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

Rangers manager Michael Beale extended his unbeaten Scottish Premiership start to 14 games after his side fought back to earn victory in a pulsating six-goal thriller at Motherwell.

Motherwell responded through Bevis Mugabi, but two goals in six minutes from Todd Cantwell and Malik Tillman took the game away from the hosts, who had Callum Slattery dismissed.

The win for Beale’s side narrows the gap on leaders Celtic to six points, but Ange Postecoglou’s men can restore their nine-point advantage with victory at home to Hibernian later on Saturday.

Defeat for Motherwell, who remain ninth and are now winless in 55 top-flight games against Rangers, brings an end to Stuart Kettlewell’s four-game unbeaten start as manager.

A James McFadden goal in 2002 earned the Fir Park club their last Premiership victory in this fixture.

And it was current talisman Van Veen who had the home fans dreaming as the Dutchman tucked in Max Johnston’s cross then wheeled away in front of a travelling support who protested against the Ibrox board pre-match.

Rangers toiled in their pursuit of an equaliser as rigid Motherwell made life difficult in their 5-4-1 shape, but Slattery’s wild challenge on John Lundstram on the edge of the box resulted in Tavernier to bending a free-kick over the wall, beating Liam Kelly far too easily.

Tavernier then turned provider a minute after the break for Sakala to head home – the Zambian’s sixth goal in six games against Motherwell.

From nowhere, Kettlewell’s side drew level when Rangers failed to clear their lines, allowing Mugabi to prod the ball in on the slide.

But Beale’s men had their lead back four minutes later when Cantwell smashed in from close range – his first goal for his new club – before substitute Tillman drilled a quickfire fourth with a fine strike from the edge of the area.

Motherwell were reduced to 10 men for the final 14 minutes when Slattery was shown a second yellow for a flailing arm on Cantwell, but the hosts were spared a heavier defeat as Rangers passed up further chances to add gloss to the win.

Player of the match – Todd Cantwell

Rangers respond after making life difficult again – analysis

Beale will leave Fir Park with positives as his side continue to rebuild momentum on the pitch after last month’s Viaplay Cup final disappointment.

The Rangers boss has won all his first eight away Premiership games, becoming the first manager to do so in over 12 years, but he will be striving for more from his players after another performance which fluctuated throughout the 90 minutes.

The visitors struggled to break down their hosts during the first period, with Tavernier’s 23rd-minute equaliser coming from their first shot on target.

The Ibrox side’s character to respond has to be lauded, but they have made games unnecessarily difficult for themselves by losing the first goal on too many occasions.

Rangers’ bluntness in the first half was partly down to Motherwell’s resolute shape, but perhaps if Kettlewell’s men were more adventurous they could have built on their goal advantage.

The Fir Park boss’ flexibility in how he has approached each of his five games in charge must be commended, though. Despite defeat, Motherwell fans will not have lost any hope in their side’s survival bid.

What did they say?

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell: “First and foremost, I’m pleased with the players. We never want to be glorious losers. We showed good discipline. But second half it started to open up slightly.

“We need some clarity [on Rangers’ third goal]. There’s a big call made. There seems to be a lot of confusion about how that decision comes about. I’ll stand corrected if I’m wrong but from the pictures I’ve seen [Fashion] Sakala looks offside.”

Rangers manager Michael Beale: “I’m delighted in terms of the goals we are scoring away from home, but I’m a little bit frustrated with the two we conceded. We recovered really well. I thought we were in control of the whole game, it was just whether we could up our quality.

“I’m seeing really good signs from the team. But I would like to see us score more goals. It’s becoming a little bit of a habit. This team are capable of scoring more goals.”

What’s next?

After the international break, both sides return to Premiership action on Saturday, 1 April as Motherwell go to Hibernian, while Rangers host Dundee United (both 15:00 BST).