Aberdeen 1-1 Rangers: Hosts hit back for deserved point

Frustrated Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass says a wrong penalty decision cost his side victory over Rangers after a controversial draw at home with the Scottish Premiership leaders.

Within seconds of avoiding punishment when goalkeeper Allan McGregor caught Ryan Hedges inside the box, Rangers took the lead through Ianis Hagi.

Aberdeen hit back with a Lewis Ferguson spot-kick, ending Rangers' nine-match league winning run to leave them four points clear of Celtic. The Ibrox side had Ryan Kent harshly sent off late on.

"It's a penalty kick," Glass said of the McGregor incident. "Goalkeeper comes out, doesn't get near the ball, hits our forward player.

"The linesman said there wasn't enough contact then the referee told me at half-time there was no contact. It's an incident that has cost us probably winning the game."

Reaction & as it happened

Aberdeen stay sixth, now a point behind Hibernian. The Pittodrie men have not beaten Rangers in the league in more than three years, but were the better side in this full-blooded encounter and will feel aggrieved not to have ended that barren run.

The fuse was lit on a combustible fixture in the 20th minute. Hedges found himself with just McGregor in his path after racing on to a launched Jonny Hayes pass out of defence. McGregor rushed out to the edge of his box, got nothing on the ball as it was knocked past him, and caught Hedges with a flailing leg.

Referee Kevin Clancy ignored the vociferous Aberdeen appeals and Rangers quickly countered to compound the hosts' angst. Former Aberdeen winger Scott Wright switched play to Kent on the left and his sublime delivery left Hagi with a tap-in.

It was harsh on Glass' men, who had started strongly, with Teddy Jenks rattling the outside of the post and forcing McGregor into a fingertip save.

Buoyed by the goal, Rangers almost added a second when Alfredo Morelos chased down a woefully-short Funso Ojo backpass. Goalkeeper Joe Lewis got there in the nick of time, then scrambled across to punch off his line when James Tavernier's cross threatened to sneak in at the near post.

However, the champions were unable to build on that momentum as they dropped points for the first time under Giovanni van Bronckhorst who had steered them to seven straight Premiership wins.

Aberdeen captain Scott Brown blazed over a volley shortly after the restart, but his side were struggling to seriously test McGregor in the second half until the penalty. Ferguson, whose header hit the arm of Morelos at close range, marked his 150th club appearance by sending McGregor the wrong way with a low spot-kick.

There was still more drama and controversy to come. Lewis brilliantly tipped a Morelos volley away from the top corner, then Kent was harshly shown a second yellow for a challenge on Brown, who gleefully clapped his former Old Firm adversary off the pitch.

Connor McLennan was inches away from connecting with a Christian Ramirez cross as Aberdeen pushed a late winner, with Hedges then stabbing wide, as a frenetic contest ended with a point apiece.

Man of the match - Scott Brown

The Aberdeen skipper revelled in the mayhem and was a driving force as the hosts won the midfield battle — The Aberdeen captain revelled in the mayhem and was a driving force as the hosts won the midfield battle

What did we learn?

Aberdeen need no extra motivation for a meeting with Rangers and have now bookended the Ibrox club's winning run with two draws that could have yielded more.

The return of Brown was key as Glass' men played with aggression and never allowed the visitors to settle. Fellow midfielder Jenks had his best game for the club and was unlucky not to score.

One defeat and four wins in Aberdeen's last six games shows Glass is overseeing steady progress.

For Rangers, this was as poorly as they have played under Van Bronckhorst. The absence of talisman Joe Aribo - away with Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations - was telling in a disjointed performance.

Rangers didn't get to grips with Aberdeen's midfield three and paid the price for inviting pressure in the second half.

What did they say?

Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass: "Frustrated that we didn't get the three points. We looked the dominant team even after going a goal behind.

"I am disappointed for the players that they don't get what they really deserve."

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst told Sky Sports: "In the end, especially with 10 men, we were happy with 1-1.

"Sometimes you have games like this. It's not like every place we go, we dominate and create chances. We knew it was going to be hard here. Of course we wanted to be better, especially on the ball, but we weren't so we go back with a point."

What's next?

Aberdeen welcome Edinburgh City to Pittodrie in the Scottish Cup fourth round on Saturday (15:00) before facing St Mirren on Premiership duty in Paisley next Wednesday (19:45).

Rangers have two home games looming - Stirling Albion in the cup on Friday (19:45) then a league meeting with Livingston next Wednesday (19:45).

