Rangers’ first competitive match under new manager Michael Beale on Thursday ended in victory as they twice came from behind to beat Hibernian 3-2 at Ibrox.
Alfredo Morelos’ goal shortly after the hour mark sealed a win that left Rangers six points behind leaders and archrivals Celtic, with the reigning Scottish Premiership champions who are in action away to Aberdeen today.
Hibs defender Ryan Porteous — linked with a move to Rangers — broke the deadlock just eight minutes in with a header from a corner.
Photo: Reuters
Fashion Sakala drew Rangers level in the 15th minute, only for Hibs striker Kevin Nisbet to regain the lead for the Edinburgh club moments later.
Ryan Jack drew Rangers level in the 58th minute and four minutes later Morelos tapped in the winner.
“We had a nice chat at halftime, and said to take the emotion out the game and play the game for what it was,” Beale told the BBC. “The reality that hit me tonight is there’s a lot of anxiety to get through, but the character of the team is good and we dominated in the second half, and we deserved to win the game.”
Beale spent three years at Rangers as a member of Steven Gerrard’s coaching team and then followed the Liverpool great to Aston Villa.
He then took charge of English Championship club Queens Park Rangers for just 22 games before, controversially, returning to Glasgow after Giovanni van Bronckhorst was sacked.
Hibs went ahead when Porteous powered in a close-range header after getting on the end of Joe Newell’s inswinging corner.
Porteous almost doubled the lead with a shot that just cleared the crossbar, but Rangers equalized when Ryan Kent squared to Sakala inside the penalty area with the forward’s low drive beating Hibs goalkeeper David Marshall.
Rangers fans were still celebrating that goal when Nisbet raced on to a Marijan Cabraja pass before unleashing a powerful shot high past Allan McGregor to restore Hibs’ lead.
The hosts were indebted to veteran goalkeeper McGregor when he saved well with his legs to deny Elie Youan a goal shortly before halftime.
An improved Rangers capitalized on McGregor’s good work when, following a flick on from a corner by Malik Tillman, Jack scored from close range.
Minutes later, Tillman turned provider again, his clever run into the penalty area and cutback giving Morelos a simple finish from close range before an increasingly assured Rangers saw out the game.
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
TWO-NIL LOSS: Taiwan’s best chance to score came at the top of the fifth with the bases loaded and one out, but Venezuela’s Liarvis Breto got out of the jam Taiwan yesterday suffered a shutout 2-0 loss to Venezuela in the opening game of the WBSC Premier12 Super Round at the Tokyo Dome. Taiwan had seven hits, one more than Venezuela’s six, but catcher Carlos Perez’s two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning delivered the only runs scored by both teams and secured victory for Venezuela. Taiwan’s best chance came at the top of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and only one out. However, Venezuela reliever Liarvis Breto struck out Chen Chen-wei before reliever Pedro Garcia finished the inning by allowing an infield flyball by Lin
As sporting celebrations go, it does not quite have the charm of Roger Milla’s hip-wiggling shimmy with a corner flag at the 1990 World Cup or the imperious swagger of Usain Bolt’s iconic lightning pose. However, a dance move inspired by US president-elect Donald Trump’s stilted on-stage boogieing has rapidly become the celebration of choice across the US sporting world. From the blood-soaked UFC to the hard-hitting NFL and the reliably decorous world of the LPGA Tour, athletes across North America have succumbed to the viral Trump dance craze in the past week. On Monday, US soccer star Christian Pulisic became the latest