Shaun Maloney's 29th-minute strike against Inverness at Parkhead took Scottish Premier League leader Celtic seven points clear of second-placed Rangers to end a disappointing week on a positive note.
The increased gap at the top of the table was welcomed by the Parkhead faithful, although their side looked flat in the wake of Tuesday night's European exit at the hands of Aalborg.
The one highlight of a turgid game came when Maloney capitalised on a fine pass by Shunsuke Nakamura to fire past Caley keeper Ryan Esson to separate the sides at the break.
The second half was almost totally free of incident but Maloney's goal ultimately gave Gordon Strachan's men their 12th straight SPL win to pile the pressure on their arch-rivals, who lost earlier in the day at Hearts.
The Ibrox side went down 2-1 at Tynecastle thanks to goals from Marius Zaliukas and Laryea Kingston, with an own-goal from Christos Karipidis failing to alter the final outcome.
Hearts admitted ahead of the game its players had not been paid for the second time this season but, with a fifth consecutive win bonus to collect, the Edinburgh side will be hoping funds are in its accounts as promised on Monday.
Second-half strikes from Gary McDonald and Lee Miller gave Aberdeen a 2-0 victory against a lacklustre Motherwell in Jimmy Calderwood's 200th game in charge of the hosts.
McDonald headed the Dons into the lead after 61 minutes with only his second touch after replacing the injured Andrew Considine.
Aberdeen then doubled its advantage four minutes later with a Miller penalty after Paul Quinn had been sent off for a last-man challenge on Darren Mackie.
Jon Daly's double returned Dundee United to winning ways as St Mirren's poor finishing consigned it to the bottom of the table.
Daly headed home in the 37th minute and Dennis Wyness missed a glaring chance to level just after half-time.
Saints then struggled to break the visitors down but Stephen McGinn hit the bar just before Daly sealed a 2-0 success with a late penalty.
A header from Hibernian substitute Colin Nish prevented Falkirk from celebrating 'Russell Latapy Day' with a victory as the game between the sides ended 1-1.
The Bairns held the upper hand throughout and took the lead with a header from skipper Darren Barr after 68 minutes.
However, with veteran Latapy left on the bench, Nish popped up to nod in with eight minutes remaining after Rob Jones had out-jumped home keeper Scott Flinders at Alan O'Brien's corner.
Richard Offiong's goal saw Hamilton move off the bottom as it recorded its first victory since September 13.
The striker netted early in the second half, his third goal in as many games, to give the New Douglas Park side a 1-0 home win over Kilmarnock, only its fourth league victory of the season.
Aberdeen 2 (McDonald 61, Miller 67p)
Motherwell 0
Celtic 1 (Maloney 29)
Inverness CT 0
Falkirk 1 (Barr 69)
Hibernian 1 (Nish 82)
Hamilton 1 (Offiong 52)
Kilmarnock 0
Hearts 2 (Zaliukas 20, Kingston 23)
Rangers 1 (Karipidis 26og)
St Mirren 0
Dundee United 2 (Daly 37, 89p)