Rangers staged a stunning comeback to draw 2-2 with Livingston but dropped points in the latest development in the Scottish Premiership title race.
Hearts’ win on Saturday put pressure on Rangers and Glasgow rivals Celtic to keep pace with the league leaders.
However, neither could get the job done. When the Gers found themselves down 2-0, they gave themselves a mountain to climb. It was a surprising proposition considering the side at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership have not won in 25 league games.
A stunning goal from Brooklyn Kabongolo allowed Livingston to look ahead. He converted Scott Pittman’s free kick to give the hosts a shock lead.
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Brooklyn Kabongolo converts Scott Pittman’s free kick with a powerful right foot to give Livingston a shock lead against Rangers.
Livingston credited goalkeeper Jerome Prior for a series of spectacular saves that frustrated Rangers for a long time.
This gave Marvin Bartley’s side the platform to pick up another point in the second half. This was also from a free-kick, initially cleared by Rangers, but only by Emmanuel Danso. He played a nice reverse pass to Lewis Smith, who took a few touches before firing a shot from an angle.
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Just as Rangers were starting to gain the upper hand, Livingstone took a well-worked free-kick and Lewis Smith scored a clinical goal.
Five minutes later, Cristian Montano was sent off, and the game finally turned in Rangers’ favor. He beat Jadey Gassama at the top of the area and the Livi man trotted off for an early shower after a VAR review for offside showed there was no answer.
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Cristian Montano made Livingston’s job even harder as his ill-timed tackle on Jady Gassama duly resulted in a red card.
Gers’ counterattack began in the 82nd minute. It was Emmanuel Fernandes’ lightning strike that ultimately broke Pryor’s goal, but Mikey Moore’s deft header leveled the score with two minutes left in the 90th minute.
News of Hibernian’s winning goal against Celtic began to come in after Rangers were denied a big penalty call nine minutes into second-half stoppage time.
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Just when it looked like time was running out, Emmanuel Fernandez hit a stunning shot to cut Livingston’s lead.
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Mikey Moore completed Rangers’ fightback at Livingston with a delicate header.
Moore broke through the middle but was fouled by Cammy Carr. The referee initially ruled there would be no penalty, but the decision was reviewed by VAR.
One of the key debates was whether the foul was committed inside or outside the box, but after lengthy checks, neither a penalty nor a free kick was awarded. Instead, a simple restart restarted the game. “It’s shocking,” Chris Sutton said on Sky Sports’ co-commentary.
The result leaves Rangers four points clear of Hearts ahead of next Sunday’s Old Firm match. This point didn’t mean much to Livingstone either, as he now had 13 points, eight points behind him in 11th place.
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Major VAR controversy erupted at Livingston after a late challenge on Mikey Moore was deemed fair and not a penalty
Roll: 2 points deduction
Rangers manager Danny Rolle told Sky Sports: “We dropped two (points), which is disappointing for us. We had chances throughout the 90 minutes, but they were waiting for that moment and we have to go there. It was obvious from the set pieces. That was the only moment they could have scored anything.”
“Finally, I would like to give a huge credit to our supporters for trying to get a point and a huge thank you to our supporters. Even though we were losing 2-0, they helped us a lot.
“We have to keep going, this is the race. At the end we dropped two points but next week we have another chance.
“We have character and character, but conceding two goals made it very difficult. In the end it was exactly the game I expected and you have to be there for those two or three moments.”
“We have to continue. There are still 10 games left. I said this to the group, we are not satisfied, but we hope that next week we can close the gap from four to one.”
“We will chase it (the title) until the end. The final decision will be on the day of the final game. We are ready for it and my group is ready for it. They have a lot of belief and it will be a moment of disappointment, but it is important to lead by example and I believe we can do it.”
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Andy Halliday analyzes the late challenge on Mikey Moore with the benefit of a freeze frame and agrees referee Ryan Lee made a huge mistake.
On the late penalty shout: “The big question mark in my opinion was the foul (Kerr on Moore). If it goes out, it’s another red card, if it goes in, it’s a pen. That’s unacceptable to me today.”
“It’s an important moment, a moment where the final act could decide the race, but we had 90 minutes to score 3-2.
“Generally, if there is a foul, it’s a penalty or a free kick. The referee decides whether it’s a red card or a yellow card, but that’s a different thing. I think the first contact is with the foot, not the ball. You have to make a decision then.”
Boyd: Rangers must win on this ground to win the title
Chris Boyd of Sky Sports: “Perhaps if Rangers had taken the lead a little earlier they would have had more chances to fight back. They had a lot of the ball but didn’t create many clear chances.”
“The lack of a natural goalscorer in the number nine position may come back to haunt Rangers.
“Rangers haven’t won three away games in a row, we had difficult games against Motherwell and Hibs, but we’ve come here to a team that hasn’t won since August – look at this (Rangers) team.
“There were plenty of chances, but Rangers have spent a lot of money since the summer. We’ve made great progress, but if we’re going to win the title, these are the grounds we have to come in to get the three points.”
“Now that I think about it, if Hearts beat Aberdeen on Saturday, I can put my feet up and watch the (Old Firm) game on Sunday, and if Rangers win then Celtic are finished.
“But if Celtic win against Ibrox, with a game coming up on Wednesday, all of a sudden things change. There is only one winner this weekend: Hearts.”
Bartley: I have to back up this performance.
Livingston manager Marvin Bartley told Sky Sports: “If you had given us a point before the game, we 100 per cent would have taken it.
“When you’re two goals down and you get sent off, things change. At that point we just got lazy and good teams will try to punish you.
“The players gave me 100 per cent and that’s all I ask of them. They defended from the front, put their bodies on the line and cleared balls coming into dangerous areas.
“We were great defensively today. Sometimes you rely on your goalie, but Jerome was great as well.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them, but we have a big game coming up next week and it doesn’t mean much if we don’t back it up.”
