Motherwell 1-1 Rangers
Raskin (6′) Welsh (89′)
Stephen Welsh dented Rangers’ title charge with a deserved point at Fir Park, leaving Danny Rohl’s side five points behind leaders Hearts in the pulsating title race.
Motherwell went close in the opening four minutes after Stephen O’Donnell’s cross found Emmanuel Longelo at the back post. The Englishman drilled past Jack Butland in August, but the goalkeeper parried his powerful strike from the left edge of the penalty box on this occasion.
Rangers opened the scoring moments later. The hosts afforded Mohamed Diomande acres of space to drive towards Calum Ward’s goal. The midfielder’s cute pass split the Motherwell defence, allowing the onrushing Nico Raskin to sidefoot home from the penalty box.
It was the dream start for Danny Rohl’s men, considering this was the first goal the hosts had conceded at Fir Park since mid-October.
Jens Berthel Askou would have been disappointed with the cheapness of Rangers’ opener, but his side continued to settle. Despite enjoying large periods of possession in the opening 20 minutes, Elijah Just’s routine free kick was the only other test for Butland.
Premiership top-goalscorer Tawanda Maswanhise has impressed throughout Motherwell’s standout season. He went close to equalising in the 27th minute, but after latching on to O’Donnell’s defence-splitting ball, his strike cannoned off the woodwork from a tight angle.
Raskin produced a brilliant goal-line header to deny Stephen Welsh soon after, as the hosts continued to threaten. Rangers may have held the lead, but Askou’s side looked likely to find the equaliser.
Youssef Chermiti had a golden chance to double Rangers’ advantage near the break. Welsh’s misjudged header found its way to the striker in the box, but he showed little composure with his slashed effort. January signing Ryan Naderi, sitting on the bench, may have fancied his chances.
Chances were rare for both sides in the opening twenty minutes of the second period, as Rangers stemmed the home side’s dominance in the second half. Just stung the palms of Butland in the 66th minute as they looked to force a crucial equaliser.
Motherwell’s task got harder after Stephen McLean gave Lukas Fadinger his marching orders. The midfielder’s lunge caught the calf of Mikey Moore, and after reviewing the VAR monitor, the referee rightly sent the Austrian off.
Eythor Bjørgolfsson’s close-range header forced Butland into a save, but Motherwell forced an equaliser courtesy of their Celtic loanee moments later.
Rangers’ lead evaporated in the 89th minute when Bjørgolfsson’s cushioned header found Welsh, who clinically fired home from inside the area. It was a hauntingly familiar scene for the visitors; having conceded a late leveller at Fir Park back in August, they were forced to endure the same late-game heartbreak all over again.
Neither side could find a winner in the closing minutes, as Stephen McLean called a halt to proceedings on a remarkable night. The draw leaves Rangers five points behind Hearts before Sunday’s meeting with the league leaders at Ibrox. Motherwell remain fourth, and host Aberdeen this weekend.
Motherwell: Ward 7 O’Donnell 7 McGinn 7 Welsh 8 Longelo 7 Fadinger 5 Watt 6 Slattery 6 Just 6 Said 6 Maswanhise 7
Substitutes: Priestman 6 Bjorgolfsson 5 Sparrow 5 Charles-Cook 3 Nicholson 3
Rangers: Butland 7 Tavernier 6 Souttar 7 Djiga 6 Meghoma 6 Chukwuani 6 Raskin 7 Diomande 6 Gassama 6 Moore 7 Chermiti 6
Substitutes: Naderi 6 Fernandez 4 Aasgaard 3 Miovski 3 Sterling 3
