Match ends, Alloa Athletic 1, Rangers 1.
Alloa Athletic 1-1 Rangers
By Richard Wilson
BBC Scotland
- From the section Football
Out of sorts and and almost out of answers, Rangers suffered a slip in the Championship title race.
The credit belonged to Alloa, since they were worthy of the lead they took through Jonathan Tiffoney.
The home side were six minutes away from a significant result when David Templeton prodded in an equaliser.
Both sides were frustrated, though, as Alloa had performed well enough to win and the visitors saw Hearts move further ahead at the top of the league.
Rangers' shortcomings were evident as their play lacked tempo or structure.
There were setbacks, too, as influential duo Lewis Macleod and Nicky Clark suffered first-half injuries.
Even so, Alloa's self-assurance and doggedness was the prime reason for Rangers' forlorn display.
Impressive midfielder Graeme Holmes almost opened the scoring from 40 yards. The chance came after Rangers goalkeeper Steve Simonsen failed to release the ball properly as he tried to throw it upfield, and then had to scurry after it towards the corner flag.
When he reached the ball he tried to clear but fired it straight to Holmes, who took a touch before shooting.
The moment was representative of Rangers' lack of assurance.
Ian Black and Nicky Law were overrun in midfield, while wingers Fraser Aird and Templeton - who replaced Macleod - were never able to run at the full-backs. Rangers resorted to long diagonal balls upfield, which left Kris Boyd looking increasingly isolated.
Alloa were compact and purposeful, with Ryan McCord orchestrating much of their play. Their chances tended to come from set-pieces, and Kyle Benedictus headed over in the first-half just before Tiffoney scored.
Alloa were worthy of their half-time lead, as the organisation and industry of Barry Smith's side left Rangers looking bedraggled.
Their lack of tempo and intensity was familiar, but also unexpected since Rangers were on a run of seven straight victories, and gave impressive displays in their previous two games, against Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Raith Rovers.
Jon Daly's appearance as Clark's replacement provided a more reliable presence as a target man.
It was still typical of Rangers afternoon, though, that as Black tried to latch on to a clearance on the edge of the penalty area, he tripped over the feet of the referee John McKendrick and fell over.
An untidy moment led to the Rangers equaliser. The ball bobbled around following a free-kick into the area, eventually dropping to Lee McCulloch. His shot was pushed away by goalkeeper John Gibson but Templeton was on hand to stab the ball in from close range.
Rangers thought they had scored a winner when Daly converted another free-kick, only for the striker to spot the offside flag as he wheeled away to celebrate.
The Ibrox men now trail Championship leaders Hearts by three points after they hammered Cowdenbeath 5-1 at Tynecastle.
Line-ups
Alloa
- 1Gibson
- 17Doyle
- 14Benedictus
- 3DochertyBooked at 65mins
- 4GordonBooked at 45mins
- 6Simmons
- 2TiffoneySubstituted forHetheringtonat 80'minutes
- 10Holmes
- 8McCordBooked at 86mins
- 7Cawley
- 9Spence
Substitutes
- 11Ferns
- 18Hetherington
- 19Buchanan
- 20Asghar
- 21McDowall
- 22Hynd
Rangers
- 31Simonsen
- 3MohsniBooked at 85mins
- 6McCulloch
- 24McGregor
- 2Smith
- 7Law
- 10MacLeodSubstituted forTempletonat 13'minutes
- 8Black
- 4AirdSubstituted forPeraltaat 74'minutes
- 14ClarkSubstituted forDalyat 45+2'minutes
- 15Boyd
Substitutes
- 9Daly
- 11Templeton
- 17Peralta
- 22Shiels
- 23Foster
- 25Robinson
- 26Zaliukas
- Referee:
- John McKendrick
- Attendance:
- 2,793
Match Stats
Home TeamAlloaAway TeamRangers
- Possession
- Home44%
- Away56%
- Shots
- Home10
- Away16
- Shots on Target
- Home5
- Away3
- Corners
- Home6
- Away12
- Fouls
- Home15
- Away13
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Alloa Athletic 1, Rangers 1.
Foul by Nicky Law (Rangers).
Stephen Simmons (Alloa Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Bilel Mohsni (Rangers) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses the top right corner following a set piece situation.
Foul by Michael Doyle (Alloa Athletic).
David Templeton (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Greig Spence (Alloa Athletic).
Lee McCulloch (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Kris Boyd (Rangers) right footed shot from the right side of the box is too high.
Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Mark Docherty.
Attempt blocked. Kris Boyd (Rangers) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is blocked.
Booking
Ryan McCord (Alloa Athletic) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Ryan McCord (Alloa Athletic).
Ian Black (Rangers) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Booking
Bilel Mohsni (Rangers) is shown the yellow card.
Goal!
Goal! Alloa Athletic 1, Rangers 1. David Templeton (Rangers) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Lee McCulloch.
Attempt blocked. Bilel Mohsni (Rangers) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is blocked.
Foul by Ryan McCord (Alloa Athletic).
Ian Black (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt saved. Kris Boyd (Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Substitution
Substitution, Alloa Athletic. Steven Hetherington replaces Jonathan Tiffoney.
Attempt missed. Jon Daly (Rangers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left following a corner.
Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Ben Gordon.
Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Kyle Benedictus.
Greig Spence (Alloa Athletic) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Bilel Mohsni (Rangers).
Substitution
Substitution, Rangers. Arnold Peralta replaces Fraser Aird.
Attempt saved. Greig Spence (Alloa Athletic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Kevin Cawley.
Attempt saved. Lee McCulloch (Rangers) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Mark Docherty.
Hand ball by Greig Spence (Alloa Athletic).
Foul by Michael Doyle (Alloa Athletic).
Bilel Mohsni (Rangers) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Kyle Benedictus.
Booking
Mark Docherty (Alloa Athletic) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Mark Docherty (Alloa Athletic).
Fraser Aird (Rangers) wins a free kick on the left wing.
(Alloa Athletic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.