Report: Rangers 3-2 Hibernian

RANGERS produced a thrilling second half comeback to hand Michael Beale his first competitive victory as Gers manager with a 3-2 win over Hibernian at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership this evening.

The Light Blues were rocked early in the first half when they were pegged back twice inside the opening quarter of an hour, with Fashion Jr.’s equaliser cancelled out inside 30 seconds by Kevin Nisbet’s go-ahead strike.

However, the Ibrox side emerged with a renewed vigour in the second half, with Ryan Jack and Alfredo Morelos both striking inside a five-minute spell that flipped the contest on its head and sealed a priceless three points for Beale’s charges.

The Gers boss named three changes to his starting lineup from the friendly encounter with Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday afternoon, with John Lundstram, Fashion Jr. and Alfredo Morelos coming into the starting lineup.

The match kicked off to a backdrop of colour in the Broomloan Road end, with the Union Bears celebrating their 15th anniversary.

However, the Light Blues suffered an early setback on the pitch as they fell behind inside seven minutes. After Allan McGregor did well to turn Elie Youan’s curling strike behind, Ryan Porteous headed home from the resulting corner.

The visitors had their tails up as a result, but Rangers offered an immediate riposte with less than a quarter of an hour played. Malik Tillman collected a second ball in midfield before immediately threading the ball inside to Ryan Kent. The Gers winger had options to his left and right, opting for Fashion Jr. and the Zambian made no mistake with his finish as he lashed through the legs of Rocky Bushiri and into the bottom corner.

Parity was short-lived for the Ibrox side, however, as Hibs restored their lead less than a minute later. Kevin Nisbet beat the offside trap from a Marijan Cabraja through pass before lashing his finish in off the post.

Alfredo Morelos tested his luck from distance minutes later after Ryan Kent picked up the ball in a dangerous central position before driving towards goal.

The side netting rippled for the visitors on 28 minutes as Josh Campbell picked up the ball in space on the edge of the penalty area and planted an effort off target that had McGregor concerned.

Rangers began to assert themselves on the contest on the half-hour mark, with Kent and Morelos combining to good effect in a central position before the former’s pull-back was sniffed out within a congested Hibs penalty area.

David Marshall was called into action five minutes before the interval as John Lundstram curled a speculative effort goalbounds after Fashion Jr.’s initial effort was thwarted.

The Gers engineered a promising moment on the stroke of the interval. The dangerous Fashion Jr. turned and faced the Hibs defence before threading a pinpoint pass into the feet of Morelos, with the backtracking Rocky Bushiri knocking the Colombian’s strike at goal behind for a corner.

It took just eight minutes into the second period for the home to fashion their first dangerous moment. Adam Devine worked the ball onto his left foot before standing up a cross for Fashion Jr. to attack, with Marshall making a smart reaction stop from close range to deny the forward.

The Gers were playing with a renewed intensity after the restart, and their endeavour was rewarded on 57 minutes as they drew the contest level. James Tavernier’s corner was met at the near post by Tillman, flicking a clever header onto Ryan Jack who bundled the ball over the goalline from point-blank range.

Tavernier whipped a free-kick straight into the arms of David Marshall minutes later, before the Gers completed the turnaround with a quick fire third of the evening. Tavernier and Tillman were the architects once again, with the latter latching onto the captain’s through pass before leaving Paul Hanlon in his wake with a piece of nimble footwork. Lifting his head, he squared to the grateful Morelos who had the simplest of tasks to stroke into an empty net and bring Ibrox to its feet.

Kent skipped menacingly inside in the 70th minute before taking aim at goal from the corner of the penalty area, but Marshall was equal to the winger’s effort.

Rangers were playing with an assurance after taking the lead, going close to a fourth goal of the evening on 76 minutes. Devine raced down the outside before picking out Tillman with a clever cut-back, with the American unfortunate not to stab his finish on target from a tight angle.

Ben Davies, Scott Arfield and Scott Wright entered the fray with four minutes remaining as the Light Blues boss looked to close out the game.

Hibs offered little in the way of persistent pressure in the dying embers as the full-time whistle blew on a memorable league debut for the Rangers boss on the touchline.

RANGERS: McGregor, Tavernier, Lundstram, Sands, Devine (Davies, 86), Jack, Kamara (Arfield, 86), Tillman (Wright, 86), Fashion Jr. (Davis, 64), Morelos (Matondo, 90), Kent

Subs not used: McLaughlin, McCann, Fraser, Lowry

HIBERNIAN: Marshall, Cadden (McKirdy, 85), Porteous, Bushiri, Hanlon (Stevenson, 85), Cabraja (Henderson, 85), Newell, Campbell, Magennis (Melkersen, 67), Youan, Nisbet (McGeady, 78)

Subs not used: Schofield, Kenneh, Mitchell, Fish

REFEREE: Nick Walsh