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When asked on his return to Ibrox how his team could top the table at the end of this term, Michael Beale pointed to a basic equation.
Over the course of 23 games, there could be no slip-ups by his charges. On top of that, they would need a favor from one of the teams facing Celtic.
Two games into his tenure, Beale’s men are keeping at least half of the deal. Never in his wildest imaginations, however, could the Rangers manager have contemplated how that continued to be the case against Aberdeen.
Scott Arfield struck twice in stoppage time as Rangers claimed a dramatic late win over Aberdeen
When the fourth official held up the scoreboard to indicate the number of minutes added at Pittodrie, the sight of the number seven caused a gasp from the home fans.
His side had heroically come from behind to lead the Rangers. They were defending valiantly and looking good for a first league win here against the Ibrox men for six years.
Desperately fighting to hold on to any hope they had of lifting the Premiership, Rangers found inspiration when they needed it most.
The dramatic late change saw Michael Beale’s side move six points behind leaders Celtic
Scott Arfield had only been introduced as a substitute ahead of the hour, but he wrote his name in the whole uproarious affair, scoring an equalizer on 95 minutes and, surprisingly, netting the winner two minutes later.
The Rangers celebrated wildly and you could understand why. The gap to Celtic is now six points and they are asking the kind of questions Beale wanted.
A run of just eight away wins from 17 previous away games in 2022 is looking a bit better and now they will feel they can improve even further when they travel to Dingwall on Friday.
It will be some time before Aberdeen accepts this. After Fashion Sakala’s early start, he was second best in the first half, but equalized on the stroke of half-time with a spectacular free kick from Barros Lopes’ Luis Henriques aka Duk.
Duk equalized for Aberdeen with a superb free kick on the stroke of half-time, making it 1-1
Second best up to that point, Jim Goodwin’s side got much better thereafter. Leighton Clarkson put them ahead on 53 minutes and they defended valiantly thereafter until his legs and his spirit seemed to fade in stoppage time.
Given the criticism Goodwin received for carrying the sandbags in the defeat to Celtic, there was never any doubt that Aberdeen would show a greater sense of adventure here. They had to.
Playing in a different zip code than on the weekend, their willingness to participate forced some early mistakes from those in blue, but none significant enough to miss out on the first opportunity.
The way in which Goodwin’s side conceded in the 12th minute would have dismayed the Dons manager. Threaded between Hayden Coulson and Liam Scales, Ryan Jack’s pass opened Aberdeen wide.
Leighton Clarkson had given Aberdeen a 2-1 lead at the start of the second half
Alfredo Morelos read it, picked it up and crossed to Sakala. The Zambian’s initial attack was weakly tackled by Anthony Stewart. Given a second chance, Sakala spiked the ball between the legs of Kelle Roos.
Before the Dons had time to regroup, Malik Tillman tricked Scales on the byline and set up Morelos. Roos was right behind this strike.
Aberdeen troubled Rangers with balls delivered from the flanks, none more than when Jayden Richardson signaled Duk at the far post with the striker heading against the post.
When Duk’s pace brought him an opening down the left, his shot fell perfectly for the oncoming Ylber Ramadani. There were no excuses for his failure to hit the target from 14 meters.
The price for the Dons’ combative approach was the early signing of Ramadani, Scales and Connor Barron, with the names of Ryan Jack and James Sands also entering Willie Collum’s book.
Coming to the cusp of halftime, Sands’ transgression was more costly than any other. Later Bojan Miovski, as he tried to clear the lines from him, the American looked like every inch a midfielder filling out the center half.
Duk made sure Sands’ punishment was doubled. His free kick with his right foot went over the wall and beyond the reach of Allan McGregor.
The former Benfica man has produced some wonderful moments since moving to Pittodrie, but this surpassed them all. The power and spin he got on the ball was just extraordinary. Like the fact that he took the long way to the net going to the far corner.
Arfield came off the bench before the hour mark and made a dramatic impact on Pittodrie
The rangers had a right to nurture a grievance as they retreated to the locker room. They were the better team in the first period, their rough passes and movement repeatedly raising questions.
Beale’s only criticism would have been the lack of avant-garde. Sakala’s failure to hit the mark and double his lead after Ryan Kent played him was a case in point.
There was more in Aberdeen after the change. More imagination. More courage with the ball. More controlled aggression.
That desire to have more opportunities turned the game upside down after eight minutes. Sands did not have a good night here. A half-hearted attempt at a clearance landed Clarkson a gift. The Liverpool loan player didn’t need a second wild card and curved the ball past McGregor from 18 yards out.
This must be clear; In his prime, McGregor could have prevented Duk’s effort from landing in his net. At any stage in his long career, he was expected to have kept Clarkson’s shot from hitting him.
One of a flurry of substitutions Beale made, John Lundstram got away with a booking for leaving more than a little Marley Watkins behind.
Rangers fans celebrated the dramatic turnaround in the closing minutes of stoppage time.
It’s understandable that the Dons fell deeper when the final whistle blew. When Arfield could only find Roos’s arms with the goal open, you knew they could get there.
But in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Kent dropped a shoulder and fired. Roos spilled his shot and Arfield pounced. Game on.
Where Collum got an extra seven minutes from, only he could say, but the Rangers weren’t complaining.
And in the last of them came the most extraordinary ending. Aberdeen had two, maybe three chances to clear their lines, but they didn’t. Arfield was on hand to slice the ball over Roos.
It was something extraordinary. This title race will throw up some twists and turns yet.