What other twists and turns can come in this title race? Rangers were held and Celtic were beaten. Hearts were the winners this weekend, that is for sure. The gap to the league leaders now stands at four for Danny Rohl's side.
Rangers found themselves behind inside the opening quarter of an hour as Livingston took a surprise lead. Robbie Muirhead provided the cross from a free-kick and Brooklyn Kabongo finished emphatically on the angle.
A goal early in the first half was followed by one early in the second. Lewis Smith finished well across goal after Rangers failed to clear their lines. Desperation set in.
Cristian Montano saw red with half an hour to go. With nine minutes left, Manny Fernandez reduced the deficit. With 87 minutes on the clock, Mikey Moore scored to pull the visitors level. A Cammy Kerr foul on Moore sparked a lengthy VAR check but Rangers were left furious.
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Another nail-biting afternoon
The banner in the away end read ‘Never Surrender’. Rohl will not raise the white flag just yet. This was, though, a damaging blow for Rangers as the German saw his side held by the team that are fighting a very different fight this term.
With ten games left, the deficit to Hearts stands at four points. Insurmountable? Of course not. But the room for manoeuvre has gone, the allowance for off days has been used up. This was a dreadful afternoon, both in terms of the performance and the result. Rangers got what they deserved and the comment and criticism will now be stinging for Rohl and his players.
Livingston were 25 matches without a win in the Premiership and had collected three points just once this term. Their winless run against Rangers stretched back to Steven Gerrard’s tenure. Form went out of the window here.
Hearts did their job on Saturday as Falkirk were beaten at Tynecastle. It left the Old Firm knowing that there was no margin for error on Sunday. Events at Parkhead – as Celtic fell behind and then equalised on the stroke of half-time – did not register here. Rangers had their own issues at the forefront of their mind at that stage and even the late winner in the East End was not a consolation for the Light Blues.
Rangers pulled themselves level as Hibernian took the lead along the M8. Out of despair, there was hope. That faded for both in blue and green. Those in the maroon were the real winners this weekend. Quite simply, Rangers cannot afford another afternoon like this.
Visitors played the game Livi wanted
The chances came from set-pieces in the first half. Outside of an effort from Moore that Jerome Prior saved well, there was very little from open play from Rangers. Resorting to crosses into the box just played into Livingston’s hands. Bartley would have been delighted.
Prior was in inspired form. A fingertip save to prevent Tuur Rommens finding the far corner with a header was his first impressive intervention. When the ball came back off the post, perhaps Rangers should have had that feeling. From the following corner, Fernandez could only head over.
The defender’s next attempt met the same fate after Prior saved a James Tavernier free-kick. The ball fell at the feet of the wrong person inside the area. Prior was a commanding figure. He saved another Tavernier free-kick and saw an ambitious effort from Moore go wide of target. The keeper deserved to return to the dressing room with his clean sheet intact.
He picked up where he left off. Bojan Miovski was next to be denied by a save that the Sky Sports cameras would have appreciated. Moore couldn’t force the ball over the line minutes later.
Fernandez found the top corner with a terrific strike with nine minutes remaining. In the final stages, Moore scored from close range to rescue a share of the spoils for Rangers.
Lions denied late on
You can take nothing away from the quality of the finish from Kabongo. You can question how Rangers conceded the free-kick and then defended it. Robbie Muirhead’s deliver was pinpointed to the back post and Kabongo finished sweetly, his volley beating Jack Butland at his near post as Rangers were stunned.
The Lions may be languishing at the foot of the standings right now but there has been an upturn in performances of late following the appointment of Bartley as boss. His side came within seconds of a point at Parkhead earlier this month and they were competitive here.
The early lead, of course, gave them something to hold on to. It was an advantage they could have added to when Montano fired a cross into the area that Muirhead couldn’t make the most of. Muirhead had tested Butland inside ten minutes and was a threat whenever Livingston were able to venture forward.
When they did so after the break, they doubled their lead. Rangers failed to clear their lines and the ball was slipped into Smith in the left channel. A low finish found the far corner.
Montano’s red card for a foul on Gassama changed the dynamic for the hosts. Bartley adapted his shape, made switches from the bench and thought Livingston had seen out the storm in the pouring rain. They were left with regrets.
Desperation set in for Rangers
Rohl kept his cards close to his chest on Friday morning as he confirmed that two players would be absent but opted not to divulge their identities. Come Sunday afternoon, there were three names that were noticeable absentees.
The surface here would have ruled Dujon Sterling out regardless and he could yet feature in the Old Firm next weekend. Ryan Naderi was only fit enough for a place on the bench after taking part in his first training session on Saturday. The other name was that of Oliver Antman, with the Finnish internationalist missing from the squad altogether.
Rohl had no option but to go to his bench at the break. Bojan Miovski was introduced ahead of Naderi as Rangers switched to a 4-4-2. Interestingly, it was Andreas Skov Olsen that made way as Djeidi Gassama was switched to the right flank. In truth, neither wide man had offered nearly enough.
At 2-0 and with Livingston down to ten men, Rohl had to roll the dice again. Tochi Chukwuani was withdrawn as Naderi was given half an hour to make an impact. Thelo Aasgaard got the closing stages after replacing John Souttar. At that stage, Rohl was just throwing players at it and hoping that something would work.
Gassama’s exit was met with a handful of sarcastic cheers from the fans behind Butland. The introduction of Nedim Bajrami didn’t exactly raise spirits. Rangers had the bodies but couldn't get the late breakthrough.
No heroics from Chermiti this time
Big players score big goals in big games. Chermiti lived up to that billing against Celtic and Hearts. Could he do it against Livingston? That was the challenge that Rohl laid down ahead of the trip here as he called for the Portuguese to be ‘clinical’. As the German said, every game at this stage of the season is a big one.
Chermiti struggled with the underfoot conditions in the opening stages and lost his balance on a couple of occasions. His first chance came inside four minutes as Rommens whipped a teasing ball in from the left but Chermiti couldn’t get on the end of it. He had started the move in midfield but couldn’t find the finishing touch. Later, a scramble in the area saw a strike from close range blocked.
The second half was spent on the periphery, chasing lost causes and loose passes. With Rangers struggling to create, Chermiti’s influence was minimal. The runs were unrewarded, the chances rare.
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