Livingston vs Rangers; Scottish Premiership
Livingston vs Rangers. Scottish Premiership.
Tony Macaroni Arena.
Livingston 2
- B Kabongolo (14th minute)
- L Smith (55th minute)
- C Montano (sent off 60th minute)
Rangers 2
- E Fernandez (81st minute)
- M Moore (88th minute)
Livingston 2-2 Rangers: Gers battle back for Scottish Premiership point but lose ground in title race
Report as goals from Emmanuel Fernandez and Mikey Moore earned Rangers a point at Livingston; however, the Gers are now four points behind Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership table; Brooklyn Kabongolo and Lewis Smith scored for Livingston, who also had Cristian Montano sent off
Sunday 22 February 2026 18:33, UK
Rangers mounted an incredible comeback to draw 2-2 at Livingston, but dropped points in the latest twist in the Scottish Premiership title race.
With Hearts winning on Saturday, the pressure was on Rangers and their Glasgow rivals, Celtic, to keep pace with the league leaders.
But neither could get the job done. The Gers gave themselves a mountain to climb when they found themselves 2-0 down - a stunning proposition given the Scottish Premiership's bottom side had not won in 25 league matches.
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It was a brilliant finish from Brooklyn Kabongolo to see Livingston ahead. He lashed his laces through Scott Pittman's free-kick delivery to give the hosts a shock lead.
Livingston have their goalkeeper, Jerome Prior, to thank for a string of stunning saves to frustrate Rangers for as long as they did.
It gave Marvin Bartley's side a platform to score another in the second half. It was from another free-kick too, which Rangers initially cleared - but only as far as Emmanuel Danso. He played a neat reverse pass to Lewis Smith, who took a few touches before firing home on the angle.
Five minutes later and the game finally turned in Rangers' favour when Cristian Montano was sent off. He took out Djeidi Gassama at the top of the area, and after a VAR review for offside showed there was no case to answer, the Livi man trotted off for an early shower.
The Gers' comeback began in the 82nd minute. It was a thunderbolt from Emmanuel Fernandez that finally breached Prior's goal, before a deft header from Mikey Moore levelled things up with two minutes of the 90 to go.
News began to filter in of Hibernian's winning goal against Celtic, as Rangers had a big penalty call turned down in nine minutes of added time.
Moore was picked out through the middle, but was fouled by Cammy Kerr. The referee initially said no penalty, but VAR reviewed the decision.
One of the key debates was if the foul came inside or outside the box, but after a lengthy check, neither a penalty or free-kick was given. Instead, the game resumed with a simple restart. "That's a shocker," said Chris Sutton on Sky Sports co-commentary.
The result leaves Rangers four points behind Hearts ahead of next Sunday's Old Firm. The point doesn't do too much for Livingston either, who move on to 13 points - eight clear of 11th place.
Röhl: Two points dropped
Rangers boss Danny Röhl to Sky Sports: "Two dropped [points]. We are disappointed. Over the 90 minutes, we had chances, but they waited for the moments and you have to be there. From set plays, it was clear. It was the only moment they could score something.
"At the end, big respect that we tried to get the point and a big thank you to the supporters. Even at 2-0 down, they helped us massively.
"We have to carry on, this is the race. At the end, we dropped two points but next week, we have the next opportunity to go again.
"We have personality and character, but we conceded two goals and it makes it very hard. In the end, it was exactly the game I expected and in those two or three moments, you have to be there.
"We have to carry on. There are still ten games to go. I said this to the group, we are not happy, but hopefully we can close the gap from four to one next week.
"We will hunt until the end [for the title]. The final decision will be the last match day. We are ready for this, my group is ready for this. They have a big belief, for a short moment they are disappointed, but it's important to lead by example and I believe we can do it."
On the late penalty shout: "The big question mark from my view was the foul [from Kerr on Moore]. If it's outside, then again it's a red card or it's inside and it's a pen. This is what I can't take today.
"It's a key moment. These are moments where you can decide the race with the final actions, but we also had 90 minutes to score for 3-2.
"In general, if there is a foul, then it's a penalty or free-kick. As a ref, you decide if it's a red card or yellow card, that is a different thing. I think the first contact goes down the leg, not to the ball, then you have to make a decision."
Boyd: Rangers have to win at these grounds if they want titles
Kris Boyd on Sky Sports: "Maybe if Rangers had got the first goal a little bit earlier, they would've had a better chance of getting back into it. They had loads of the ball but they didn't create many clear chances.
"The lack of a natural goalscorer in the No 9 position may come back to haunt Rangers.
"It's now three away games in a row for Rangers they've failed to win, albeit they've been difficult games at Motherwell and Hibs, but coming here to a team that hasn't won since August - look at the [Rangers] team.
"There were a lot of opportunities, but Rangers have spent a lot of money since the summer. There's been a huge improvement, but if you're going to win titles, these are the grounds you have to come to and win three points.
"Now looking at it, if Hearts beat Aberdeen on Saturday, they can sit back with their feet up, watch the game [Old Firm] on Sunday and if Rangers win, Celtic are done.
"But if Celtic go to Ibrox and win, they have a game in hand on Wednesday, and all of a sudden, that changes as well. This weekend, there's only one winner and it's Hearts."
Bartley: We have to back up this performance
Livingston boss Marvin Bartley to Sky Sports: "Before the game, if you offered us a point, we 100 per cent would've taken it.
"When you go two goals ahead, and the sending off changes it for us. We just became lazy at that point and good teams will try and punish you.
"These players are giving me 100 per cent and that's all I ask of them. They were defending from the front, bodies on the line and clearing balls that are coming into a dangerous area.
"Defensively, we were fantastic today. At times, you rely on your goalkeeper and Jerome was fantastic as well.
"I couldn't be prouder of them but now we have a massive game next week. If we don't back it up, then it means nothing."
