Rangers Close on Celtic as Storm-Hit Scottish Saturday Delivers Goals and Drama

Rangers beat ten-man St Johnstone on Saturday to move within one point of Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership, the country's top division. BBC Sport reported the win, which came with Derek McInnes in charge of Rangers.

It was a day of big results right across the country, and it was not an easy one to play. Strong winds and rain have been the talking point all week. A storm was forecast to bring gusts of up to 80mph, which the Daily Record warned could cause major disruption to the fixture list. Some matches were called off or postponed, and the ones that went ahead were played in tough conditions.

Dundee United came out on top in a five-goal thriller against Aberdeen. Goals flew in both directions, and the Tannadice crowd got the kind of game that stays in the memory long after the final whistle.

St Mirren ended a winless run by beating Dundee. For a side that had gone a while without a victory, the three points will feel like a weight lifted. Falkirk also picked up a win, beating Kilmarnock with the help of two own goals. An own goal is when a player accidentally puts the ball into his own net, and it still counts for the team that benefits.

Lower down the pyramid, Hamilton Academical played East Fife in a Scottish League One match, the third tier of the Scottish game. The match was played at New Douglas Park in front of a crowd of 570, according to the BBC's live coverage. Small crowds and plain stadiums are the heart of the game in Scotland, and a Saturday like this one shows how much the weather can change the plans of every club, big or small.

The story did not end when the games did. BBC Sounds has released a 45-minute Radio Scotland programme, Sportsound, called "A stormy Saturday of Scottish football". It features reaction from managers to a day that was stormy both on the pitch and off it. The episode describes wins for Dundee United, Falkirk, Rangers and St Mirren, and it is a useful listen for anyone who missed the action.

For Rangers, the next few weeks matter. A point separates them from the leaders, and every league table in the country is built one result at a time. For the teams at the bottom, Saturday was a reminder that a single afternoon can change a season. Winning in a gale is never simple, and the sides that managed it will know exactly what they achieved.