Motherwell 2-4 Rangers: Visitors fight back in pulsating six-goal thriller

Todd Cantwell's archetypal Rangers extremity turned the crippled backmost successful the distant side's favour

Rangers manager Michael Beale extended his unbeaten Scottish Premiership commencement to 14 games aft his broadside fought backmost to gain triumph successful a pulsating six-goal thriller astatine Motherwell.

Motherwell responded done Bevis Mugabi, but 2 goals successful six minutes from Todd Cantwell and Malik Tillman took the crippled distant from the hosts, who had Callum Slattery dismissed.

The triumph for Beale's broadside narrows the spread connected leaders Celtic to six points, but Ange Postecoglou's men tin reconstruct their nine-point vantage with triumph astatine location to Hibernian aboriginal connected Saturday.

Defeat for Motherwell, who stay ninth and are present winless successful 55 top-flight games against Rangers, brings an extremity to Stuart Kettlewell's four-game unbeaten commencement arsenic manager.

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A James McFadden extremity successful 2002 earned the Fir Park nine their past Premiership triumph successful this fixture.

And it was existent talisman Van Veen who had the location fans dreaming arsenic the Dutchman tucked successful Max Johnston's transverse past wheeled distant successful beforehand of a travelling enactment who protested against the Ibrox committee pre-match.

Rangers toiled successful their pursuit of an equaliser arsenic rigid Motherwell made beingness hard successful their 5-4-1 shape, but Slattery's chaotic situation connected John Lundstram connected the borderline of the container resulted successful Tavernier to bending a free-kick implicit the wall, beating Liam Kelly acold excessively easily.

Tavernier past turned supplier a infinitesimal aft the interruption for Sakala to caput location - the Zambian's sixth extremity successful six games against Motherwell.

From nowhere, Kettlewell's broadside drew level erstwhile Rangers failed to wide their lines, allowing Mugabi to prod the shot successful connected the slide.

But Beale's men had their pb backmost 4 minutes aboriginal erstwhile Cantwell smashed successful from adjacent scope - his archetypal extremity for his caller nine - earlier substitute Tillman drilled a quickfire 4th with a good onslaught from the borderline of the area.

Motherwell were reduced to 10 men for the last 14 minutes erstwhile Slattery was shown a 2nd yellowish for a flailing limb connected Cantwell, but the hosts were spared a heavier decision arsenic Rangers passed up further chances to adhd gloss to the win.

Player of the lucifer - Todd Cantwell

The erstwhile Norwich antheral has made himself a cardinal cog successful Beale's broadside successful the aboriginal days of his Rangers career, and his archetypal extremity for the Ibrox nine capped disconnected different awesome display

Rangers respond aft making beingness hard again - analysis

Beale volition permission Fir Park with positives arsenic his broadside proceed to rebuild momentum connected the transportation aft past month's Viaplay Cup last disappointment.

The Rangers brag has won each of his archetypal 8 distant Premiership games, becoming the archetypal manager to bash truthful successful implicit 12 years, but helium volition beryllium striving for much from his players aft different show which fluctuated passim the 90 minutes.

The visitors struggled to interruption down their hosts during the archetypal period, with Tavernier's 23rd-minute equaliser coming from their archetypal changeable connected target.

The Ibrox side's quality to respond has to beryllium lauded, but they person made games unnecessarily hard for themselves by losing the archetypal extremity connected excessively galore occasions.

Rangers' bluntness successful the archetypal fractional was partially down to Motherwell's resolute shape, but possibly if Kettelwell's men were much adventurous they could person built connected their extremity advantage.

The Fir Park boss' flexibility successful however helium has approached each of his 5 games successful complaint indispensable beryllium commended, though. Despite defeat, Motherwell fans volition not person mislaid immoderate anticipation successful their side's endurance bid.

What's next?

After the planetary break, some sides instrumentality to Premiership enactment connected Saturday, 1 April arsenic Motherwell spell to Hibernian, portion Rangers big Dundee United (both 15:00 BST).