Hamza Igamane’s hat-trick was not enough to secure victory for Rangers as Rocky Bushiri’s late header earned in-form Hibernian a dramatic 3-3 draw. Gers looked on course to follow up their 3-0 demolition of Glasgow rivals Celtic on Thursday when Igamane put them 2-0 up early on.
But Hibs – who had lost just one of their previous eight matches – regained their composure after a difficult start and got back into level terms thanks to a Martin Boyle brace. Igamane restored Gers’ lead at a time when the hosts looked to be in the ascendancy before Bushiri equalized in the 83rd minute to make it six unbeaten for David Gray’s side.
Despite the euphoria of their Old Firm success at Ibrox, Rangers have now dropped points in each of their last three away matches, wasting the opportunity to put real pressure on their city rivals at top of the Premiership.
Hibs made one change from the team that started Thursday’s 1-1 draw at St Johnstone as Dwight Gayle replaced Junior Hoilett in attack, with captain Joe Newell and striker Élie Youan once again absent due to injury. The visitors remained unchanged from the team that started the derby as goalkeeper Liam Kelly again started in place of Jack Butland, who continues to recover after being hospitalized with internal bleeding in his leg.
Hibs got off to a nervous start and were punished for their lack of vigilance in the fourth minute when Igamane scored Ianis Hagi’s well-weighted pullback from the left after Bushiri got into a tangle trying to deal with a ball behind . Bushiri handled Rangers’ next opportunity better when he stood firm to deflect Nedim Bajrami’s effort behind after the Albanian had cut in menacingly from the left.
The hosts struggled to contain the visitors early on and Kwon Hyeok-kyu did just enough to deflect Igamane’s shot away after Mohamed Diomande had hit the Moroccan just outside the penalty area. Bajrami and Vaclav Cerny had powerful angular efforts pushed for a corner by Jordan Smith in quick succession before pressure from the Ibrox side brought a second goal in the 19th minute. Bajrami’s cross from the left picked out the unmarked Igamane and the striker’s header from seven yards flew past Smith, who got a hand to the effort but couldn’t keep it out.
At this point it looked like Rangers were set to cruise to victory while Hibs – in a state of slight disarray – seemed unable to gain a foothold. But the hosts reduced the gap in the 32nd minute when Jack Iredale’s free-kick into the box was assisted into the danger zone by Lewis Miller and Josh Campbell, and Bushiri smartly placed the ball into the path of Boyle, who drilled a low shot. hits from 12 yards.
Remarkably, the scores were level at the hour when Campbell was fouled by Hagi as he attempted to rush onto a Gayle pass, and Boyle made no mistake. Hibs suddenly picked up the tail and looked the team most likely to take the lead, with Miller seeing a fierce shot saved by Kelly before the Australian defender headed inside the post soon after.
Rangers manager Philippe Clement made a triple change in the 70th minute as Hagi, Bajrami and the injured Dujon Sterling were replaced by Danilo, Óscar Cortés and Leon King. Four minutes later, the visitors regained the advantage with a shot from Igamane following a back shot from Cerny.
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However, Bushiri – as he did when scoring a last-minute equalizer in a 3-3 home draw with Aberdeen in November – had the last laugh as he headed home Nicky Cadden’s corner.
The 3pm kick-offs see Celtic at home to St Mirren. Elsewhere, third-placed Dundee United host struggling Hearts, while Aberdeen look to end their long winless run at Motherwell. Dundee, host St Johnstone downstairs, and Ross County travel to Kilmarnock.
