Sunday.
Rangers were determined to make amends for the midweek Champions League exit to Lyon and McCulloch set the ball rolling with an early opener against the Tynecastle side.
Hearts then hit back through Andrius Velicka but they were sent back to Edinburgh empty-handed when McCulloch claimed his second of the day with just four minutes to go.
Motherwell secured their fifth consecutive SPL victory with a 3-0 success over Aberdeen thanks to a slick display of attacking football at Fir Park.
Mark McGhee's in-form team showed why they were so keen to reject Aberdeen's plea to postpone the match ahead of their Uefa Cup decider against Copenhagen as Ross McCormack and Steven McGarry scored within 12 minutes.
McCormack killed the game off just before the interval and Motherwell could have added to their tally despite Aberdeen's second-half improvement.
Falkirk striker Graham Barrett struck late on to rescue a well-deserved point against Hibernian in a 1-1 draw at Easter Road.
The Republic of Ireland international found the net from 25 yards to cancel out Clayton Donaldson's controversial first-half penalty.
The hosts had taken the lead from 12 yards after the main stand assistant referee, not referee Iain Brines, flagged for a foul by Dean Holden on Thierry Gathuessi inside the box.
Dundee United bounced back from successive defeats with a comfortable 3-0 victory over 10-man St Mirren.
But Craig Levein's men left it until the second half before rising above the mediocre standard of play on show at Love Street.
Goals from David Robertson, Noel Hunt and Willo Flood consigned the Buddies to their second home defeat on the spin.
In the day's final match Kilmarnock and Gretna played out a 3-3 draw in a pulsating match at Rugby Park.
Three times Gretna took the lead against a patched-up home side, but Killie hit back on each occasion to deny the visitors their first away win in the SPL.
However Gretna's first visit to Kilmarnock did earn them only their second away point of the season.
