With the dust settled on a very exciting opening weekend, a week has passed and Premiership football is back already. Another weekend filled with goals, drama, controversy, you name it, the Scottish Premiership is well and truly back.

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Dundee Vs Aberdeen 2-0

Going into this one, many would have favoured Aberdeen after their dramatic 2-1 win over Hearts. Few would’ve fancied Dundee, even after a very solid performance against Celtic on Monday. Yet, it would be The Dee who left Dens Park with all three points, putting in a great performance to defeat the Dons.

Just nine minutes in, Joe Westley latched onto a beautiful cross from Joe Bevan, expertly volleying it beyond Marius Müller into the far corner to open the scoring. Westley was gifted a golden opportunity minutes later by poor awareness from Aberdeen; however, he squandered his chance and fired it straight at Müller. Both teams came close in the latter stages of the first half, with Dan Happe’s headed effort tipped onto the bar by Dundee’s Owen Woodman, whilst Bevan forced a great save out of Müller.

Aberdeen started the second half with a penalty claim as Toyosi Olusanya clattered into Woodman on the touchline; however, referee Calum Scott waved away the calls from Aberdeen players. Bevan doubled The Dee’s lead, firing past Müller from the right side of the box with a well-taken half-volley. The goal would seal the win, with Aberdeen new boy Chris Cadden rattling the bar to come close but ultimately the Dons could not capitalise on chances.

If Dundee looked good against Celtic, they were brilliant against Aberdeen. A hard-fought win that they thoroughly deserved, with a great team performance to go along with it. Manager Stephen Pressley described it as “the proudest I’ve been after any Dundee performance since coming to this club.” Joe Bevan was the standout player with a great assist and a well-taken goal, as well as Owen Woodman, who stepped up with a couple of important saves from close range to keep an important clean sheet. They will take this win in their stride and face Aberdeen once again in the League Cup on Saturday.

Aberdeen were poor, with mistakes creating chances for Dundee throughout the game. They came close to scoring off a couple of corners but ultimately had limited chances to claw their way back into the game. Last week’s hero Kevin Nisbet was nowhere to be seen, registering just one shot on target. It proves a tough loss that highlights issues that were maybe plastered over by the win last week.

POTM: Joe Bevan. Brilliant assist and goal; came close to scoring other times throughout the match.

St. Mirren Vs St. Johnstone 1-0

Having both won their opening games in style, this was shaping up to be a game worth watching. St. Mirren played great football in a 2-0 win over Falkirk, whilst St. Johnstone scored four emphatically in a 4-3 win against Kilmarnock. It would ultimately be the Paisley side who came out on top in the ‘Battle of the Saints’.

A game that lacked clear-cut chances, the first came in the second half when St. Johnstone were awarded a penalty after Alex Gogic handled the ball in the box. Up stepped Jamie Gullan, who was denied brilliantly by Jacob Chapman. The Australian produced a brilliant diving save to his left to deny Gullan his first ever Premiership goal. St. Mirren were soon awarded a penalty of their own, as Samuel Ramos was brought down by Toby Steward in the area. Killian Phillips was on penalty duty, as he sent Steward the wrong way and placed it in the bottom left corner, sealing the win for the Paisley side.

St. Mirren finish the weekend second in the table as one of only two teams to pick up six points from six in their first two games, as well as being the only side to keep a clean sheet in both games. With many predicting them to go down this season, they have shown that they are here to fight, putting in a brilliant performance last week and a strong showing this week. They take a break from league play and face Rangers this coming Sunday in the League Cup.

St. Johnstone did not show much promise in terms of attacking threat, with their chances easily defended by St. Mirren. As they were knocked out in the league phase of the League Cup, they have a weekend off from football. Their next confirmed match is against Hearts on the 29th of this month, whilst they are waiting for their match against Celtic to be rescheduled due to Celtic’s Champions League playoff.

POTM: Killian Phillips. Stepped up when it mattered most and notched his third goal in two games.

Kilmarnock Vs Celtic 1-5

Kasper Høgh has arrived. Scotland’s record signing scored three goals in an emphatic win over Kilmarnock, bagging his hat-trick within 35 minutes at Rugby Park. Celtic came into this match off a close 1-0 win against Dundee at Celtic Park on Flag Day, whilst Kilmarnock lost painfully away at St. Johnstone, with the Saints hitting them for four.

Høgh opened the scoring just two minutes in, arriving at the far post to connect with an Arne Engels cross to fire a header past keeper Max Stryjek from close range. Both teams would have chances, with Auston Trusty making a goal-line clearance, whilst Kieran Tierney, Høgh and Engels would all force saves from Stryjek. Høgh would double his tally with a shot from 14 yards out that Stryjek should perhaps have dealt with better, before the Danish striker completed his hat trick two minutes later, again a header at the back post off of a Camilo Duran cross this time.

