Georgios Samaras notched either side of an Aiden McGeady strike to propel the home side to an easy win over the Lanarkshire men.

Substitute Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, on for Scott McDonald, grabbed his first goal since September with seven minutes remaining to pile the pressure on crisis club Rangers, who travel to Falkirk on Sunday.

Striker Calum Elliot capped his return to the first team with a match-winning brace as Hearts came from behind to extend their lead in third place with a 3-1 victory over Kilmarnock.

Kilmarnock took the lead in the eighth minute through Danny Invincibile but Elliot struck twice before the interval.

Bruno Aguiar extended the hosts' lead five minutes after the restart with a close-range finish before hitting a penalty against the post.

Substitute David Goodwillie grabbed a dramatic late equaliser to earn Dundee United a 2-2 draw against Hibernian.

Hibs appeared to be cruising to victory at Tannadice when Colin Nish netted twice in a blistering four-minute spell, before Craig Conway missed from the penalty spot for United.

But Garry Kenneth hauled the home side back into the match early in the second half before Goodwillie came off the bench to have the final say with a last-gasp equaliser.

Chris Maguire carried his Scotland Under-21 form into the SPL to rescue a 1-1 draw for a below-par Aberdeen at Motherwell.

Jim O'Brien's first goal for the Fir Park outfit gave them an early lead which looked comfortable until Maguire lashed home a 68th-minute equaliser.

Aberdeen soon had Andrew Considine sent off for a second booking but Motherwell created less chances against 10 men than they did against the full complement.

Inverness came from behind to beat St Mirren 2-1 to pick up three precious points in their quest to escape relegation.

The visitors took the lead after only seven minutes when Andy Dorman pounced on a loose pass from Lionel Djebi-Zadi to slot the ball past Michael Fraser.

However, Caley equalised just before the break in spectacular fashion with Filipe Morais rounding off a superb team move with an accurate finish from distance.

The Portuguese grabbed a second soon after the break with a low strike from the edge of the box.

The result means Caley leapfrog St Mirren at the bottom of the table, although Gus MacPherson's side have a game in hand.