Olwethu Makhanya scored a late equaliser as Rangers earned a 2-2 draw with Hearts on the much-hyped Tynecastle return for Derek McInnes. The Rangers manager was booed loudly by the home support as he emerged from the tunnel for his first match back since leaving for Ibrox in June, just weeks after the Edinburgh side were pipped to the Scottish Premiership title. However, his team silenced a pumped-up home crowd when Kevin Kelsy scored a 16th-minute opener after a lapse from Laurent Mendy.
Hearts turned the game round with goals from Cláudio Braga and Calvin Miller early in the second half. But Makhanya’s 89th-minute header ensured the match ended all square, keeping second-placed Rangers four points behind Celtic and four above Hearts. Celtic showed their mettle as they fought back to grab a 2-2 draw with Dundee United at Parkhead.
The Colombian striker Camilo Durán put Martin O’Neill’s team ahead in the 18th minute with his 11th goal of the season. But the Australian forward Zac Sapsford levelled in the 28th minute with a header before the defender Neil Farrugia put the visitors in front three minutes later with his first goal for the club. Celtic piled forward in the second half and the defender Liam Scales equalised with a 64th-minute header.
O’Neill said: “We cannot control anything that’s happening elsewhere. The disappointment and the frustration comes from not winning a home game. But considering the trials and tribulations over the last number of weeks, yeah, I’m not totally dissatisfied.
We conceded some poor goals, but we fought back and I just thought we were going to win it. But in the end we could have lost it too, on the break. I thought Dundee United were very dangerous and they played very well in the game.” Stephen Robinson, the Aberdeen manager, admitted his side were not good enough in the 1-0 defeat by Falkirk, but refused to shout and scream at his players in the aftermath.
Ben Brauhaus, on as a substitute, scored the only goal of the game, side-footing into the bottom-left corner from the centre of the box after 73 minutes. Robinson, though, felt his side should have scored from at least one of their chances before then, saying: “Not good enough. We had four chances we should score.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
