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RANGERS LET LEAD SLIP

Ferguson penalty cancels out Hagi opener in dramatic return to action at Pittodrie

- CHRIS JACK at Pittodrie

T1

HE unbeaten run continues for Rangers. The winning sequence has come to an end for Giovanni van Bronckhors­t. Time will tell just how costly these two dropped points are for the champions. Just 90 minutes after their return to action, their lead at the top of the table has been reduced already.

A Ianis Hagi effort midway through the first half had Rangers on course for victory. A Lewis Ferguson penalty midway through the second half would deny them it.

The points were shared at Pittodrie. Aberdeen will feel that all three should have been remaining here, however, after an encouragin­g performanc­e on a dramatic evening.

This goes down as the first failure, in context of course, of the Van Bronckhors­t era and the champions must ensure a slip-up does not become a stumble in the Premiershi­p.

Rangers passed tricky away tests at Livingston, Hibernian and Hearts before the winter break. The most difficult one, at Parkhead, has still to come.

It always had the potential to be a powder keg affair. As the yellow cards and respective foul counts totted up, it was fair to say that it lived up to the billing.

Moments of genuine quality were sparse in the first half, but it was 45 minutes of talking points and controvers­y. Crucially, it had the goal that Rangers sought.

The visitors were sluggish at the start and took their time to find any real rhythm. Indeed, it could be said that they took the lead against the run of play and Joe Lewis wasn’t troubled as often as Van Bronckhors­t would have wished.

He did, though, have to pick the ball out of his net after 21 minutes. The build-up from Scott Wright and Ryan Kent was incisive and the finish from Hagi was clinical.

Play was switched from right to left and Kent curled in a teasing cross that the Dons defence couldn’t deal with and Lewis didn’t come for. Hagi timed his run perfectly and, from a couple of yards out, he directed the ball into the net to spark celebratio­ns in the away end.

Those in red were still coming to terms with what they saw as an injustice at the other end of the park. The loss of the opening goal only compounded their fury.

Referee Kevin Clancy attracted the ire of both sets of supporters throughout the 90 minutes. It was, once again, one of those nights for the whistler.

But few of his calls were as contentiou­s as the one which saw him deny Aberdeen a penalty as Allan McGregor collided with Ryan Hedges on the edge of the area.

A long ball from Jonny

Hayes had set Hedges free. McGregor hesitated then decided to come and would barge into the Dons forward as Pittodrie rose in unison to claim a foul.

The call didn’t seem that out of order at first viewing. Clancy clearly thought otherwise, though, and would wave play on as Glass and his players protested and the home crowd reacted with a disbelief that was well-placed.

Within seconds, they had fallen behind. Rangers breathed a sigh of relief and then celebrated as Hagi scored for the fourth time this term on a night where he had a chance to impress filling in for the absent Joe Aribo.

His interventi­on was crucial for Rangers. That moment aside, a low effort from Kent and a couple of half chances were all that they could muster in a frustratin­g attacking performanc­e.

Aberdeen would have been aggrieved to go in behind. Teddy Jenks had clipped the post in the opening stages and forced McGregor into a smart low save a couple of minutes later.

Ferguson almost caught the keeper out with an audacious effort on the restart, while crosses from Hayes and Calvin Ramsay could easily have resulted in an equaliser.

The second half would follow a similar pattern. It was a scrappy, competitiv­e affair and the tough challenges continued to rack up.

Ross McCrorie became the fourth booking of the evening for a robust tackle on Alfredo

Morelos and there was a feeling that a red could arrive at any time on a night where the action had an edge to it.

A header from Scott Brown was as close as Aberdeen would come in the opening exchanges. The second goal would surely win it for Rangers, but they didn’t have much joy in carving out a chance to get it and the introducti­on of John Lundstram for Wright was a sign of Van Bronckhors­t’s thinking.

Aberdeen were still very much in this one. With just 19 minutes remaining, they got the goal that they would have felt that they were due.

Ferguson connected with a Hayes corner and nodded the ball towards goal. Before it troubled McGregor, it would hit Morelos on the arm.

This time, Clancy pointed to the spot. From 12 yards, Ferguson made no mistake as McGregor went to his left and the ball was slotted into the opposite corner.

Rangers hadn’t offered enough to win the game but now the clock was ticking and they had questions to answer. The stage was set for a potentiall­y thrilling finale.

Lewis made a terrific save to deny Morelos from a Tavernier corner before Kent – booked for a coming together with Hayes – saw red after collecting a second yellow for a foul on Brown.

It provided another reason for Aberdeen to believe. Hope faded as the minutes elapsed and was extinguish­ed as Clancy blew for the final time on a frenetic evening.

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 ?? ?? Lewis Ferguson scores from the spot after Alfredo Morelos’s handball allowed him the chance to equalise
Lewis Ferguson scores from the spot after Alfredo Morelos’s handball allowed him the chance to equalise

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