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Rangers edge closer to Champions League
GLASGOW (AFP) - Rangers missed an opportunity to guarantee a second-placed finish in the Scottish Premier League after being held to a 3-3 draw by Hibs in an entertaining but error-strewn encounter at Easter Road.
The home side's goalkeeper, Andrew McNeil, was at fault on the Charlie Adam free-kicks which provided two of Rangers' goals as Hibs, who led three times, blew the opportunity to claim all three points.
Aberdeen kept their slim chance of second place alive with a 3-0 win over Kilmarnock, but Rangers will book their place in the qualifying competition for next season's Champions League if they take two more points from their remaining three matches in this campaign.
Steven Fletcher had got Hibs off to a great start by firing them ahead in the 20th minute after collecting a fine through pass from Abdessalam Benjelloun.
Adam cancelled that out four minutes later with a free-kick from the side of the box that McNeil will have been disappointed not to keep out.
Kevin McCann restored the home side's lead in first-half injury-time with an unstoppable drive from fully 25 yards.
Rangers equalised again nine minutes after the restart with defender Alan Hutton finishing off a sweeping counter-attack after being sent clear by Nacho Novo.
Hibs led for the third time when Steven Whittaker found the net from just outside the area.
But, following the introduction of tricky winger Chris Burke, Rangers won a free-kick on the edge of the area and Adam stepped up to beat McNeil at his near post.
Rangers might have won the match in injury time, when Scotland striker Kris Boyd got clear of the Hibs backline only to be brought down by Guillaume Beuzelin, who was shown a straight red card for the foul.
Aberdeen's win at Pittodrie was secured by a Barry Nicholson penalty, a second-half strike by Lee Miller and a bizarre own goal by Darren Mackie, who was looking the other way when Kilmarnock goalkeeper Alan Combes threw the ball directly at him. The ball bounced off the back of his head and back into the net.
Motherwell and Falkirk were forced to settle for a point apiece after battling out a 3-3 draw at Fir Park.
Motherwell must have thought they had the three points in the bag at half-time, thanks to goals from Darren Smith and Celtic-bound Scott McDonald.
A superb eight-minute spell in the second half saw Falkirk take the lead through Thomas Scobbie, Patrick Cregg and an own goal from Stephen Craigan, however substitute David Clarkson earned a point for Motherwell when he netted seconds after coming off the bench.
In the day's other game, Graham Bayne's brilliant header earned resilient Inverness a 1-1 draw away to Dundee United which keeps them in the hunt for seventh place.
United should have been well clear at half-time after squandering numerous chances before David Robertson's looping header found the top corner.
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