Motherwell and Rangers served up a cracking close to 2024 with a 2-2 share at Fir Park.
Motherwell were unable to hold the two goal lead secured by Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Tawanda Maswanhise and the visitors regrouped at the break to level the game with twenty minutes remaining. Motherwell had the ball in the net twice in the second period but VAR interventions quelled the celebrations.
Stuart Kettlewell’s frustrations at the officials’ performance ended him a red card but, in calmer times, he opted for three changes to the side that were beaten at Parkhead and introduced Steven Halliday, Stamatelopoulos and Liam Gordon.
Rangers made the better start but the home side showed how to finish. Slack defending allowed the Australian to sneak between two central defenders for a poke beyond Butland for an early opener.
The home support exploded when Lennon Miller got the ball to Maswanhise inside the box. There were three defenders close by but a smart twist and and a well placed shot put Motherwell two ahead in 35 minutes.
Stamatelopoulos suffered a knock before the break and it was no surprise to see birthday boy Tony Watt jound the fray at the restart.
The visitors were single minded in the second half backed by their half-time substituts Hamza Igamane and Vaclav Cerny. It was the Moroccan who brought them into contention with two goals.
Watt was involved in both of Motherwell’s goal incidents. The first followed a corner from Andy Halliday. Watt stood his ground beside the ‘keeper who palmed the ball into his own net. And the second followed a scramble when the ball came off the bar. Watt celebrated but VAR flagged Casey offside.
Most ‘Well fans would have settled for a point ahead of kick-off but they left the ground with a feeling that the points had slipped away.
There will be an anxious wait to see if the injuries sustained by Miller, Stamatelopoulos and Marvin Kaleta cause any lost time but there will be some satisfaction in the bowels of Fir Park that the year has ended with a spirited performance.
Motherwell 2 Rangers 2
Attendance 8,728
Team: Oxborough, Katela (Ediye 80), Casey, Gordon, Blaney, Wilson, Halliday (Nicholson 74), Paton (Zdravkovsji 74), Miller (Sparrow 67), Stamatelopoulos(Watt45), Maswanhise
Sunday 29 December 2024