Disjointed Rangers ground out a narrow Scottish Premiership win over Hibernian thanks to Tom Lawrence’s wonderful goal.
Off the back of the Europa League win over Malmo on Thursday, Rangers manager Philippe Clement made four changes to his starting team, with a first start for striker Hamza Igamane, but it resulted in a below-par first-half performance.
The hosts struggled to create chances against a well-structured Hibs defence, but Lawrence’s curling effort towards the end of the half, stepping in off the left flank, found the far top corner and proved to be the match winner as VAR overruled an offside call.
Hibs were handed a golden opportunity to equalise on the stroke of half-time when Nick Walsh awarded them a penalty after VAR advised the referee of a handball by John Souttar.
However, Mykola Kuharevich’s spot-kick was easily saved by goalkeeper Jack Butland down to his right.
After the break both sides spurned good chances, as Cyriel Dessers’ header was superbly saved at point-blank range, Robin Propper missed the target twice in quick succession and Dwight Gayle nodded just wide on his Hibs debut.
The result means Rangers stay third in the table – five points behind Celtic and Aberdeen – while Hibs are ninth.
Rangers fail to fire in underwhelming display
Clement cut a frustrated figure throughout the first half in particular, having started Igamane, Jefte, Nicolas Raskin and Ross McCausland – who scored against Malmo off the bench – in an attempt to keep his squad fresh.
They failed to create any chances of note initially though, and it took a moment of magic to find a way to goal.
Hibs found joy down the sides and in behind, and as they often have in the past year or so, Rangers needed heroics from their goalkeeper.
The Belgian manager showed his discontent with a double change at half-time, with Raskin and McCausland both hooked.
Misplaced passes and a lack of intensity led to increased consternation from the home support as the second half went on.
It felt like Clement’s side were going through the motions. There was no real zip to them and they are still to prove they can produce consistently high levels of performance.
After the high at Malmo in midweek, this felt like a missed opportunity to build momentum, despite the result.
Rangers had fewer touches in the opposition box than Hibs, and had a lower xG tally than the visitors, highlighting their lack of cutting edge and attacking threat.
The introduction of Dessers in the second half provided a much-needed presence up front, and he must have thought he had scored late on, only to see Josef Bursik almost miraculously parry his header to safety.
Rangers are back in European action on Thursday, as they welcome Europa League opponents Lyon to Ibrox (20:00 BST).
Hibs spurn chances but show signs of progress
David Gray switched to a somewhat more defensive line-up for the trip to Glasgow, and would have been pleased with how his Hibs side started the contest.
Hibs were solid, looked assured in their roles as a unit and posed a threat when they won possession back.
Junior Hoilett – who was bright down the left – spooned an early effort over the bar, while Kwon Hyeok-Kyu saw one shot blocked and another well saved.
Kuharevich applied himself well up front, but his penalty was weak and failed to find the bottom corner, the kind of chance that cannot be passed up at Ibrox.
They continued to disrupt Rangers after the break though, and deserved to take something from the game.
Gray’s side have visibly grown from their early outings this season, but the head coach will be infuriated by his side’s inability to test Butland.
Kuharevich, Kwon, Elie Youan, Marvin Ekpiteta and Gayle all missed the target when presented with sights of goal, and the Leith outfit will look back on this defeat with real regret.
They host Motherwell in the Premiership on Saturday (15:00).
What they said
Rangers manager Philippe Clement: “The performance was not incredible, but that’s difficult playing that early after a European game away.
“The recovery time was much less. Some leagues look at giving teams more recovery time. I saw less freshness in the players than I have in the last couple of weeks. That’s normal.”
On Hibs’ penalty, Rangers’ manager adds: “Unhappy is not the right word – more confused. We discussed this with the referees before the season. The decisions have been much better, but I don’t see what John [Souttar] can do differently. It’s a short distance. He cannot make his arms disappear.”
Hibernian head coach David Gray: “I’ll never accept losing games of football, but if there is a way to lose, it’s probably that.
“The players put absolutely everything into that. I can’t fault it at all. The gameplan was good, the chances we created were good ones. The least we deserved was a point.
“The boys are gutted because they’ve put so much in, but there’s a lot of positives to take, so there’s very mixed emotions.
“I thought we were going to get the goal and, if we got one, I think we would’ve gone on to win the game.”
