Hearts maintained their six-point lead at the Scottish Premiership summit, despite playing 75 minutes of their 2-0 win over St. Mirren with 10 men.

Second-half goals from Lawrence Shankland and Tomas Magnusson sealed the victory for Derek McInnes' side, who had Beni Baningime sent off early on at Tynecastle.

Baningime saw red after just 15 minutes, with his initial yellow card for a high challenge on Roland Idowu upgraded by referee Kevin Clancy following a VAR review.

St. Mirren twice had the ball in the net as they looked to capitalise on their numerical advantage during the first half, but Idowu's effort and Harry Milne's own-goal were both ruled out for offside.

However, it was Hearts who broke through on the hour mark as Blair Spittal and Alexandros Kyziridis combined before finding Shankland, who scored his 11th league goal of the season.

And the hosts wrapped up the points 10 minutes from time, with Magnusson heading home a rebound after Milne was initially denied by St. Mirren goalkeeper Shamal George.

Meanwhile, Celtic remained within six points of the Scottish Premiership leaders, after edging out Falkirk 1-0.

The hosts looked the sharper of the two sides during the first half at Falkirk Stadium.

Yet, it was Martin O'Neill's side who opened the scoring in the 43rd minute, as Benjamin Nygren headed home his 10th league goal of the season.

Celtic were holding on towards the end. Kyrell Wilson poked wide after rounding Kasper Schmeichel, who also made a smart save to deny Ethan Williams with his feet and preserve the three points.

Data Debrief: McInnes maintains St. Mirren dominance

McInnes maintains his unbeaten streak against St. Mirren, having now managed 17 Scottish Premiership home matches without defeat (W10 D7).

Meanwhile, St. Mirren have lost all nine league matches this season in which they have conceded the opening goal.

Celtic have now won 20 of their last 21 league matches against promoted opponents (D1), while Falkirk have lost 14 of their last 16 meetings with the Hoops in all competitions.