Rangers ended the weekend with a 0-0 draw with tenacious Hibs and six points behind leaders Hearts, ending their hopes of winning the title.
Mikey Moore looked to have spared a lackluster Gers team the blushes when he converted the game’s first chance in the 75th minute with a shot under goalkeeper Rafael Sullinger, but a slight offside decision cost the visitors two precious points in the title race.
The result left Rangers in third place, level on points with rivals Celtic who defeated Falkirk, while Hibs remained in fifth place.
Rangers drew 0-0 with Hibs, leaving them six points behind league leaders Hearts.
After a shaky start, a brave Hibs side took advantage of their chances in the first half and got into the opposition box. Jack Butland twice equalized for Rangers, making a brilliant save with his fingertips from a curling Ellie Yuan shot, and after being one-on-one with striker Martin Boyle, he smothered a low shot.
Things continued in the same vein in the second half, with the much-changed Rangers looking hopelessly outnumbered, but with 15 minutes left substitute Moore scored a deft goal, much to the dismay of manager Danny Rolle.
Hibernian’s Jordan Obita (left) and Rangers’ Dujon Sterling compete for the ball.
However, the canceled goal gave Hibs momentum as the hosts created a flurry of chances late on with an end-to-end finish. Debutant Owen Elding missed a chance in the 85th minute, denying Hibs a deserved victory.
Roll: I understand that.
Rangers manager Danny Rohr told Premier Sports.
“Overall, we expected a tough game, it wasn’t easy coming here, we’ve known that from the past, but I think in the end we can get this point today.
“We have to make the difference in the first 25 minutes and until the end. We were better in the first 25 minutes, but then we lost a little bit of structure. They started playing more balls from behind and from set-pieces, and we lost control. The second half was open with both teams going into the game. Overall, it wasn’t the best game, it wasn’t the best result, but we have to accept this.”
“We need to win in a row. But we have seen the big picture. We have to take a step forward and get points. With 14 games left we have a good chance and we have closed the gap since we got here.”
We want to win games, we know that – we are Rangers – but on some days you have to take points from the team that beat Hearts here and Celtic here.
Transfer deadline: “Let’s take a look. My phone is on, so I’ll wait, but let’s take a look.”
Gray: Too bad we didn’t win the game.
Hibernian manager David Gray told Premier Sports.
“They were a lot more like us. They were a lot more aggressive and created chances. We’re probably a little disappointed that we didn’t win the game, but that’s probably the only thing that was missing. We were the better team, we had the better chances and we came up against a very good Rangers team.”
“You don’t have the right to win any match. When things are going well you need to think about improving and when things are not going well you need to think about improving.
“Our team was a little weak, but it was a new team. A very young team finished an exciting game. Let’s try to finish the season as strong as possible.”
