Scottish giants Rangers beat second-tier team Partick Thistle in a Scottish Cup tie on Sunday evening. That in itself wasn’t quite so interesting, but two goals that came late in the second half at Ibrox Stadium certainly were.Thistle led 1-0 at half-time through Kevin Holt’s penalty, but Rangers looked to have turned the last-16 tie around when Antonio Colak headed in an equaliser before Malik Tillman scored in controversial circumstances.With the score tied at 1-1, the visitors’ Holt tried to pass the ball back to the opponents after there’s been an injury to Rangers’ Tillman. That injury had led to the home side to knock the ball out midway through the Thistle half. But Tillman didn’t seem to understand Holt’s intention, so he didn’t wait for the fair-play gesture, nipping instead to steal the ball before sprinting forward to round the keeper and score.That led to a major emergency and a group tussle in front of Partick’s net. Rangers boss Michael Beale did the right thing and signalled to his players that should allow the Championship team to level from the re-start and thus cancel out the unfair strike from Tillman.Stop what you’re doing right now and watch this! 🤯Malik Tillman gives Rangers the lead in controversial circumstances which infuriates the visitors 😠Michael Beale then steps in and orders his side to allow Partick Thistle to score 👏🔵#ScottishCup | @ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/iUOtLalNGO— Viaplay Sports UK (@ViaplaySportsUK) February 12, 2023 Partick player Scott Tiffoney was then allowed to stroll forward unopposed and knock in an equaliser, making it 2-2.The home side’s veteran goalkeeper Allan McGregor didn’t seem too happy with his manager’s decision, but he eventually had to allow Tiffoney to walk the ball in. It was an extraordinary sight at one of the world’s oldest football grounds.Rangers forced a late winner, but the match will be remembered because of the strange couple of goals exchanged in a passage of not-so-fair play and fair play.Prachtig moment. Rangers scoort terwijl ze de bal ‘horen’ terug te spelen, laten daarna Partick Thistle 2-2 maken. Keeper stribbelde wel nog tegen. 😂 pic.twitter.com/jgSmUEgQGg— Jan Willem Spaans (@janwillemspaans) February 12, 2023 Rangers boss Beale defended Tillman, saying it was just a “massive understanding” regarding his side’s second goal.”Malik got injured, he didn’t see the ball’s been kicked out. Naturally, when he stands up, he thinks he’s got to press. We scored, it’s controversial, but this club is built on high standards and we want the best for the game. I made a lot of mistakes today in terms of team selection but that wasn’t one of them. It was the right decision. I don’t want that hanging around Tillman’s head. I felt it would’ve been unjust us winning a game in that way.”
