Rangers have kickstarted the Michael Beale era at Ibrox with victory over Hibs, amid a deafening Malik Tillman transfer plea from the new Gers boss.
The USA international midfielder is currently on loan at Ibrox from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and after netting a double in last week’s friendly against Bayer Leverkusen, Beale encouraged the Rangers board to make the deal permanent.
And in a stellar second half showing against Hibs 20-year-old Tillman was instrumental in Rangers turning the game around, creating both Ryan Jack’s equaliser Alfredo Morelos’ winning goal in a 3-2 victory.
Rangers had fell behind to a Ryan Porteous header in the first half, the club’s makeshift defence losing yet another goal from a set piece this season.
Linked to Ibrox in the days running up to the fixture, Porteous rose unchallenged to nod the ball home after only eight minutes and the nerves were palpable amongst the Rangers support.
A fine low strike from Fashion Sakala had Rangers level only seven minutes later but within seconds the Ibrox side were behind again as Kevin Nesbit caught a sleeping Ibrox defence off guard to rattle it past Allan McGregor.
Malik Tillman central to second half Rangers Hibs rally
There were boos ringing out at half-time but this Rangers team showed a mentality and character that has been missing in recent weeks to rally in the second half.
Rangers enjoyed total domination in the second period and Malik Tillman took centre stage as the club hauled themselves into the lead and collected the three points.
The USA international nodded the ball on from a James Tavernier corner for Ryan Jack to finish expertly in the six-yard box and draw the Ibrox side level.
Tillman would then show great feet to dribble through a tight Hibs defence and roll the ball to Alfredo Morelos for a tap-in after some more good work from Rangers captain Tavernier.
It highlights two things for Rangers; one is a shift in mentality, where the club might’ve dwindled under Giovanni van Bronckhorst with the current against them, Beale’s side showed early flickers of a resurgent character.
The other is the potential value of Malik Tillman to this Rangers side, with the Bayern kid already a bonafide matchwinner and the reported £5m option-to-buy looking increasingly like a snip.
The Rangers victory over Hibs also showed the depth of injury problems at the club but ahead of the game there were positive updates regarding two summer signings.
