Rangers slip-up hands Celtic advantage in title race

Motherwell 1 Rangers 1

Chris Porter did Celtic a huge favour by putting a massive dent in Rangers' SPL title hopes at Fir Park today.

Christian Dailly was the unexpected scorer of Rangers' goal but striker Porter snatched a point for Motherwell with a second-half equaliser.

Rangers still have games to come against St Mirren and Aberdeen but Celtic's superior goal difference tilts the championship race in their favour ahead of their final game against Dundee United. Rangers, three points behind Celtic, now have just one game in hand.

The players ran out to Bobby Darin's 'Mack the Knife' - the late Tommy Burns' favourite song - at the request of Motherwell manager Mark McGhee.

A minute of applause was then observed in memory of the Celtic legend who lost his battle with cancer on Thursday.

Motherwell, of course, had already experienced the tragic loss of skipper Phil O'Donnell this season.

'We did it, Phil' was the headline on the cover of today's match programme, making reference to their success in clinching third place in the SPL and a UEFA Cup slot last week.

In contrast, Rangers still had plenty to play for despite losing out on the UEFA Cup to Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday night.

With a domestic treble still up for grabs, Walter Smith was looking for a positive reaction from his players.

He made five changes from the clash in Manchester, reworking his entire attacking options with Daniel Cousin and Nacho Novo deployed up front.

Charlie Adam, Lee McCulloch and Dailly were also drafted back into the team.

Motherwell made two changes from the side who defeated Aberdeen to secure their status as the best of the rest. The suspended Bob Malcolm was replaced by Keith Lasley and Darren Smith started ahead of Marc Fitzpatrick.

With a win so important for Rangers, they attacked the Motherwell goal from the first whistle. Carlos Cuellar's cross from the right found Dailly at the back post and his header flashed across goal and wide.

At the other end, a short headed pass-back from Cuellar could have created an opening for the home side but goalkeeper Neil Alexander quickly collected to snuff out any danger.

Rangers continued to push forward and Adam tried to set up Barry Ferguson but the skipper connected awkwardly with the header and failed to trouble Graeme Smith in the Motherwell goal.

Ferguson then turned provider when he released Novo into the box and the little striker skipped past Stephen Craigan only to screw the shot past the upright.

Smith then did well to hold a fierce shot from Cousin, before Craigan received the first booking of the game for a foul on the striker.

Rangers failed in their bid to win a penalty after claiming Darren Smith had handled a David Weir header but the Ibrox side were ahead seconds later anyway with 29 minutes on the clock.

A long ball from Kirk Broadfoot was met by Dailly and he was able to direct a header into the back of the net after the goalkeeper made the wrong call to come off his line.

Novo then had the ball in the back of the net again but the assistant referee had already flagged for offside.

Motherwell could have restored parity shortly before the interval but Alexander did well to tip a well-struck drive from Brian McLean just over and Rangers headed into the break with the advantage.

Rangers should have extended their lead within a minute of the restart when Cousin pounced on a long clearance and a blunder from Craigan allowed him through on goal. But Smith pulled off a decent save to deny the point-blank shot.

Instead, it was Motherwell who had the net bulging with 50 minutes gone. David Clarkson's header rattled off the post before the ball broke to Darren Smith, whose flick was turned in by Porter from close range.

Rangers tried to restore their advantage and Broadfoot delivered a teasing long ball to Adam but his angled drive was blocked at the near post by Smith.

Craigan was then fortunate to avoid a second yellow for another challenge on Cousin.

With time running out, Darcheville was thrown into the action in place of Adam and was followed by Kris Boyd for Novo as Rangers went for the win.

Nerves were beginning to show however, and misplaced passes were becoming more frequent.

A free-kick just outside the box provided a glimmer of hope but Steven Davis' effort was punted to safety by a Motherwell side determined to hold on for the draw.