HAGI MAGIC
Ianis keeps title dream alive on same day dad puts out candles on his 55th birthday cake
STEVEN GERRARD hailed Ianis Hagi as the Rangers kid delivered the perfect 55th birthday present for old man Gheorghe.
The on-loan son of the Romanian icon struck with five minutes to go to hand Gers a vital win to keep their title dreams alive.
Hibs had taken the lead through Paul Kanlon before George Edmundson equalised.
And Gerrard said: “He deserved it. It’s his dad’s birthday as well, so it’s a nice moment for him.”
HIS old man has just hit his mid-fifties and Ianis Hagi also swooped to keep Rangers in the race for 55.
The Romanian playmaker handed his dad Gheorghe a birthday gift with the goal that kept Rangers’ title hopes alive at Ibrox.
Manager Steven Gerrard saluted the on-loan Genk midfielder for the winner five minutes from time that buried stubborn Hibs.
Rangers were in danger of falling nine points behind Celtic when Hagi fired a low, volleyed winner beyond Hibs keeper Ofir Marciano.
Gerrard revealed he thought the 21-year-old had struck too early as he also accepted the apology from Sky over their botched translation in their Alfredo Morelos interview.
Rangers were forced to come from behind to secure their 2-1 win after Paul Hanlon had fired the visitors in front following an error from keeper Allan McGregor.
But George Edmundson, in only his second league start, also scored his first goal for Rangers before Hagi swooped for the dramatic winner.
Gerrard said: “His second half performance deserved to win the match for us as he was outstanding. At the goal, I was actually shouting at him from the sidelines to take a touch but what do I know? It was a fantastic finish.
“It’s his dad’s birthday as well, so it’s a nice moment for him. Ianis is a top talent, I said it when he arrived. His performance grew.
“In the first half he was coming to terms with Scotland, people being aggressive around him and he was getting used to people knocking him about.
“However, in the second half he was much stronger. He’s a brave player, he will receive ball in any area of the pitch.
“Even if he makes a mistake, next time he won’t shy away and will keep going. It wasn’t just Ianis tonight, but all the attacking players.
“We picked a very bold and ambitious line-up for a reason, because we were looking for that creativity and spark in the final third.
“I’m very happy obviously as it’s a big win and three important points are exactly what we needed. We got out the game what we deserved and the second-half performance, in particular, was a lot more like us.
“We got frustrated in the first half and tried to complicate things.
“We could feel the groans and frustrations of fans, rightly so.
“However, I asked the players at half-time to lift the crowd and get back to the level of performance we had shown earlier in the season. We deserved to win by more because we were the ones creating chances.”
Edmundson made amends for conceding the free-kick that led to Hanlon’s opener in 35 minutes by swooping in first-half injury time after the Hibs defence failed to deal with a James Tavernier set piece.
Gerrard said: “George certainly deserved a go in the team. He’s been very patient and trained very well.
“Our ball circulation against Aberdeen at the weekend was too slow. George moves the ball quicker for us around the back when we’re trying to find answers.
“It was a terrific finish on his left foot for the equaliser, we’ve not seen many of them from him. He won his headers, passed the ball well and although he made one or two mistakes, I’d certainly take that performance from a 21-year-old.”
The build-up to the game was dominated by the fallout from the dodgy translation of the interview given by Alfredo Morelos to Sky Sports.
The broadcaster has apologised to Rangers, Morelos and Celtic, after they wrongly translated Morelos for criticising Parkhead fans for racially abusing him.
Gerrard said: “They’ve said sorry to both clubs and also the player, so we move on. However, it’s not on my mind right now. I’m still in the game, if you like.”
He also admitted his head is on a threadbare Ibrox pitch, which is showing signs of a sodden winter and could derail his side’s ambitions in the weeks ahead. He said: “The pitch is awful. Yeah, it’s awful. We’re trying to find a solution. We’re trying.”
Hibs hang on to their position in the top six but are now just a point ahead of Kilmarnock.
Jack Ross praised his side for their battling performance and admitted he dared believe they would leave with at least a point before Hagi’s late strike.
The manager said: “Before the game I spoke about us wanting to be more competitive than we had been against Rangers in the previous two games this season and we were.
“I was proud of the effort. We were resolute, disciplined and hardworking. I’m hugely frustrated not to take anything from the game but there were a lot of positives.
“We were in a good position for the latter part of the first half and to concede with the last kick of the half was frustrating. I thought we had weathered the storm before the second goal.”
His second-half performance deserved to win the match as he was outstanding
STEVEN GERRARD