Pat answers a Fir Park prayer . Motherwell 5 , Hibs 1 . ( half-time - 2-1 . ) delightful ! when Motherwell play like this that &apos;s the only possible way to describe them . and , glory be , they now have somebody to stick them in the net . sure , big Pat Delaney missed some pinches . about a dozen as a conservative estimate . but he scored three goals , laid on one , hit the post with a header , and had two more net-stretchers disallowed for infringements . so altogether you can say Jimmy Delaney &apos;s boy had a reasonably successful afternoon . there was a laugh before the start when &apos;Well skipper Willie McSeveney came out some 20 yards ahead of his team mates . it looked for a moment as if he were going to tackle Hibs single-handed . from the final score , you might think he could have done , at that . not so . until they were latterly demoralised by the jinking homesters , this was quite a good Hibs team . lack of forward cohesion was the rock on which they foundered . a Bobby Young goal disallowed for offside in the fifth minute set the game alight . but the first legitimate counter went to Hibs . Weir stopped a Stevenson shot , dropped it , then scooped it out straight to Preston , who drove home through a crowded goalmouth . a deft Delaney header from a McPhee cross restored equality . then came tragedy for Simpson , who had executed wonder saves from Hunter , Delaney , and McPhee . a long , down-the-middle ball eluded Preston and Delaney . Simpson ran out , completely missed his kick , and Delaney walked it home . after the turn &apos;Well ran riot . Roberts shivered the bar . shots flew everywhere around Simpson &apos;s goal . Delaney wrapped number three up in silver paper for McPhee . next Pat netted an offside one . then he sent Young off , and was in position to capitalise the youngster &apos;s cross . and in the last minute Pat rocketed home another , only to find the whistle had gone for a penalty for Baird fouling Quinn . Pat Quinn , as is his custom , made no mistake with the spot kick . Quinn has been called the little General . here he was a combination of Montgomery , Napoleon , Horrocks , and all the Generals you ever heard of . just a hair&apos;s-breadth behind was Willie Hunter . Thomson was a topper , too . and Delaney , of course . but &apos;Well really had n&apos;t a failure . the home crowd goosed Sammy Baird unmercifully for a few minor indiscretions . but Sam , along with Grant , Easton , and Simpson , was a real Hibs stalwart . yes , Simpson . never mind that second goal . crowd - 5500 . local boy makes good - with a hat-trick . Dunfermline Athletic 6 , Airdrie 2 . ( half-time - 1-0 . ) what a dream debut for young 19-year-old Jackie Sinclair ! playing his first league game before the home crowd , the ex-Blairhall junior , who lives in Dunfermline , scored a glorious hat-trick and fitted into the scheme of things perfectly . sure , he still has a bit to go - but one thing he can do is put the ball in the net , and that &apos;s good enough to go on with . take a good look at the names of the other goal-scorers . not a solitary from Messrs Charles Dickson and his inside-forward cronies . this is no criticism of the trio , but it illustrates how potentially good this Dunfermline team can be . it took them a long time to get the first goal , but the writing was always on the wall , and once they found the net there was no stopping them . two Airdrie goals within a minute of each other late in the second half jolted them , but that was all . these goals apart , all Airdrie had to offer was a stout-hearted defence and excellent sportsmanship . they were outmanoeuvred all along , but refused to go under and never stooped to a shady action . after a first half of frustration , young Sinclair showed the way . just on the half-time whistle he hit a Cunningham free-kick past Dempster close to the near post . after the interval , Miller scored the best goal of the game . over came a Melrose corner . the left-half ran a good 15 yards from around the penalty spot and his header flew into the net . two beauties . then George Peebles decided to take a hand . within five minutes he fired a couple of beauties into the net . Sinclair finished off the Dunfermline scoring . first he hit a left-footer cleanly into the net , and then sank a penalty like a veteran after Shanks had handled his first shot , which finished over the line . Storrie and Hinshelwood were the Airdrie scorers . both beat Connachan from around the 20-yard mark . no criticism of the Dunfermline defence - they were never stretched . all three halves were immense while the forward line , switching and changing , had a real field day . very few bouquets for Airdrie . say Johnstone , McNeil , and Newlands earned pass marks , and that &apos;s about it . crowd - 8000 . Clyde stage a fade-out . Albion Rovers 2 , Clyde 3 . ( half-time - 0-3 ) . for the first 15 minutes Clyde showed why they are favourites for a return to the big time . in that period they shattered Rovers &apos; defence with three snappy goals . but for the remaining 75 minutes they proceeded to show why they have faltered in recent weeks . slackness and complacency allowed Rovers to come right back into the picture with two good goals , and for the last 15 minutes Clyde were a worried lot . Leary stars . main reason for the sway of fortune centred round Dennis Leary , the Rovers &apos; pivot . after a disastrous start he found his feet , and from then on his wing halves , Harvey and McLure , got to grips with the attack , and the early Shawfield promise faded completely . McLaughlin capably led Clyde &apos;s attack in the early spell and had two good goals in 5 and 15 minutes . between times , big John Colrain , who finished limping on the wing , got the other goal - in the 7th minute . Stewart led the Coatbridge rally to score in the 72nd minute , and Livingstone made up the brace six minutes later . crowd - 1000 . United had their fans in a sweat . Dundee United 2 , Stirling Albion 0 . ( half-time - 0-0 . ) Albion look doomed for a slide back to the second