Rangers missed the chance to move up to third in the Scottish Premiership after being held to a 0-0 draw by a disciplined Falkirk side at Ibrox. Full-time jeers rang out as Danny Röhl’s early league winning run was brought to a halt by the visitors, who had already taken a point off Russell Martin’s team earlier this season.
Chances were at a premium throughout, with substitutes Djeidi Gassama and others offering the home fans the closest moments. Gassama’s late effort looked destined to break the deadlock, only for Falkirk keeper Scott Bain to pull off a crucial save. Bain made several important interventions to preserve the clean sheet.
The result leaves Rangers nine points behind leaders Hearts — though with a game in hand — and seven adrift of Celtic. Falkirk remain two points behind Rangers and have collected 15 of the last 24 league points on offer.
Match summary
The game rarely threatened to burst into life in the first half. Connor Barron forced an early stop from Bain, but long periods saw neither side create clear openings. Thelo Aasgaard fired well over from distance and Oliver Antman nodded a header wide as Rangers struggled to fashion meaningful chances, while Falkirk largely set out to stifle the hosts.
Late in the opening period Bojan Miovski tangled with Liam Henderson inside the area, but the referee waved away Rangers’ appeals for a spot kick. Nedim Bajrami and Barron both tested the target from the edge of the box without success, and Calvin Miller had an attempt blocked at the other end.
The match opened up after the break as Falkirk took a more adventurous stance. Bain denied Miovski from close range and Aasgaard’s header drifted off target from a promising position. At the other end, Jack Butland came off his line to smother a chance for Miller, who was later substituted after suffering an eye injury.
Falkirk made changes, bringing on Steven Arfield and youngster Alfredo Agyeman. Agyeman spurned two openings created after mistakes by Butland and Nasser Djiga. Rangers’ best moment arrived when Nico Raskin slipped a pass to Gassama; the substitute cut inside and looked set to score before Bain produced a fine stop. Bain also kept out a James Tavernier volley, while both Agyeman and Ethan Williams troubled Butland as Falkirk applied late pressure but could not find a winner.
Danny Röhl reaction
Röhl said his side lacked the right decisions in crucial moments and must improve their final passes and timing in transition. He felt Rangers controlled large portions of the contest and created transitional situations that could have been exploited more effectively. Röhl pointed to Gassama’s chance as the clearest opportunity and stressed the importance of injured players returning and squad members taking their chances.
John McGlynn reaction
Falkirk manager John McGlynn urged his players to focus on one match at a time, describing the league as unforgiving while praising his team’s recent points haul. He highlighted the challenge of upcoming opponents such as Motherwell and insisted the squad must remain concentrated on the immediate fixtures ahead.