The second half started no better for Killie, as Stryjek gifted Benjamin Nygren a goal, passing straight to the Swede on the edge of the box who fired a curled effort into the top left corner of the net. Michael Schjønning-Larsen pulled one back for the hosts following a good run of play that he finished well, curling his shot along the ground into the far corner. It would be too little too late, however, and Luke McCowan sealed the win with a goal 15 minutes from time.

Without Martin O’Neill on the sideline due to a minor operation, Shaun Maloney was in charge for this one, and it’s fair to say both master and apprentice will be thrilled with this performance. It was a different Celtic side than the one that we saw scrape past Dundee, a team that was creating chances freely and was defensively solid. The main talking point is of course Høgh’s hat trick. It was a brilliant performance from the Dane, a proper striker’s performance and a sign of great things to come. It may be too early to tell but Høgh could be the missing piece that Celtic have missed ever since the departure of Kyogo Furahashi. Duran, Tierney, Engels and Nygren all played very well; overall a great win and it sets them up to take on Dundee United at Tannadice Park this Saturday.

Kilmarnock will be bitterly disappointed with the heavy loss. Their performance last week in Perth was decent; they were, however, let down by individual mistakes and poor defending. This week was no different, with individual mistakes gifting Nygren his goal, whilst the defending for Høgh’s second and McCowan’s goal could be argued to be very poor. They look to bounce back from a poor couple of results as they host bitter rivals Ayr United in Friday’s League Cup clash.

POTM: Kasper Høgh. A hat trick was always going to win this, looked very sharp and had excellent positioning all throughout.

Hearts Vs Dundee United 4-0

Hearts looked a shell of their former selves last week against Aberdeen, losing painfully in the last minute of the match, whilst Dundee United looked solid, taking a point from a clash against Rangers. The Edinburgh side were looking to redeem themselves from the previous performance, on top of a midweek 6-1 loss away to Benfica. And do that they did, putting four past United to win in style in their first league game at Tynecastle this season.

The scoring was opened just four minutes in, after Tom Renuad scored an absolute rocket past Jack Walton. Flying into the top left corner from around 30 yards out, it’s most definitely an early goal of the season contender. Renaud would be involved in Hearts’ second of the day, as he was pulled back and brought to ground in the box, which led to Kevin Clancy awarding a penalty after being called to the monitor by VAR. Calvin Miller fired it into the net to notch his first goal for Hearts, giving them a 2-0 lead. Claudio Braga came close to scoring his first of the season, hitting the post from 15 yards out.

He would not have to wait much longer, however, as he was fed the ball by Sabah Kerjota, taking one touch to his right then firing across goal, slipping it under Walton to give Hearts a comfortable 3-0 lead. It would only get worse for United, as Josh McPake opened his Hearts account from the left side of the box, curling a superb effort into the right-hand side of the goal. United’s only proper chance of the game derived from poor Hearts’ play, in which an outstretched Idjessi Metsoko could not quite reach a cross at the back post.

A perfect response to their late loss at Aberdeen, that looked like the Hearts side we saw for the majority of last season. Braga looked back to his best, whilst new boys Renaud, Miller and McPake all contributed with a goal. Whilst they are almost certainly out of contention for the Europa League due to their 6-1 loss away from home, this win will give a confidence boost to the team and especially to new manager Wouter Vrancken. They face Benfica at home on Thursday in the return leg, hosting Inverness Caley Thistle on Sunday in their second game of the week.

After a Dundee United performance that denied Rangers three points, this was a very disappointing performance. They offered little going forward, committed many silly mistakes such as the penalty given away, as well as registering no shots on target throughout the whole game. Overall, it was a very poor display which highlights just how much work is necessaru. Their fixtures do not get easier, as they host Celtic this Saturday in their League Cup match.

POTM: Claudio Braga. Provided two assists on top of his goal; looked like the star we saw last season.

Motherwell Vs Falkirk 0-0

Both Motherwell and Falkirk were surprise packages last season, with Motherwell challenging for third until the split, whilst Falkirk finished in the top 6 having only just been promoted the season before. Falkirk won this fixture three times last season, with the fourth game finishing 0-0. Both relatively evenly matched teams; both would leave Fir Park with a point.

Motherwell started the better side, with Tawanda Maswanhise having a shot blocked 6 yards out, whilst Ibrahim Said rattled the crossbar with a powerful shot just inside the box. Scott Bain rushed off his line to deny Lukas Fadinger after the Austrian was sent through by a lovely pass from Oscar Priestman. The second half provided little entertainment, with neither coming exceptionally close to scoring. Maswanhise fired a volley over the bar for Motherwell, whilst Ethan Ross registered Falkirk’s only shot on target, heading into Alex Paulsen’s hands. Falkirk finished the game the stronger of the two sides, but ultimately both could just not hit the target, firing shots high and wide.

