Rangers 2 Hibernian 3
Hibernian came from behind to beat 10-man Rangers 3-2 in a pulsating but at times ill-tempered Scottish Premiership clash at Ibrox. It was first meeting between the two clubs since the 2016 Scottish Cup final where David Gray scored a stoppage-time winner to give Hibs victory by the same scoreline, before a pitch invasion led to clashes and several arrests, and there was no little drama in this encounter.
Rangers' Colombian striker Alfredo Morelos headed in a Daniel Candeias free-kick with just two minutes played before striker Simon Murray levelled for the visitors. Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack was shown a straight red card by referee John Beaton in the 35th minute following a melee and then Hibs took the lead soon after with a James Tavernier own goal.
Midfielder Vykintas Slivka drove in a third in the 65th minute before Tavernier reduced the deficit with a header but Hibs held firm for the victory.
It had promised to be so different for Pedro Caixinha’s men when Morelos, who had scored a double in the 6-0 win over Dunfermline on Wednesday night to open his account in Light Blue, leapt to head in a Daniel Candeias free-kick from wide on the right, sparking wild scenes of delight among the Gers supporters.
Miller almost made it two for the home side when his left-footed shot from 10 yards from a Josh Windass cut-back hit the post but Hibs raced up the park and Murray jinked easily into the Gers box before sending a low drive past keeper Wes Foderingham. The goal was enjoyed by Hibs boss Neil Lennon, who, the last time he was at the ground in 2012 as Celtic manager, watched from the media room having been banned from the dugout for the second half by the referee Calum Murray.
The game erupted again when Light Blues midfielder Graham Dorrans reacted after a foul by Hibs counterpart Slivka and when Beaton brought some order to the chaos it was Jack who was sent packing, perhaps for raising his hands at Dylan McGeouch. Moments later, Hibs took the lead when Tavernier, in attempting to stop a Slivka shot, could only turn the ball into his own net with Foderingham clawing desperately to keep it out.
Caixinha reshuffled into a 3-4-2 formation after the break and striker Eduardo Herrera and defender Danny Wilson replaced Candeias and Hodson for the start of the second-half. However, it was the excellent Murray who came close for the Leith men with two efforts on goal, a shot then a header, before Lithuanian Slivka increased the visitors' lead with an excellent drive from the edge of the box.
Carlos Pena replaced Morelos to make his competitive debut for Rangers but it looked a forlorn hope for the home side. With 10 minutes remaining Wilson's cross from the left was headed in by Tavernier from 12 yards to give Rangers some hope but they just could not muster a third and it was the travelling support who hailed the final whistle.
Elsewhere, Hamilton secured their first win of the season with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Neil McCann's Dundee. After back-to-back defeats against Aberdeen, the home side were desperate to kick-start their campaign with three points and got their reward 24 minutes in when Darian MacKinnon angled a low volley into the net beyond Scott Bain.
Steven Boyd’s lofted finish made it 2-0 on 36 minutes and, after Dundee’s Scott Allan passed up the chance to get his side back in it by firing a penalty over the bar 12 minutes from time, Dougie Imrie showed how it should be done from the spot to seal the home rout.
Michael O'Halloran grabbed a double in a 4-1 home win for St Johnstone against a Motherwell side who finished the match with eight men. Goalkeeper Trevor Carson, skipper Carl McHugh and Charles Dunne were sent off in the second half as Motherwell endured a terrible day in Perth.
Hearts racked up their first points of the season thanks to an Esmeal Goncalves cracker at Rugby Park - only for the Portuguese striker to see red in the second half as both teams finished with ten men. Goncalves buried the match-winner from 20 yards before he was ordered off after a tussle with Killie centre-back Kirk Broadfoot, who also saw red in what was afternoon to forget for the former Rangers man.
And Aberdeen held on for all three points in a competitive match at Global Energy Stadium after they were forced to come from behind following the loss of an early goal. Craig Curran got County off to a flyer with a goal in the second minute, but Mark Reynolds equalised mid-way through the first half with a fine finish from just inside the 18-yard box. The Dons dominated for long spells in the second half and Shay Logan headed home with just under 20 minutes to spare to win the game 2-1.
