Dunfermline demoted, Celtic beat Aberdeen

Champions Celtic beat Aberdeen 2-1 yesterday with a double from Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink in their final home encounter in the Scottish Premier League.

Vennegoor of Hesselink put Celtic in front after keeper Jamie Langfield could only parry Derek Riordan's shot towards him at the back post in the 33rd minute.

Aberdeen's Jamie Smith had a penalty saved five minutes later by Artur Boruc but Darren Mackie levelled with a fierce low shot from 16 metres.

Celtic surged ahead again when Vennegoor of Hesselink caught out Langfield with a deft back-heeled shot from eight metres just after the interval.

Celtic top the SPL standings with 84 points from 37 games.

At the other end of the table St Mirren won 3-2 at Motherwell to avoid relegation after Dunfermline lost 2-1 at Inverness Caledonian Thistle to go down.

St Mirren are 11th in the 12-team league with 36 points while Dunfermline are bottom with 32 with one match left.

In the battle for a UEFA Cup place, Hearts swept aside Hibernian 2-0 in the Edinburgh derby to close the gap on third-placed Aberdeen. Czech Republic striker Michal Pospisil gave Hearts a dream start after just 24 seconds with an angled 12-metre shot from the left of the box.

Andy Driver capitalised on a blunder by keeper Andy McNeil in the 23rd minute and volleyed home into an empty net.

Hearts have 61 points from 37 games and trail Aberdeen by a point.