##  Late Palma strike sinks St Mirren as Celtic celebrate SPL triumph on final day 

Luis Palma struck a late winner as champions Celtic twice came from behind to see off St Mirren 3-2 on the final day of the Scottish Premiership season.

It was a day of celebrations at Celtic Park for Brendan Rodgers' side, who wrapped up their third successive domestic title in midweek.

However, St Mirren threatened to spoil the party when Mark O'Hara fired them in front after just seven minutes.

Top scorer Matt O'Riley equalised for the hosts in the 21st minute, but they fell behind again just five minutes later when O'Hara doubled his tally from the penalty spot after Stephen Welsh fouled Toyosi Olusanya.

Kyogo Furuhashi levelled for Celtic before half-time, and the Hoops completed the turnaround with Palma scored the winner with four minutes remaining.

Rodgers' side finished eight points clear of second-place Rangers, who were held to a 3-3 draw by Hearts.

Despite falling behind to Lawrence Shankland's strike, goals from Ross McCausland, Todd Cantwell and Fabio Silva seemingly had the visitors on course for a comfortable win at Tynecastle.

However, there was to be a late twist with Dexter Lembikisa pulling a goal back in the 82nd minute, before Kyosuke Tagawa struck deep into stoppage time to rescue a point for the hosts.

There was also nothing to separate Dundee and Kilmarnock, who drew 1-1 in the other match on the final day.

Luke McCowan cancelled out Gary Mackay-Steven's earlier effort, though the Dundee captain squandered a glorious opportunity to complete the turnaround when he missed a penalty two minutes from time.

##  Marley Watkins guarantees top-six finish for Kilmarnock with equaliser at Hearts 

Marley Watkins scored a stunning second-half equaliser as Kilmarnock guaranteed their place in the top six of the cinch Premiership with a 1-1 draw away to Hearts.

The hosts seized the initiative early on when Kenneth Vargas nodded home the opener at the end of a week in which it was confirmed that the Costa Rica forward – initially signed on loan – had agreed a five-year contract with the Tynecastle club.

However, Killie hit back for a point in an entertaining match that could have gone either way.

The result ensured the fourth-placed Ayrshire side – who remain 11 points behind third-placed Hearts – cannot be overtaken by seventh-placed Hibernian before the league splits next month.

Hearts made four changes to the team that started the 2-1 defeat at Ross County prior to the international break as Kye Rowles, Toby Sibbick, Nathaniel Atkinson and Aidan Denholm made way for Frankie Kent, Dexter Lembikisa, Jorge Grant and 18-year-old Macaulay Tait, who was handed his first start.

There was just one alteration to the Kilmarnock side that began the 5-2 home win over St Mirren as right-back Lewis Mayo replaced David Watson.

The visitors had the first notable attempt in the fifth minute when Watkins headed Matty Kennedy’s cross straight at Zander Clark.

Two minutes later the Hearts keeper had to race back to his line and tip over a speculative Liam Polworth effort from close to the half-way line.

From the resulting Killie corner, Vargas burst upfield from the edge of his own box and slipped the ball into the path of Grant, whose stinging strike from 25 yards out was pushed behind by Will Dennis.

The Jambos took the lead in the 10th minute when Vargas nodded in from a couple of yards out after Lawrence Shankland got on the end of Alex Cochrane’s delivery from the left and clipped the ball back into the danger area from the right edge of the six-yard box.

Hearts had a good chance to double their advantage two minutes later but Grant shot tamely at Dennis after being picked out by Shankland cutback.

Killie threatened an equaliser in the 27th minute when Stuart Findlay glanced a header just wide from Kennedy’s free-kick into the box.

At the other end, Shankland tested Dennis with a low strike from edge of the box on the half-hour.

Killie finished the half strongly, with Joe Wright powering a header over the bar before Watkins saw a header brilliantly clawed out by Clark.

Hearts started the second period on top and Vargas went close to a second in the 50th minute when his shot from 20 yards out was pushed behind by Dennis.

But just as the Jambos were starting to look reasonably comfortable, Killie equalised in the 67th minute as Watkins arced a stunning strike high beyond Clark and into the net from just outside the box.

##  Lembikisa, Hector included in Concacaf Nations League Finals Best XI 

Reggae Boyz defenders Michael Hector and Dexter Lembikisa were both selected to the Nations League Finals Best XI by Concacaf on Wednesday.

Hector was a big reason why Jamaica were seconds away from defeating the U.S. in the semifinals. The center back was immense for the Reggae Boyz and amassed seven clearances in the two games, to go along with a steal and an assist.

Lembikisa picked the right time to score his first goal with Jamaica with a powerful left-footed finish in the 1-0 Third-Place win versus Panama. He also had seven clearances.

The full team is as follows: **GK** Matt Turner (USA), **Defenders:** Antonee Robinson (USA), Michael Hector (Jamaica), Cesar Montes (Mexico), Dexter Lembikisa (Jamaica), **Midfielders:** Edson Alvarez (Mexico), Tyler Adams (USA), Weston McKinnie (USA), **Forwards:** Gio Reyna (USA), Christian Pulisic (USA), Haji Wright (USA).

##  On track: Hallgrimsson says CNL performance a positive step towards World Cup qualification 

With an historic third-place finish at the Concacaf Nations League now out the way, Jamaica’s senior Reggae Boyz Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson is hoping they can ride the momentum to an even bigger accomplishment, which is to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Though Hallgrimsson would have preferred the 2023/24 CNL title, as opposed to the bronze they secured with a 1-0 win over Panama, he believes the achievement represents a step in the right direction on their quest to add to the country’s 1998 World Cup feat.

“This is just a part of our journey. We were trying to build something for this tournament as there is a saying that ‘success is not a destination, success is not a date, it’s a continuous journey to the right direction’. So, we’re just working on improving this team, as our biggest goal at the moment is to try to reach the World Cup finals,” Hallgrimsson declared. 

Jamaica’s third-place battle followed a heartbreaking 3-1 extra-time loss to United States in an entertaining semi-final contest that they led from the very first minute, but lost after Corey Burke’s last-gasped own-goal brought the opponents back into the game.

Still, Hallgrimsson took the positives from the tournament, as he pointed to the psychologically importance and confidence gained heading into the prestigious CONMEBOL Copa America, which also serves as part of the Reggae Boyz preparation for the World Cup qualifiers.

“This is a good step to play important matches, to play big tournaments, and to play strong opponents like the United States and Panama. They are two of the three highest-ranked Concacaf teams and we showed that we are closing in on this gap, even with the number of players not with us. So, I have to give a lot of credit to the players for the way they presented themselves for Jamaica,” Hallgrimsson said.