Rangers’ defensive frailties were laid bare again in the 2-0 defeat against a Hibernian side who extended their unbeaten run in the William Hill Premiership to 16 games.
Hibees midfielder Dylan Levitt opened the scoring in the eighth minute with a drive which went all too easily through Gers goalkeeper Jack Butland.
Rangers had lost the opening two goals in five of the last seven matches – four in six under new boss Barry Ferguson – and once again they required a comeback.
However, attacker Martin Boyle raced away in the 69th minute to score a second to secure a first Hibs win in Govan in seven years as the disjointed home side recorded a fifth successive home loss for the first time.
Ferguson, put in charge until the end of the season after replacing Philippe Clement in February, has yet to win at Ibrox in three games as Gers boss.
Rangers host Spanish outfit Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final on Thursday night, where they will be without suspended defender John Souttar and midfielder Mohamed Diomande, and they will have to somehow find a way to keep the back door closed with jittery Butland a concern.
There was a boost before the game for Gers fans with the return of winger Vaclav Cerny after a hamstring problem, with left-back Jefte in for Ridvan Yilmaz as the home side reverted to a back four.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the visitors were unchanged and looked at ease in the opening stages before they took the lead.
Souttar headed clear a long throw-in from Jack Iredale and it fell to Wales international Levitt, who took a touch before rifling in a shot from 25 yards which Butland, culpable for several goals conceded in recent games, allowed to squirm into the net.
Rangers’ response was weak.
Hibs shuffled back behind the ball and the home side struggled to break them down which brought the inevitable groans from the stands.
In the 28th minute, a fine move involving Cerny, skipper James Tavernier and Cyriel Dessers ended with the Gers striker’s shot blocked by Hibs keeper Jordan Smith for a corner which came to nothing.
Then Dessers drove high over the bar under pressure from Easter Road defender Rocky Bushiri after being sent through by Hamza Igamane before a free-kick from Tavernier just cleared the bar as did a wayward shot from Dessers, who was having another off day.
Just before the hour mark, Dessers raced clear before hitting Smith with an unconvincing effort but was well offside.
VAR checked for a possible Hibs penalty when the ball looked to come off the arm of Tavernier before substitute Josh Campbell drove wide but no action was taken.
At the other end, Rangers substitute Nedim Bajrami, on for Cerny, smacked the bar with a drive.
Campbell then ran through into acres of space but drove wide of the target and when Boyle raced on to a Jordan Obita pass in the 69th minute, he put the ball through the legs of Butland but was ruled offside – only for VAR to confirm the goal and Hibs celebrations.
Boyle had another opportunity on the break but this time Butland parried clear but a third was not required by David Gray’s side, who go from strength to strength in third place, while it was another wholly unsatisfactory display by Rangers.
Mikel Arteta said he is ready to give his life to deliver a trophy for Arsenal after he apologised to the club’s fans for ending the season empty handed.Declan Rice’s second-half strike fired Arsenal to a 1-0 win over Newcastle and confirmed their place in the Champions League.However, the Gunners failed to launch a serious title challenge to Liverpool this season, and they are set to ...
Jamie Vardy reflected on an “amazing” and “rollercoaster” career with Leicester after scoring a landmark 200th goal in his 500th and final appearance for the Foxes.The 38-year-old former England striker reached the goal milestone in the 28th minute of Leicester’s home match with Ipswich when he latched on to James Justin’s through ball and expertly slipped it be...
Mikel Arteta apologised to Arsenal supporters for failing to deliver on his dream of ending the club’s two-decade wait for a Premier League title.Declan Rice’s second-half strike fired Arsenal to a 1-0 win over Newcastle and confirmed their place in the Champions League next season.However, the Gunners failed to launch a serious challenge to Liverpool this season and are set to finish ...
Interim boss Liam Fox welled up with tears as he reflected on his “pride” at leading Hearts to four straight wins before departing his boyhood club as they prepare to confirm Derek McInnes as their new manager on Monday.With McInnes set to bring his own backroom staff with him from Kilmarnock, it was announced on Saturday that Fox – a childhood Jambo who started both his playing ...
Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor heaped praise on her side’s new celebrity investors after multi-millionaire entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian and his wife, tennis great Serena Williams, flew over for their FA Cup final triumph at Wembley.Sandy Baltimore scored a brace either side of a Catarina Macario goal as Chelsea sealed an unbeaten domestic treble with a 3-0 victory over Manchester United in fron...
Declan Rice’s second-half strike fired Arsenal to a 1-0 win against Newcastle at the Emirates and a place in next season’s Champions League.Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya kept his side in the match with a string of fine saves prior to the interval before Rice delivered from range with 55 minutes gone.Arsenal’s victory moves them five points clear of third-placed Newcastle with jus...
Marco Silva says Harry Wilson will “want to play Brentford every week” after he stung the Bees for a second time this season with the winner in Fulham’s 3-2 west London derby victory at the Gtech Community Stadium.Wilson, who had his contract extended until next summer this week and also scored a stoppage-time double in Fulham’s 2-1 win over Brentford in November, replicate...
Tony Docherty thanked Lyall Cameron for an outstanding career at Dundee after the midfielder signed off in style with a double in victory over St Johnstone.Cameron, who penned a pre-contract with Rangers in February, inspired a 2-0 win that eased the Dark Blues away from the relegation play-off place.The 22-year-old netted after 28 minutes and rounded off a man-of-the-match display with a stoppage...
Nuno Espirito Santo and his Nottingham Forest players dedicated the 2-1 win over West Ham which kept their Champions League hopes alive to stricken team-mate Taiwo Awoniyi.Striker Awoniyi is recovering from emergency abdominal surgery, having been placed in an induced coma, after colliding with a goalpost in last weekend’s Premier League home draw against Leicester.The 27-year-old revealed o...
Michael Wimmer says he is delighted with how Motherwell have ended the season after wrapping up their William Hill Premiership campaign with a 1-1 draw at Ross County.The Steelmen trailed to a Ronan Hale goal on the half-hour mark but improved drastically in the second half and dominated the game in Dingwall.That pressure eventually told, with Moses Ebiye heading in an equaliser with seven minutes...
- 1 Richie Wellens hails Leyton Orient’s ‘outstanding’ victory over Stockport
- 2 We will see – no Unai Emery assurances over future of tearful Emiliano Martinez
- 3 Arsenal offer £135k deal to seduce target
- 4 Mikel Arteta ready to give his life to deliver silverware for Arsenal
- 5 Leyton Orient book Wembley date by beating Stockport on penalties
- 6 Chelsea beat Manchester United in FA Cup final to seal domestic treble
- 7 Mikel Arteta apologises for failing to deliver Arsenal a Premier League title
- 8 Liverpool cleared to complete signing
- 9 Brendan Rodgers hits out at ‘needless challenge’ on Reo Hatate
- 10 Marc Guehi to land transfer to Real or Barca