ABERDEEN 2 RANGERS 2
SPFL Premiership
Sunday 13th April 2025
Pittodrie
Ref: Steven McLean
Attendance: 18,863
The Dons were denied a victory over Rangers after a goal from Ianis Hagi in the sixth minute of added time made it 2-2, after the Dons had surged to a 2-0 lead in the first half.
Following the 1-0 win at Ross County last weekend, Jimmy Thelin named an unchanged starting XI for the Dons. Fletcher Boyd replaced Jack MacKenzie on the bench.
Rangers drew 0-0 on Thursday in their Europa League tie with Athletic Club de Bilbao and made nine changes to their starting XI, with just Kelly and Propper remaining.
Twenty seconds in and Pape Gueye was sent tumbling by a late tackle around halfway, Fernandes fortunate perhaps not to get a yellow card.
A Rangers break in the eighth minute gave them a golden opportunity, but Danilo’s first touch when clean through was dreadful, giving Ross Doohan chance to save at his feet. Ante Palaversa had the Dons’ first look at goal on ten minutes, his volley from 20 yards straight at Kelly.
Moments later, Topi Keskinen robbed McCausland in his own half then left the Rangers man trailing helplessly in his wake, but his pass for Gueye was scrambled behind by Rangers.
The Dons were close to the lead on 18 minutes. Keskinen played a pass across the top of the area for Shayden Morris, and his rapid pirouette left the defender running off in the wrong direction and Morris in on goal. With Kelly bearing down on him, Morris pulled his shot wide of the target and Gueye couldn’t quite reach the ball to tap in at the back post. Fernandes then needed treatment and had to make way for Tavernier.
On 25, Barron shanked a 25 yarder well wide and into the Red Shed. Three minutes later, Jensen’s low cross from the right caused confusion in the six yard box, Gueye getting a touch before Rangers hacked the ball clear.
Mats Knoester should have opened the scoring on 29 as the Dons recycled a corner. Shinnie played a beguiling cross into the near post where Knoester was onto it, but he scooped his shot over the top from a tight angle.
McCausland was booked on the half hour for a very late challenge on Alfie Dorrington.
The referee had initially played advantage after that tackle and the Dons had played forward from there and won a free-kick on the left corner of the box after a tackle by Barron on Keskinen. Leighton Clarkson territory? So it proved, the Dons midfielder firing over the wall and bending the ball into the top corner, Kelly getting a hand to it but unable to prevent it snuggling down into the net for the opening goal.
Morris was off on the gallop, set away by Kevin Nisbet on 35. With nobody ahead of him, he had to go it alone and drove a shot across the face of goal and wide of the far post.
Rangers were back in the Dons penalty area for the first time in an age on 38 minutes, Igmane controlling well before volleying straight at Doohan.
McCausland’s afternoon went from bad to worse when he scythed Keskinen down as he chased him down the left, giving the referee no option but to give him a second yellow card, reducing Rangers to ten men on 40 minutes.
Keskinen was unstoppable with the ball at his feet, charging away again and cutting inside before curling a shot wide of the far post, though the better option might have been to pick out Nisbet, standing on his own on the edge of the box.
It was 2-0 on 44. Morris accelerated down the rigth before picking out Gueye with a perfect pull back. First time, the big striker steered the ball beyond Kelly to double the lead.
Rangers did have the ball in the net in the second minute of added time, Igmane firing in after Doohan had saved from Danilo’s header, but Curtis had clearly overrun the ball in crossing and a goal kick was quickly awarded by VAR. The players trooped off with a score line that reflected the Dons’ domination of the first 45 minutes.
HALF-TIME: ABERDEEN 2 RANGERS 0
Rangers brought on Jefte and Diomande at the interval, the services of Cortes and Danilo not required any further as Barry Ferguson rejigged his side.
It was a successful reinvention too, for Rangers were back in the game in the 49th minute. Igamane chased a Curtis flick on from a long ball out of defence and twisted past Dorrington and Jensen before arrowing a shot into the bottom corner.
Encouraged, Igamane tried a 40 yard effort on 51 minutes after Palaversa gave the ball away, but the shot went well wide. Palaversa was booked two minutes later for a foul on Bajrami.
Graeme Shinnie bent a dangerous looking cross in on 54, Nisbet and Jefte banging heads as they went for it, the pair needing lengthy treatment before continuing. Ester Sokler and Jeppe Okkels were Aberdeen’s first changes after 59 minutes, Gueye and Morris making way for them.
Keskinen was inches away from a brilliant solo goal on 62, collecting a pass from Jensen before fleet footwork took him away from a defender and into a shooting space, his effort across goal not quite bending enough to take it inside the far post.
Nisbet was equally close a few seconds later, pulling his shot just wide from the edge of the box as the Dons started to find their rhythm again. Palaversa and Keskinen were then replaced by Oday Dabbagh and Nicky Devlin, Shinnie going into midfield, Jensen onto the left.
Shinnie unleashed a testing drive from 25 yards in the 66th minute as the Dons began to find their groove again, Kelly down to his right to clutch the ball. Rangers responded to that Aberdeen improvement by bringing on Hagi for Bajrami.
Nisbet had a golden chance to seal things for Aberdeen on 74 minutes. Dorrington did brilliantly down the right to beat two defenders then pull it back to the striker 14 yards out, but he dragged his shot wide of the goal, before Dessers replaced Curtis in Rangers’ final throw of the dice.
Aberdeen penned Rangers in for a lengthy spell on 78, Okkels coming closer to his first Aberdeen goal at the end of it, his shot from a tight angle blocked behind by Nsiala.
Diomande caused concern with an arcing cross to the back post in the 82nd minute, Dessers heading well over the bar, but the game was becoming far nervier than it had been in that dominant first 45 minutes.
Hagi was in the book on 87 after Okkels turned him and then skinned him for pace down the left, the Rangers man hauling him back from behind. Clarkson speared the free-kick into the box, Dessers tried to clear but prodded it only as far as Knoester who helped the ball on to Nisbet to blast it into the roof of the net from six yards. A lengthy VAR check followed, and the goal was disallowed, the ball having caught Nisbet’s elbow before he scored.
It proved critical for in the sixth minute if the five added on, Dessers smashed a shot from distance against the post, but the rebound was worked to Hagi who finished across goal and into the far corner to equalise.
ABERDEEN: Doohan, Jensen, Dorrington, Knoester, Shinnie, Clarkson, Palaversa (Dabbagh 64), Morris (Okkels 59), Keskinen (Devlin 64), Nisbet, Gueye (Sokler 59).
Subs not used: Ritchie, Milne, Boyd, Polvara, Ambrose.
GOALS: Clarkson (31), Gueye (44)
BOOKED: Palaversa
RANGERS: Kelly, Nsiala, Fernandes (Tavernier 20), Propper, Barron, Bajrami (Hagi 68), Cortes (Jefte 46), McCausland, Curtis (Dessers 74), Igmane, Danilo (Diomande 46).
Subs not used: Butland, Souttar, Hutton, McCallion.
GOALS: Igmane (49), Hagi (90+6)
SENT OFF: McCausland
BOOKED: McCausland, Hagi
