Kai Watson: Rangers & Hearts Win, Thelin Sacked in Big Weekend
The action wasn’t finished after 5pm on Saturday as Aberdeen sacked Jimmy Thelin on Sunday evening.
Thelin Sacked by Aberdeen
On an eventful Saturday afternoon, in which Aberdeen lost 1-0 to Falkirk at the Falkirk Stadium, there were comebacks, protests, red cards and late penalties.
We've got the latest next Aberdeen manager odds on site, for those interested in who will take over.
Rangers Win Away in Old Firm Clash
The day started with a 12:30 Old Firm at Celtic Park which is always of massive importance to both clubs but each manager really needed a win in this one. There have been doubts over Wilfried Nancy since before he took over. Losing five of seven matches before this one really didn’t help either his or the Celtic board's case in why he was appointed.
Danny Rohl has had a number of big games which Rangers have failed to win, the League Cup Semi-Final, Ferencvaros in the Europa League and the pre-Christmas trip to Tynecastle. He has definitely steadied the ship at Ibrox, particularly defensively but still come up short in those big matches. He also faced some criticism for being overly cautious in the Semi-Final but that wasn’t how the game started.
Rangers looked aggressive and right up for it, however, that all disappeared when a poor Fernandez clearance led to a throw-in which ended up at Yang’s feet and he turned out, then back in before firing a thunderous effort above Jack Butland’s head. Rangers seemed to stop playing at this point and Celtic dominated, Butland made two good saves from Johnny Kenny and one from a Yang header at the backpost which Fernandez hooked away from the goal line.
Rangers were shellshocked after the goal and were lucky not to go in two or three goals down at half-time. Djeidi Gassama did have an excellent chance to make it 1-1 but Schmeichel made a brilliant instinctual save and Chermiti was flagged offside after he squared it to Mikey Moore who slotted it home.
Whatever Danny Rohl said at half-time worked wonders and substituting Aasgaard for Diomande made a huge difference. Some good link-up play on the right wing led to Chermiti tapping in a Raskin cross, the big Portuguese striker then scored a brilliant solo goal but many Celtic fans will question why Auston Trusty just stood off him. Maeda had two great chances, one at 1-1 and one at 2-1, the first Butland made an excellent save and the second just went the wrong side of the post.
Moore then sealed the victory, after tenacious play by Diomande the ball ended up at Gassama’s feet who played a nice ball through to Moore who fired a low shot past Schmeichel, who probably should’ve done better but he was really slow in getting down to it.
It was a huge victory for Rangers and Rohl who are now level on points with their fiercest rivals and have the chance to go clear of them on Tuesday evening.
For Celtic, back to the drawing board as they've since sacked Nancy, and we've got next Celtic manager odds as we look at who could be next in, or back in, the door for them.
Hearts Go Six Clear at Top of the Table
Hearts would have been delighted with that result as it gave them a chance to go six points clear and they did exactly that. New signing Jordi Altena got an assist on his debut as his corner was headed in by Craig Halkett and the game finished 1-0. On another day it could have ended differently but Hearts showed the resilience you need to be champions.
Motherwell also won which meant they moved to two points behind the Old Firm, having played one game more, after a comfortable 2-0 home win against St. Mirren. With that victory, Jens Berthel Askou’s side have the best defensive record in the league and second best goal difference behind Hearts.
Below are the latest odds from betting sites on the outright Scottish Premiership market.
There was also a derby victory for Dundee at Tannadice as Ashley Hay scored his second in two games as Steven Pressley’s side made it three wins in a row having previously only won one in the last nine.
Hibs scored two in the last twenty minutes, including an injury time Jamie McGrath penalty to comfortably beat Kilmarnock 3-1 at Rugby Park to keep them just two points behind Motherwell.
A Filip Lissah header was the difference and the last goal that Jimmy Thelin would see as Aberdeen manager. That victory helped John McGlynn’s side leapfrog the Dons and Dundee United into sixth place and it was their seventh win of the season, more than many would have predicted they would get for the full season!
What’s your favourite story of the weekend? What was the biggest shock for you?
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