grade . certainly they &apos;re already playing second division football . they were all triers , but they had no plan , no science , no cohesion , in fact , not a clue . and , worse still , they brought United down to the same dreadful level . some of the attempts at ball control and passing were positively ludicrous . for 81 minutes this hopeless spectacle shaped like a goalless draw because over-anxious United , with all the territorial advantage , did n&apos;t seem to know how to circumvent a desperate defence . first goal , in six minutes came for Albion from Rowan , but the winger was obviously offside . somewhat laboriously the Tannadice team built up attack after attack . there was little fluency in their movements , and certainly no finish . Carlyle and Gillespie missed inviting chances . then Neil Mochan tingled Jim Brown &apos;s fingers . again the goalie saved the Albion bacon when he fisted over a whizzer from Dennis Gillespie . the once-in-a-while Stirling raids came mainly through Kilgannon and Rowan , for not one of the inside trio measured up to anything like first division standard . the encouraging Tannadice howl had become a despairing och , come on , United groan before Tommy Neilson made the vocalists happy by beating Brown . like magic , the strain left the team . Mochan swerved a ball to Walter Carlyle five minutes later , and the centre settled the destination of the points . Gordon in form . good players were extremely scarce . Albion were well served by Brown and Weir in the rear . only Myles , Kilgannon , and Rowan made attacking sorties . of the home lot , Alex Brown was practically unemployed , Gordon the best back afield , Neilson the only half-back with any finesse , and Gillespie the only real footballer in either front line . Bonar came by a knee injury and swopped wings with Mochan . this did n&apos;t help to improve the game , which should be quickly forgotten . crowd - 7000 . tight defence foils Morton . Alloa 2 , Morton 1 . ( half-time - 1-0 . ) a hard game , with both sides giving everything they had . the Wasps had that extra sting , which earned them victory . for the first 20 minutes they were on top and Foley gave them a deserved lead . then Morton came more and more into the game , but had nothing to show for it . McKenna put Alloa further ahead in the second half in a breakaway raid . but Easson cancelled that seven minutes later . from then it was a question of whether Morton could equalise . they might have , but poor finishing robbed them of goals . and they were foiled by a watertight home defence . Hodge , E Docherty , Vint , and J Docherty all deserve mention for Alloa with Smith outstanding at centre-forward . for Morton , Boyd , Franks , and Cowie stood out in a hard , fighting combine , and Jackie Ferguson and Allan McGraw can fly back to Germany feeling they did n&apos;t let the side down either . crowd - 2000 . test match record . after Ted Dexter had won the toss , England &apos;s opening pair , Geoff Pullar and Peter Richardson , gave them a fine start in the first test against India at Bombay with an opening partnership of 159 . this beat the previous best opening against India - 146 by Pullar and Gilbert Parkhouse at Leeds in 1959 . by the close of play England had scored 288 for the loss of three wickets . then up popped Patterson . Montrose 2 , Queen of the South 3 . ( half-time - 2-0 ) . Montrose sacrificed everything in a bid for two points which would have hoisted them into second place . having taken two first-half goals , they sat back with that what we have we hold attitude . what a mistake it proved to be . in seven minutes Queen&apos;s transformed things . big Jim Patterson banged in a goal eight minutes from time . three minutes later he nodded in another for the equaliser . then McMillan and Martin pulled off a dramatic winner between them . what was the Montrose defence doing all this time ? the three goals followed the same pattern - crosses from the wings . first two were from corner kicks . all three might have been cleared . but if the home supporters became critical over the defence they should really lambast those forwards who were shot-shy against a strong Queens defence starring McTurk and Rugg . take Frank Sandeman out of the attack - especially second half - and there would not have been a try from the lot of them . Queens had some excuse in that Patterson - delayed in arrival because of fog - was obviously not fully fit . he pottered about on the right wing for 85 minutes and did all the damage in that three-minute burst . until then Phil Grieve scarcely had a save . crowd - 2000 . fighting Forfar . Forfar 2 Berwick Ran 2 . half-time - 1-2 . Bobby Legge , the ex-Buckie Thistle inside forward , made an impressive home debut for Forfar . in addition to clever leading-out work Bobby , though obviously short of a gallop , scored the goal that brought his side a point . Forfar were the more impressive side in the first half , when Ross put them ahead in five minutes . their forward line cut the Berwick defence to ribbons , but could not get another goal , and gradually Rangers came more and more into the picture . McCulloch ( twice ) and Imrie both went close before the game took a dramatic turn in their favour . in an innocuous-looking attack Knox , on the goal-line , was adjudged to have handled . right-half Smith banged home the penalty . he did the same three minutes later when McCulloch , tearing through , was downed by Berrie . to Forfar &apos;s credit , they tightened up sufficiently to come back fighting 20 minutes from the end . in an all-out attack Legge rammed home the equaliser . Berwick carried most danger in their left wing . Forfar &apos;s forward line , good in the first half , tapered off after the interval . crowd - 1000 . Stranraer dominate . Stranraer 4 , Brechin City 0 . ( half-time - 1-0 . ) Brechin tried hard , but there was only one team in it . Stranraer dominated throughout , and only forward failings deprived them of at least another four goals . what little football there was , Stranraer played it . 