Aberdeen vs Rangers. Scottish Premiership.
PittodrieAttendance19,263.
Monday 26 September 2016 00:08, UK
A stunning free-kick from James Maddison gave Aberdeen their first win over Rangers since 2009 as they beat them 2-1 at Pittodrie.
The Ibrox side dominated much of Sunday's Scottish Premiership game but had no conviction in attack and paid for a number of missed chances when Jonny Hayes put the hosts in front early in the second half.
Andy Halliday looked to have secured a point when he drew the sides level with a penalty 11 minutes from the end but Maddison curled a set-piece home 20 seconds from stoppage time to swing the match back in the Dons' favour.
The result moves Aberdeen up to second in the table, with Rangers remaining in the bottom half as they stay seventh.
The manner of their defeat will be difficult for manager Mark Warburton to accept, given his men dictated for large spells.
Home boss Derek McInnes, however, will be happy with the perseverance his players showed. For the second time this week, their winner came moments before the final whistle.
Rangers were especially dominant before the break, enjoying the bulk of possession and making more chances without having any edge.
Aberdeen, by contrast, sat deep as their opponents' pressing play hemmed them in and Harry Forrester's early shot was deflected wide for a corner.
At the other end, the same applied to Adam Rooney's attempt after good build-up play was ultimately thwarted by Danny Wilson's block.
Rangers' best opportunity before the break came from Joe Garner and he should have put his team in front but headed a yard too high from James Tavernier's cross.
Although Tavernier later wasted a free-kick by putting it into the wall, Garner came much closer when Shay Logan diverted his shot goalwards and Joe Lewis tipped the goalbound ball wide.
Aberdeen needed to alleviate pressure and almost did it through Kenny McLean, whose left-footed drive was firmly struck and rising but pushed over well by Wes Foderingham.
Rangers came back but still lacked a final product, with Barrie McKay shooting a yard too high, Garner's header blocked by Mark Reynolds' midriff and Jason Holt screwing well wide.
Holt tried again with a rebound when Garner miskicked but while he was on target this time, his attempt had no pace and was held.
McInnes will have demanded more from his players at the interval and got it just 21 seconds after the restart as they went ahead.
The goal was a remarkably easy one, with Lewis' long ball flicked on by Rooney and with the Rangers defence caught out, Hayes rolled an effort under Foderingham to make it 1-0.
It was the fifth time in seven league games so far the Ibrox team had fallen behind first, a statistic which will also frustrate Warburton.
Maddison was a surprising omission from the home line-up but came on after the interval and his deep free-kick almost dropped in at the back post. His moment would come later.
In response, Waghorn's header was also just wide after Halliday's free-kick, Lee Wallace shot over from distance then Halliday and Waghorn both lifted over, the latter a poor miss.
After Hayes struck the side netting and missed a chance to kill off Rangers, he conceded the penalty by bringing down Wallace, with Halliday converting.
Aberdeen were to have the last word, however, and it was a genuine moment of quality which won them the game - albeit a controversial one.
Tavernier was both penalised and booked despite winning the ball from Hayes and that gave Maddison sight of goal.
The on-loan Norwich player did the rest, curling into Foderingham's top right-hand corner from 30 yards to settle the contest.
In Sunday's other match, Hamilton moved off the bottom of the table after a 1-1 draw with St Johnstone at the SuperSeal stadium.
Greg Docherty scored a fine goal to open his Accies account for the season but the young midfielder passed up a glorious chance to make it 2-0 midway through the second half.
The visitors levelled with eight minutes left when Blair Alston's shot was parried by Remi Matthews and Liam Craig smashed the rebound into the net. The point lifted the Accies up to 10th while Saints remain fourth in the standings.