In a game where both teams were wasteful, a point is a very fair result. Neither really looked like scoring, yet neither played particularly badly. Motherwell will be happy with four points from a possible six in a tough couple of opening fixtures. They now turn their attention to their second leg match at home against HJK, where they are currently drawing 1-1. Once that game is wrapped up, they face a trip away to Stenhousemuir, looking to book their place in the quarter-finals of the League Cup.

Falkirk will take the point and whilst last week’s result against St. Mirren was disappointing, they should be satisfied against a team some have tipped for third. Much like St. Johnstone, their next confirmed game is on the 29th of August against Celtic, due to being knocked out of the League Cup in its group stage. Their game against Hearts on August 22nd will need to be moved due to the Edinburgh side scheduled to play in Europe just two days before.

POTM: Oscar Priestman. Created a few chances and was notable in a game where nobody really stood out.

Rangers Vs Hibs 1-2

What. A. Game. Marred by a controversial penalty, own goals, and last-minute winners, this game had it all. With both looking to improve results after poor performances last weekend, it was Hibs who came out on top after an incredibly defensive performance, whilst Rangers dropped to 9th in the league table, leaving Derek McInnes without a win in all competitions as Rangers’ manager.

Both teams started the game well before the controversial penalty was awarded in the 10th minute following a VAR check. Jason Kerr appeared to be brought down by Rangers’ new boy Vanja Dragojevic, leading to Don Robertson being called over to the monitor after he initially allowed play to continue. The spot kick was awarded and Josh Campbell stepped up to coolly slot it past Ivor Pandur to give the Edinburgh side a 1-0 lead. For practically the rest of the game it was all Rangers, with Hibs resiliently defending their lead. In the first half, Rangers came close a few times, with Kayano Megwa denying Youcef Chermiti with a stunning goal-line clearance and Raphael Sallinger saving Tuur Rommen’s effort from 25 yards. Hibs, in turn, missed a couple of chances to finish the half, as Thibault Klidje’s left-footed shot floated over the bar, whilst Ante Šuto fired just wide to finish the half.

The second half was all Rangers. They came closest when Ryan Naderi was denied from close range by Sallinger, before Lawrence Shankland saw his effort heroically blocked by Adam Mayor. Rangers would break the deadlock in the 85th minute, capitalising on a sloppy pass by Felix Passlack, which allowed Djeidi Gassama to play a ball across the box, one that was turned into the Hibs’ net by Miguel Chaiwa. When all hope seemed lost, up stepped Callum Wright on his league debut, with his deflected shot edging past Pandur to send the away end into raptures and seal the three points for his side.

The biggest talking point of this game is, of course, the penalty awarded to Hibs. VAR called Don Robertson to the screen after a long passage of play, another reason as to why it is controversial. I think it is a very soft penalty to give, however one that I can see both sides of the argument. Whilst Kerr does go down rather easily and puts his hands on Dragojevic’s face, Dragojevic is also never looking at the ball and has both hands on Kerr, bringing him to ground. Initially it looked like a coming together of two players, yet when looked at more closely you can see why it has been given. Very soft, but understandable.

That was a statement win for Hibs. It was the first time in the club’s history that they have won away against either of the Old Firm three seasons in a row, a record that has been broken by David Gray. The pressure was on him before this game and that will certainly relieve it, especially with a resilient defensive performance like that. To a man, the players were brilliant, with players such as Kayano Megwa, Adam Mayor, Josh Mulligan (to name a few) having great games. Well deserved, and they now head to North Macedonia to face Shkendija in their Conference League qualifier second leg, before facing Partick Thistle in the upcoming League Cup fixture at home.

As for Rangers, it was very poor. They had ample chances to equalise earlier and whilst Hibs defended brilliantly, the Glasgow side should’ve put a couple of the chances away. It has been a rough start for Derek McInnes and with his team trailing 2-1 in their Europa League qualifier against Jagiellonia Białystok, the form will need to turn fast in order to keep the pressure off himself. They welcome the Polish side on Thursday in a must-win match, facing St. Mirren at home in their League Cup RO16 match on Sunday.

POTM: Kayano Megwa. Stepped up with a crucial goal-line clearance to deny Youcef Chermiti; overall, very solid play, an absolute gem of a player.

The Awards

Player Of The Week: Kasper Høgh

Game Of The Week: Rangers vs Hibs

Goal Of The Week: Tom Renaud vs Dundee United

Team Of The Week: Dundee