Scottish Premier League wrap: Celtic widen gap

Celtic won 2-0 at strugglers Dundee to extend their lead atop the Scottish Premier League table to seven points on Wednesday.

Neil Lennon’s side took advantage of a slip-up from the second-placed Inverness CT – who were held to a 2-2 home draw by St Mirren earlier in the day – to kick further clear.

Celtic entered the match on the back of five consecutive wins and against the league’s bottom side, they were expected to win easily.

Greek striker Georgios Samaras gave them the lead after 17 minutes before red-hot striker Gary Hooper netted his fourth goal in three matches in the second half.

Hooper’s 71st-minute strike was enough to secure victory for Celtic, who are one of the last 16 clubs in this season’s UEFA Champions League.

Inverness had to come from behind twice to even get a point against St Mirren, with Andrew Shinnie initially levelling proceedings after Dougie Imrie put the visitors in front just two minutes in.

Steven Thompson restored St Mirren’s lead on 55 minutes but Irishman Richie Foran ensured both sides would share the spoils with his equaliser.

Motherwell moved to third with a 4-1 home win over Aberdeen, which came thanks to an excellent first half.

Jamie Murphy bagged a double in the opening 45 minutes while Tom Hateley also got on the scoresheet before Michael Higdon added polish to the scoreline with his effort just after the break.

Jonathan Hayes scored a consolation for the losers, who have lost four of their past five matches.

Other results saw Ross County win 1-0 at Hibernian while Kilmarnock defeated Hearts by the same scoreline and Dundee United drew 1-1 with St Johnstone.