Scottish roundup: Cartwright goal adds to Martin’s woes as Falkirk hold Rangers

2 hours ago 1

Russell Martin’s future as Rangers manager was plunged into fresh doubt after his side let slip the lead to draw 1-1 at promoted Falkirk, while Celtic came from behind at home to beat Motherwell 3-2.

At Falkirk Park, Rangers’ Djeidi Gassama had a goal ruled out for offside after four minutes and Bojan Miovski tapped in after 41 minutes but in between it was another desperate performance from Martin’s side as the Bairns bossed the first half.

John McGlynn’s hosts carried the game to their lacklustre opponents after the break and deservedly levelled in the 73rd minute through a 20-yard strike from the substitute Henry Cartwright, his first goal for the Bairns since signing on loan from Leicester.

Disgruntled Gers fans again bombarded Martin with vitriol and many supporters have long since given up on the former Southampton manager after a disastrous start to his tenure, which now shows five wins in 17 matches, including defeats in the opening two Europa League games, to Genk and Sturm Graz.

The Ibrox side ended the day 11 points behind the Premiership leaders, Hearts, and nine behind Celtic with only seven fixtures played and Martin will do well to withstand the fallout from this latest performance.

At Celtic Park, Daizen Maeda headed a stoppage-time winner to inflict a first defeat on Motherwell’s manager, Jens Berthel Askou. The visitors had led through an Apostolos Stamatelopoulos double but Benjamin Nygren was handed an equaliser before Maeda’s diving header sealed a 3-2 victory for the hosts. The comeback prevented the champions going into the international break five points behind Hearts.

Celtic’s Daizen Maeda dives low to head an added-time winner against Motherwell.

Kelechi Iheanacho had opened the scoring from the spot in the 28th minute but Stamatelopoulos turned the game on its head either side of the break. The Australian scored with a diving header and a penalty after a video assistant referee intervention to put Motherwell on course for a first win at Celtic Park in 10 years.

However, Motherwell’s commitment to playing out from the back – such a positive aspect of their early-season form – led to the equaliser as the goalkeeper Calum Ward passed the ball straight to Nygren eight yards from goal.

The substitute Michel-Ange Balikwisha then delivered his first big moment as a Celtic player three minutes into time added on as he sent over a low cross which Maeda converted. The goal ended a 14-match unbeaten run for Motherwell, their longest as a top-flight team since they won the 1952 Scottish Cup final.

Jesper Karlsson scored twice as Aberdeen thrashed Dundee 4-0 to record a long-awaited first Premiership win of the campaign. The bottom-placed Dons, who had not registered a league goal in six attempts prior to this match, finally seemed to click, with Karlsson opening the scoring from the penalty spot before further efforts from Adil Aouchiche and Emmanuel Gyamfi gave the hosts a comfortable half-time cushion. Karlsson added a fourth just after the hour mark to seal a win that brings Jimmy Thelin’s side back in touching distance of the teams above them.