Morten Rasmussen came off the bench to net the winner midway through the second half as Celtic beat Hamilton Accies 1-0 in the lunchtime clash at New Douglas Park.
Marc-Antoine Fortune saw his late penalty saved by Tomas Cerny as the ex-Brondy hitman's goal proved enough. The result leaves Tony Mowbray's men 10 points off the pace but they can cut the gap to seven by beating Kilmarnock in a rearranged game on Tuesday.
Rangers remain clear at the top thanks to a 3-0 victory over bottom club Falkirk at Ibrox. A superb Steven Davis free-kick gave Walter Smith's men - unbeaten at home in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League - an interval lead and John Fleck and Steven Whittaker struck in the second period.
Craig Brown continues to enjoy a great run with Motherwell. They beat Aberdeen 3-0 at Pittodrie to secure a fourth successive SPL shut-out and move up to fifth in the table. John Sutton's double and Lukas Jutkiewicz goal made it a day to remember for Well in the North East.
Third-placed Hibernian left it late to clinch a 2-1 Easter Road victory over St Mirren. Sol Bamba's early own goal had Saints in front but Liam Miller levelled before the break and an injury-time own goal from Jack Ross consigned the Paisley club to a seventh successive away defeat.
Kilmarnock and Dundee United were involved in an incredible 4-4 draw at Rugby Park. Killie had failed to score in five SPL matches but Simon Ford and Kevin Kyle netted before the break. United led 3-2 at that point thanks to goals from Craig Conway (2) and Prince Buaben but required a Jon Daly penalty to salvage a point after Manuel Pascali and Craig Bryson had the hosts 4-3 ahead.
Kenny Deuchar's first league goal of the season was enough to give St Johnstone a 1-0 win over Hearts at McDiarmid Park as Jim Jefferies suffered a defeat in his first match in charge. Derek McInnes' men, promoted last term, are now nine points clear of Falkirk with a game in hand.
Clydesdale Bank Premier League table and statistics
Aberdeen v Motherwell info plus SPL news and transfer ins and outs
Aberdeen are hopeful that this afternoon's Clydesdale Bank Premier League match with Motherwell will go ahead at Pittodrie as scheduled despite the wintry conditions.
The pitch is free of snow and the club are working hard to clear the stands and concourse areas.
SPL news 31st Jan 2010--
Jefferies back at Hearts
Jim Jefferies has tonight been named as the new manager of Hearts following the departure of Csaba Laszlo earlier today. His first game is away to St Johnstone on Saturday.
Laszlo had been in charge for 18 months and guided the club to third place in the SPL last season, with Hearts set to take on St Mirren on Tuesday for a place in the League Cup final.
Jefferies, who left Kilmarnock earlier this month after eight years at the helm, returns to Tynecastle where he spent many years as a player and won the Scottish Cup as manager in 1998.
He told the Hearts website: "Everyone knows the affection I have got for the club. I didn't give it any thought until I got the call this afternoon. The discussions went well and I know how things work in the club - it is just a fantastic feeling to be back involved at the club again.
"We're in the top half and we're in a cup semi-final. It is very positive. It is not often a manager can come back and it has been nine years. Hopefully we can use the experience gained in that time. Although I am a bit older, the passion is still there for this club."
Managerial factfile - current SPL bosses
Busy day of ins and outs
There were several comings and goings in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League on Friday ahead of the closure of the transfer window at midnight on Monday.
Rangers striker Rory Loy (pictured) has joined St Mirren on loan until the end of the season and Buddies boss Gus MacPherson said: "We were down to three strikers. Rory is a young, talented striker with a lot of pace and we believe he can add something to the squad."
Full-back Brian Easton has rejoined Hamilton Accies on loan from Burnley, whose manager Brian Laws said: "He is a player who has got a good future ahead of him and it's important he gets as many games as he can." Striker Joel Thomas has also returned to New Douglas Park on loan to the end of the season, moving north from Colchester United.
There were two notable departures from Celtic. Stephen McManus has joined former boss Gordon Strachan on loan at Middlesbrough while full-back Danny Fox has signed for Burnley.
Rangers midfielder Pedro Mendes is close to joining Sporting Lisbon and Jerome Rothen has left the club. Manager Walter Smith said: "I would hope a little bit of money would be freed up. The one area that's causing a bit of a problem more than anything else is in the wider areas."
Jan transfer window singings
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