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Rangers 1-1 Aberdeen: Maurice Edu hits second-half equaliser but champions lose ground to Celtic in SPL title race
Ally McCoist's side are forced to come from behind to salvage a point at Ibrox after Arnason had given the visitors a shock lead
21 Jan 2012 17:11:00
By John Stammers
Getty
Rangers have lost ground in the Scottish Premier League title race after a lacklustre 1-1 draw with Aberdeen at Ibrox, leaving them four points behind leaders Celtic.
Ally McCoist had Allan McGregor back in goal after a spell out with a groin problem. However the home side were still missing a number of players including Steven Naismith and Kyle Lafferty.
Aberdeen, meanwhile, welcomed back defender Rory McArdle who passed a fitness test on a knee injury, but had to make do without midfielders Rob Milsom, Isaac Osbourne and Peter Pawlett who all missed out.
The opening quarter of an hour brought little action from either side with the windy conditions forcing both teams to keep the ball on the floor.
Rangers came close with the first real chance of the game, just before the half-hour mark. Aberdeen keeper Jason Brown managed to force the ball onto the crossbar following a Nikica Jelavic headed effort, the Gers then tried to bundle the rebound home but were penalised for a foul.
Following that, it was McCoist's side who had the best of the, albeit limited, opportunities in the remainder of the half. Indeed the best chance fell to Sone Aluko who hit a decent shot wide after good link-up play with skipper Steven Davis.
The Dons came out looking like the more likely to score after the break, chances fell to Chris Clark, who had a shot tipped away by McGregor in the Rangers goal, and then Carlos Bocanegra headed off the line after the keeper missed the corner.
Four minutes later, just after the hour mark, and Aberdeen broke the deadlock on the counter-attack. Clark played it out to Kari Arnason on the right, who then finished brilliantly past McGregor.
That goal sparked an almost instant reply from Rangers though, as Maurice Edu's effort was deflected past a helpless Jason Brown to make it 1-1 just four minutes later.
Rangers then pushed for a winner, continually attacking the Aberdeen 18-yard-box, but Edu missed the target after being expertly set-up by Jelavic and then Sone Aluko's volley was parried away by Brown to ensure the visitors claimed a point.
McCoist's side had a final two chances in the closing moments, but Lee Wallace shot wide and Maurice Edu also failed to hit the target in a disappointing day for the hosts.
| Bet: | Returns: | Rangers £15.00 | Draw £35.00 | Motherwell £60.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Rangers £15.71 | Draw £35.00 | Motherwell £70.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Rangers £14.00 | Draw £43.30 | Motherwell £85.00 |
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Ally McCoist had Allan McGregor back in goal after a spell out with a groin problem. However the home side were still missing a number of players including Steven Naismith and Kyle Lafferty.
Aberdeen, meanwhile, welcomed back defender Rory McArdle who passed a fitness test on a knee injury, but had to make do without midfielders Rob Milsom, Isaac Osbourne and Peter Pawlett who all missed out.
The opening quarter of an hour brought little action from either side with the windy conditions forcing both teams to keep the ball on the floor.
Rangers came close with the first real chance of the game, just before the half-hour mark. Aberdeen keeper Jason Brown managed to force the ball onto the crossbar following a Nikica Jelavic headed effort, the Gers then tried to bundle the rebound home but were penalised for a foul.
Following that, it was McCoist's side who had the best of the, albeit limited, opportunities in the remainder of the half. Indeed the best chance fell to Sone Aluko who hit a decent shot wide after good link-up play with skipper Steven Davis.
The Dons came out looking like the more likely to score after the break, chances fell to Chris Clark, who had a shot tipped away by McGregor in the Rangers goal, and then Carlos Bocanegra headed off the line after the keeper missed the corner.
Four minutes later, just after the hour mark, and Aberdeen broke the deadlock on the counter-attack. Clark played it out to Kari Arnason on the right, who then finished brilliantly past McGregor.
That goal sparked an almost instant reply from Rangers though, as Maurice Edu's effort was deflected past a helpless Jason Brown to make it 1-1 just four minutes later.
Rangers then pushed for a winner, continually attacking the Aberdeen 18-yard-box, but Edu missed the target after being expertly set-up by Jelavic and then Sone Aluko's volley was parried away by Brown to ensure the visitors claimed a point.
McCoist's side had a final two chances in the closing moments, but Lee Wallace shot wide and Maurice Edu also failed to hit the target in a disappointing day for the hosts.
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