SPL round-up:Andrius Velicka was an unlikely hero as he helped Rangers blow the Scottish title race wide open again with a 3-1 win over Motherwell.

The striker took full advantage of only his third start of the season by opening the scoring at Ibrox but Kris Boyd refused to be outdone and helped himself to a double — bringing his tally for the season to 28 goals.

John Sutton provided Motherwell with a brief glimmer of hope but Rangers managed to secure the win which allowed them to move to within a single point of Celtic following the latter’s draw against Hearts earlier in the day.

Celtic had failed to build on their perfect start at Hearts as Bruno Aguiar’s spectacular free-kick dealt a blow to their title hopes.

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink took less than 30 seconds to continue his scoring spree when Janos Balogh fumbled his volley into the net.

But Aguiar curled home from 30 yards just after the half-hour mark and Celtic failed to reassert their control apart from a late flurry.

Aberdeen edged closer to third-placed Hearts with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over a dogged Inverness Caledonian Thistle which also secured the Dons a place in the top six.

Gary McDonald’s header from a Charlie Mulgrew free-kick after 79 minutes was enough to separate the sides in a disappointing contest where goalmouth action was at a premium.

However, the win was just the result Aberdeen boss Jimmy Calderwood would have been looking for with a section of the Red Army set to stage a protest against the current management regime after the game.

Elsewhere, Kevin Kyle stole the show with a hat-trick as Kilmarnock crushed Falkirk to claim their first league win of 2009. Kyle scored twice in the first half before completing his treble with six minutes remaining in the second.

The result eased the Ayrshire club’s relegation fears and left Falkirk languishing at the foot of the table.