5 things we learned from this weekend’s Scottish football action

Celtic and Inverness reached the semi-finals of the William Hill Scottish Cup on another action-packed weekend of Scottish football.

Rangers and Aberdeen will do battle again after a 1-1 draw at Pittodrie, while there were two important Ladbrokes Premiership encounters.

Here are five things we learned from the weekend’s action.

1. Celtic came through a tumultuous week unscathed

Some of the anger directed towards Brendan Rodgers following his sudden exit for Leicester stemmed from the timing as Celtic faced two difficult trips to Edinburgh having lost at each ground already this season. But, after maintaining their eight-point Premiership lead with a late win against Hearts on Wednesday before he had even taken a training session, new boss Neil Lennon guided the champions to a 2-0 win against former club Hibernian to keep their treble hopes alive.

2. Kilmarnock and Motherwell may as well have played in the fog

After a goalless game was abandoned halfway through on Wednesday, both teams were made to do it all again on Saturday. But still there were no goals as the game was played out in heavy rain and high winds.

3. There will be twists and turns at the bottom

St Mirren gave their survival hopes a huge lift with a 1-0 win over Livingston – their first league win since Christmas. The victory came after impressive away draws against Aberdeen and Hearts and closed the gap on Dundee, who recently went on a three-match unbeaten run themselves. With Hamilton winning at Pittodrie in midweek, all three teams look to have plenty of life left in their bid to beat the drop.

4. Inverness remain cup specialists

Caley Thistle have won the Scottish Cup and beaten Celtic an impressive three times in the tournament during their 25-year history as well as reaching a League Cup final. They will be back at Hampden this year after a last-gasp 2-1 win over Dundee United at Tannadice.

5. Rangers are confident of replay success

Steven Gerrard observed Aberdeen’s surface had not been rolled or cut since they trained on it on Saturday and commented that his side can play more like Rangers on their “bigger and better” pitch at Ibrox following their 1-1 draw. A second booking for Aberdeen top goalscorer Sam Cosgrove will also give Rangers a boost.