Aberdeen vs Rangers. Scottish Premiership.
PittodrieAttendance16,911.
Report as Aberdeen and Rangers draw 1-1 at Pittodrie; Bojan Miovski opened the scoring for the hosts; James Tavernier levelled for the visitors from the spot in stoppage time after a VAR-awarded penalty; Rangers move to within eight points of Celtic at the top of the table, Dons stay ninth
Monday 27 November 2023 09:39, UK
James Tavernier's stoppage-time Video Assistant Referee-awarded penalty rescued a point for Rangers at Aberdeen.
The Dons had led from the 11th minute when Bojan Miovski fired his side ahead, until the fourth minute of injury time when VAR Andrew Dallas spotted a pull by Stefan Gartenmann on Connor Goldson from a left-wing corner.
The on-field referee, Nick Walsh, was asked to go over to the pitchside monitor, where he agreed with his colleague, with Tavernier doing the rest from the spot.
As a result, the visitors moved to within eight points of champions Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership table, and with a game in hand on their city rivals, while Aberdeen stay ninth.
Philippe Clement has gone eight games unbeaten since becoming Rangers boss but he will feel this was an opportunity missed against the side they meet in next month's Viaplay Cup final at Hampden Park.
Aberdeen's convincing 3-1 win at Ibrox in September ended Michael Beale's time as Rangers boss and former Gers striker and current pundit Kris Boyd had added spice to the game by saying Aberdeen players, who lost 6-0 to Celtic in their last outing, would raise their game against the Light Blues.
The home side, who had Slovenian Ester Sokler making his first league start with winger Ryan Duncan and midfielder Jamie McGrath back in the team, certainly started with purpose.
Defender Slobodan Rubezic's header from a Leighton Clarkson free-kick was saved by Gers keeper Jack Butland who, moments later, brilliantly denied Sokler with his left foot, after the forward had been sent racing clear of the Gers defence by Clarkson.
Rangers had Jose Cifuentes making his first start under Clements with fellow midfielder Todd Cantwell also returning along with Brazilian striker Danilo. But it was midfielder Tom Lawrence who came close to getting the breakthrough, his drive saved by Roos.
The Dons keeper was the initial architect of the route-one opener, his long clearance headed on by Sokler with North Macedonia striker Miovski this time running past centre-backs Goldson and Leon Balogun before confidently guiding
the ball low past Butland.
Slowly Rangers came back and a Cantwell pass which sped across the Aberdeen goal in the 25th minute was begging to be tapped in before Roos saved Danilo's close-range effort with his foot.
The Pittodrie number one then made a magnificent save from Balogun's header from Abdallah Sima's cross before grabbing John Lundstram's attempt from the rebound.
At the other end, as the Granite City men rallied, Butland parried clear a powerful 25-yard strike from McGrath, the last real goalmouth action of the first half.
Roos made another decent block from Danilo's angled-drive early in the second half as the visitors went in search of a leveller.
Rangers kept Aberdeen pinned in their own half for large spells but the Dons defended diligently although in the 73rd minute Lawrence cracked the Dons bar with a 30-yard volley before Balogun hit the bar with a header from close
range.
The Govan side kept pushing and got their reward with Tavernier's late penalty with substitute Sam Lammer missing a good chance to win it in added time when he headed straight in to the arms of Roos.
Aberdeen boss Barry Robson:
"I wasn't at the VAR meeting - I was training and it was in Glasgow, which wasn't great timing - but what I heard was there was a lot said about pulling jerseys in boxes and the referees said not every one is a penalty.
"So Stefan got blocked, I think we all see that, so obviously VAR have not bothered looking at the block, they have just looked at the pull of the shirt.
"We are in trouble, aren't we, if this is the way it is going to go?
"It doesn't look great. For me it doesn't look good, another VAR decision going Rangers' way in the 90th minute again."
Asked what he meant by "it doesn't look good", he replied: "It is just a goal in the 90th minute - that's it."
Asked what he said to referee Walsh after the game, he said: "I hope you got it right. There's too many decisions been wrong in Scotland."
Rangers boss Philippe Clement:
"It is nothing to do with top of the table or whatever. If you had the xG that we had today, we should have scored more goals. It is a big xG for an away game against a tough opponents, all credit to Aberdeen.
"When you go behind to them they defend with a lot of numbers and a lot of passion in small spaces so it is not easy to create so many chances and then it is about centimetres.
"We should have won this game. We had the best chances. It was a day that things didn't go our way because of a good goalkeeper and twice hitting the crossbar, but finally we got the goal.
"I was asked this question a few weeks ago, about my opinion of VAR, and I'm a fan because it makes the game more honest.
"Of course there are still some mistakes and some decisions that stay in a grey area.
"That's also why you guys [media] have a lot of work, because there are a lot of opinions after games and I think you guys like that also.
"People respond and are fans for one team or another.
"But in the end, if you are objective, you can only say VAR makes the game more honest than in my days. So I'm a fan of that.
"Clearly, it's a penalty. If you pull a shirt like that, you see the shirt comes like this. It's a penalty. You cannot use your hands in that way."
Analysis by Chris Sutton on Sky Sports Football:
"He [Goldson] does dive, but he [Aberdeen manager Barry Robson] should be angry with Gartenmann for being stupid enough to pull his shirt.
"So that is why I am OK with the referee being told to go over to the TV monitor.
"Is it enough for him to throw himself to the floor? I do not think so...."
Rangers' attention turns to the Europa League with a home match against Aris Limassol on Thursday night, while Aberdeen are away to HJK Helsinki in the Conference League on the same night.
Rangers then host St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership on December 3, while Aberdeen are away to Hibernian. Both games kick-off at 3pm.
