Fans stunned as Livingston manager David Martindale brutally respond to Rangers fans 80-90 minute chant that cost them the game

Rangers rally as Fernandez and Moore strike as Livingston nailbiter takes unexpected turn – 5 talking points
Danny Rohl’s men were heading for a shock defeat before a couple of late goals earned them a point against the bottom side

On another dramatic day in the Scottish Premiership, Danny Rohl’s side had to fight back from 2-0 down in West Lothian after goals from Brooklyn Kabongolo and Lewis Smith left them in a hole.

Thankfully for the Gers boss, Emmanuel Fernandez’s strike and a Mikey Moore header late on dug them out of it to earn a draw.

But they still lost more ground on Premiership leaders Hearts.

The result leaves them four behind Derek McInnes’ side with 10 games to go.

And after beating the Jambos at Ibrox a week ago, this is a setback for the Ibrox club.

Their performance was well below par before their late recovery, with several of their top players not at their best.

Livi keeper Jerome Prior denied Rangers on several occasions, saving superbly from Tuur Rommens, Moore and Bojan Miovski.

And in injury time, Gers thought they deserved a penalty when Cammy Kerr challenged Moore right on the edge of the box – but VAR adjudged it to be just outside.

Livingston and gaffer Marvin Bartley will take heart from their display – and the problems they caused Gers at the back – but it still leaves them eight adrift at the foot of the table.

Here’s five talking points from west Lothian:

Mentality mishap

After the victory over Hearts last weekend when they were behind in the game, Rohl stated that his team’s mentality shouldn’t come into question again.

But I’m sorry Danny, when you go two-down to Livingston and don’t come back to win, there will be more doubts as to whether these players have the minerals to be champions.

Sure, they fought back well late on in this game and previously had been denied by the brilliance of Jerome Prior in the Livi goal.

But the slackness and vulnerability at the back was evident for the hosts’ two goals.

And for large spells here, it didn’t look like Rangers had it in them to get back in it.

The fact they got a draw and salvaged something deserves credit.

But it shouldn’t cloud the fact they were two goals down in the first place and toiling to break Livi down.

Also, several of Rohl’s attacking players didn’t do enough to think they’ll produce the goods when it comes to the crunch in the title race.

Djeidi Gassama, Andreas Skov Olsen, Tochi Chukwuani and Youssef Chermiti were all hugely disappointing at Almondvale and will have to up their game for the run-in.

One thing’s for sure, if Rangers produce this kind of display in other games between now and May, it’s highly unlikely they’ll lift the trophy.

Bullet from Brooklyn

Livingston’s opening goal came like a bolt from the blue in this game and shook Rangers early on.

The visitors were just easing themselves into and beginning to take control when John Souttar gave away a needless free-kick.

Robbie Muirhead curled a brilliant ball into the box and from nowhere, big centre-back Kabongolo produced a stunning finish most strikers would be proud of.

Amongst a ruck of bodies in the box, he hit a sweet volley beyond Jack Butland into the bottom corner for his first top-flight goal.

This wasn’t in the script for Rangers in the context of the title race and it silenced the vast away support.

It was a warning to Rohl’s side that, although they’d have most of the territory and possession, Livi were still a threat when they got into the final third with players who were capable of causing damage

Muirhead’s left-foot is a weapon and later in the first half, if Rommens hadn’t produced a terrific last-gasp tackle on Lewis Smith – Gers could have been 2-0 down even earlier.

Peerless Prior

As you’d expect, Rangers dominated most of the first half in West Lothian as they looked to break down a resolute Livi rearguard.

But what they didn’t legislate for was a goalkeeper in top form for the home side.

And at the start of the second period, the Frenchman was at it again, denying sub Bojan Miovski with another fingertip stop.

Slack Souttar

He just signed a new Ibrox deal in midweek to secure his Rangers future.

But in the present, the Scotland centre-back had an afternoon to forget in West Lothian.

Souttar has been preferred to Nasser Djiga since returning from injury.

But he’s had problems before on this ground and this was another bad day for the defender.

In 2022, big Joel Nouble gave him a tough time and from the off here, Souttar didn’t look at it.

His loose pass to James Tavernier was cut out and gave Livingston a break-away.

Souttar tried to make amends for his mistake but ended up giving another foul away on the left flank

When Rangers cleared Muirhead’s free-kick, they left Smith on his own to score, make it 2-0 and give them a mountain to climb.

Plenty of Rangers players didn’t turn up here and it certainly wasn’t one of Souttar’s better performances.

No excuses

Rohl decided to keep everyone guessing with his team selection at the pre-match press conference – refusing to reveal who’d picked up knocks and were struggling to make the trip to Almondvale.

It emerged on Friday that Dujon Sterling was out and that Ryan Naderi was toiling, although the German striker did manage to make the bench.

Oliver Antman was also missing but irrespective of availability, Rangers should have had more than enough quality to see off Livi.

In fact, this line-up wasn’t too far off Rohl’s strongest 11.

Following their impressive victory over Hearts a week ago, the manager went with a similar 4-4-2 system.

His two wingers, Skov Olsen and Gassama were encouraged to play wider than the Dane and Moore had against the Jambos.

While the on-loan Spurs kid took Naderi’s place, deployed just off Chermiti in attack but obviously not posing as much as a physical threat.

Either way, it was a strong, powerful first 11 which meant there could be no excuses for Rangers or Rohl slipping up against the Premiership’s bottom side at a ground filled with away fans.