Player of the match

BrownScott Brown

with an average of 8.49

Aberdeen
Rangers

Aberdeen

Squad number8Player nameBrown
Average rating
8.49
Squad number17Player nameHayes
Average rating
7.55
Squad number19Player nameFerguson
Average rating
7.38
Squad number22Player nameRamsay
Average rating
7.08
Squad number11Player nameHedges
Average rating
6.90
Squad number2Player nameMcCrorie
Average rating
6.87
Squad number20Player nameJenks
Average rating
6.87
Squad number27Player nameBates
Average rating
6.86
Squad number9Player nameRamírez
Average rating
6.84
Squad number18Player nameMcLennan
Average rating
6.84
Squad number24Player nameCampbell
Average rating
6.69
Squad number16Player nameOjo
Average rating
6.67
Squad number1Player nameLewis
Average rating
6.42

Rangers

Squad number1Player nameMcGregor
Average rating
4.35
Squad number6Player nameGoldson
Average rating
4.22
Squad number2Player nameTavernier
Average rating
4.21
Squad number14Player nameKent
Average rating
4.11
Squad number31Player nameBarisic
Average rating
4.07
Squad number20Player nameMorelos
Average rating
3.99
Squad number23Player nameWright
Average rating
3.85
Squad number19Player nameSands
Average rating
3.84
Squad number7Player nameHagi
Average rating
3.79
Squad number3Player nameBassey
Average rating
3.33
Squad number18Player nameKamara
Average rating
3.24
Squad number4Player nameLundstram
Average rating
3.18
Squad number30Player nameSakala
Average rating
3.06
Squad number11Player nameItten
Average rating
2.95

Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text

Line-ups

Aberdeen

Formation 4-4-1-1

1Lewis
22RamsaySubstituted forCampbellat 74'minutes
2McCrorieBooked at 58mins
27Bates
17HayesBooked at 76mins
11Hedges
19Ferguson
8BrownBooked at 39mins
16OjoSubstituted forMcLennanat 68'minutesBooked at 81mins
20Jenks
9Ramírez

Substitutes

5Gallagher
10McGinn
14Emmanuel-Thomas
15McGeouch
18McLennan
24Campbell
25Woods
29Barron
33Kennedy

Rangers

Formation 4-3-3

1McGregor
2TavernierBooked at 40mins
6Goldson
3Bassey
31Barisic
7HagiBooked at 6minsSubstituted forSakalaat 78'minutes
18Kamara
19Sands
23WrightSubstituted forLundstramat 64'minutes
20MorelosBooked at 72minsSubstituted forIttenat 89'minutes
14KentBooked at 83mins

Substitutes

4Lundstram
11Itten
15Simpson
22Bacuna
26Balogun
30Sakala
33McLaughlin
43King
61McCann

Referee:: Kevin Clancy
Attendance:: 16,371

Match Stats

Home TeamAberdeenAway TeamRangers

Possession: Home58%; Away42%

Shots: Home15; Away7

Shots on Target: Home3; Away4

Corners: Home6; Away4

Fouls: Home7; Away21

Live Text

Post update
Match ends, Aberdeen 1, Rangers 1.
90'+5'
Full Time
Second Half ends, Aberdeen 1, Rangers 1.

90'+5'
Post update
Attempt missed. Teddy Jenks (Aberdeen) right footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Christian Ramírez.
90'+3'
Post update
Ryan Hedges (Aberdeen) wins a free kick on the right wing.
90'+3'
Post update
Foul by Borna Barisic (Rangers).
90'+1'
Post update
Attempt missed. Ryan Hedges (Aberdeen) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner.
90'+1'
Post update
Corner, Aberdeen. Conceded by James Tavernier.
89'
Substitution
Substitution, Rangers. Cedric Itten replaces Alfredo Morelos.
89'
Post update
Offside, Rangers. Fashion Sakala tries a through ball, but Alfredo Morelos is caught offside.
87'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Jonny Hayes (Aberdeen) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Scott Brown.
85'
Post update
Attempt missed. Jonny Hayes (Aberdeen) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
85'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Connor McLennan (Aberdeen) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Lewis Ferguson.
83'
Dismissal
Second yellow card to Ryan Kent (Rangers) for a bad foul.
83'
Post update
Scott Brown (Aberdeen) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
83'
Post update
Foul by Ryan Kent (Rangers).
82'
Post update
Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Joe Lewis.
82'
Post update
Attempt saved. Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by James Tavernier with a cross.
82'
Post update
Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Connor McLennan.
81'
Booking
Connor McLennan (Aberdeen) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
81'
Post update
Foul by Connor McLennan (Aberdeen).

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