Rangers 1-1 Kilmarnock – Gers slump to draw after crazy finale
By James Black
Rangers could only manage a 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock at Ibrox on Wednesday night in Steve Clarke’s first game in charge of the away side..
The Gers controlled the game before a bizarre ending saw Rangers awarded a penalty, have a player sent-off and then concede an equaliser in the last few minutes of the game
Pedro Caixinha made three changes to the side which lost 2-0 to Motherwell in the League Cup semi-final with Wes Foderingham, Ross McCrorie and Jason Holt replacing Jak Alnwick, Fabio Cardoso and Carlos Pena in the starting XI.
Caixinha was forced to watch from the stands after being hit with a one-game ban for his dismissal at Hampden.
The Light Blues looked hungry for an early goal and pinned Clarke’s side into their own half for long spells of the first-half.
Rangers mainstay Graham Dorrans had to be replaced midway through the first-half after being injured with Mexican striker Eduardo Herrera replacing him.
Holt opened the scoring just before the break when Rangers finally managed to find a way beyond Jamie MacDonald in the Killie goal.
The second-half saw Rangers continue to push Kilmarnock back as they looked to extend their lead.
With less than a minute on the clock, Daniel Candeias had the chance to make it 2-0 from the penalty spot after Kirk Broadfoot brought Herrera to the deck.
In the wait to take the spot-kick Ryan Jack and Kirk Broadfoot got involved in a bizarre incident where Broadfoot stood on Jack’s foot several times then fell to the floor clutching his face.
Jack was booked in the aftermath before the referee changed his mind and sent the Rangers midfielder off.
After more than five minutes, Candeias finally took the spot-kick but his weak effort was easily saved.
Kille quickly broke and the ball found Chris Burke at the back-post and the former Ibrox winger tapped the ball home to level the scores in injury-time.
Rangers slumped down to fourth in the table after dropping two major points against Kilmarnock which could potentially have major repercussions on Caixinha’s job safety.
In other Rangers news, Kris Boyd tore into Caixinha after the defeat against Motherwell.
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