Scottish Premiership round-up: Last-gasp Killie inflict latest Celtic blow

Celtic slip-up

David Watson's dramatic injury-time equaliser for Kilmarnock over the weekend dealt another blow to Celtic's Premiership title charge this season.

The Celts, in a decent run of form by most standards, have taken 11 points from a possible 15 this calendar year.

Kilmarnock have been a thorn in the side of Brendan Rodgers' team of late - knocking them out of the League Cup and delivering their first league defeat of the season in December.

As for the title race with Rangers, Celtic desperately need to find ways to turn stalemates into victories and better manage their energy levels.

Too often this season - particularly so since the turn of 2024 - the Celts have dropped their guard in the second-half of matches.

Since beating Rangers on December 30th, Celtic have scored five goals in the first period of their games (5) and conceded zero.

But in the second-half of each of those matches, they've managed three goals and - crucially - conceded just as many as they've scored (3).

Celtic's next two Premiership fixtures are against Motherwell and Dundee FC, so perhaps they can buck the trend in the next week or so.

Rangers leapfrog

Rangers, who are now on a seven-match winning streak, leapfrogged bitter rivals Celtic after beating St Johnstone 3-0 away from home.

It was yet another convincing win for the Gers and it would not be a shock to see them continue their fine form and put a bit of breathing room between first and second.

That said, with just two points in it, Rangers know their neighbours could leapfrog them if just one result doesn't go their way as the tables have now turned.

Up next for Philippe Clement's side are Hearts and Kilmarnock, both of whom will certainly put up a good fight, so don't be too surprised if Celtic soon reinstate their place at the summit.

Rangers finally jumping over Celtic after edging closer and threatening to do so for a number of weeks may be the thing to put the Celts back into gear.

But with fate now in their own hands, it matters very little if the Gers continue their relentless winning streak.

'VAR? I don't believe it'

Aberdeen manager Neil Warnock aired his dissatisfaction with VAR technology after his side's 3-3 draw with Motherwell last week.

The Dons were 3-0 down after half-an-hour, but were able to turn things around in impressive fashion before the first-half ended to go in at the break 3-2 down.

Bojan Miovski thought he had scored the winner for Aberdeen in the second period, but his effort was ruled out after a VAR review.

Somewhat jovially, Warnock suggested the VAR officials must be using the same computers as those involved in the British Post Office scandal.

“VAR? I don’t believe it,” he said. “...VAR is a computer, I think it’s the Horizon computer. You can’t tell me that’s offside. I’ve seen the lines, I don’t believe it’s offside."

To be fair to Warnock, it was a tight call and such margins for error are a big instigator in the often heated discourse around VAR technology and its implementation.

That aside, the six-goal thriller was a wonderful advertisement for Scottish football.

Alas, it being a draw and Aberdeen's subsequent 2-2 stalemate with Hibernian means Warnock's wait for a first Premiership win goes on.