Scottish Championship round-up: Hibernian fall to third straight defeat

Hibernian fell further behind leaders Rangers in the Scottish Championship, after they fell to a third straight defeat at the hands of Queen of the South.

Alan Stubbs saw his side beaten 1-0 at Palmerston, a result that now means they trail Rangers by 14 points, after Mark Warburton's men comfortably defeated Raith 2-0 at Ibrox.

The result follows Saturday's 3-2 defeat at Dumbarton and a 3-0 defeat by Morton last Wednesday.

It was a late goal from a Rangers loanee that won it for Queens. Midfielder Andy Murdoch netting his first goal for the club, finding space in the box before firing a powerful shot past Mark Oxley.

Hibs had their chances in this one, with goalkeeper Robbie Thomson making a string of saves to keep out Jason Cummings, Anthony Stokes and John McGinn.

That result meant that Falkirk could have overtaken Hibernian in second place with a win at St Mirren, but were unable to find the net as the sides played out a 0-0 draw.

Seventh-placed St Mirren had the best of the first-half, with Jack Baird coming close with a header and Jordan Stewart firing just wide of the far post in the early stages.

Stevie Mallan then missed a great chance for the hosts, firing over from just outside the area after Falkirk goalkeeper Danny Rogers had saved from Lawrence Shankland.

Falkirk grew into the game as the first-half entered its final stages, although St Mirren felt they should have had a penalty when David Clarkson went down under the challenge of Aaron Muirhead.

The second-half was more evenly contested, with both sides missing good opportunities soon after the restart.  First, Saints had Lawrence Shankland's effort cleared off the line by Luke Leahy, before Craig Sibbald rattled the crossbar for Falkirk at the other end.

Neither side was able to create another clear opening as it finished 0-0, a result that moves Falkirk just one point behind Hibernian.

Elsewhere, it was also a 0-0 draw between Livingston and Morton at the Tony Macaroni Arena.

In a game devoid of too many good openings, Jordan White came closest for Livingston in the first-half. Just before the break, White latched onto Daniel Mullen's pass, before firing over the bar.

Morton had the best chance of the second period, but Paul McMullan was unable to beat goalkeeper Mark McCallum, who saved well to his left.

The result sees Morton drop to sixth, while Livingston move nine points clear of Alloa at the bottom of the table.

However, Alloa did not get a chance to close the gap on Livi, after their game at Dumbarton was postponed in the afternoon due to a waterlogged pitch.