Partick Thistle 2-2 Rangers: Pedro Caixinha rues 'lost two points'

Pedro Caixinha's team missed the chance to go top of the Premiership table on goal difference

Pedro Caixinha reflected on what he viewed as a "lost two points" after Rangers emerged from their tussle away to Partick Thistle with a 2-2 draw.

"We committed two mistakes defensively," the Rangers manager told the club website after a senseless challenge and poor positioning let in a resilient Jags team reduced to 10 men.

"It was two great strikes," said Caixinha of the Rangers goals from Alfredo Morelos and Graham Dorrans.

"But we were coming here to win."

Morelos' eighth goal of the season had put the visitors in front, but after the interval, a clumsy challenge by Fabio Cardoso gifted Thistle a free-kick just outside the box from which Blair Spittal slammed in an equaliser, via a deflection off Bruno Alves.

Thistle moved in front when Chris Erskine seized on a catalogue of Rangers' defensive errors, James Tavernier playing Spittal onside among them, to knock the ball home from close range.

However, Erskine was shown a straight red card by referee Willie Collum for a reckless challenge on Morelos and Dorrans' 77th-minute strike levelled the score before Thistle defended bravely for a point.

Having complained of his players making "poor decisions in the last third", Caixinha explained: "We tried to reorganise the team for the second half and we committed two mistakes defensively.

"We lost a duel we should not have lost on the first ball, it got to another duel on the edge of the box and we were at fault. We then opened the wall and that was it for the equaliser.

Blair Spittal scored Thistle's first goal and set up the hosts' second

"After that, we didn't understand what was going on, we needed to calm down, and then from one bit of bad positioning from the full-back who was too far away and not closing inside, they did a perfect cross in-between the defensive line and the goalkeeper to score.

"We think we lost two points."

Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald told BBC Radio Scotland he was "delighted to hang on for the point".

"Mentally, it was great to hold on because we have lost a few late goals, especially when we were down to 10 men," he said.

"I was disappointed in our first-half performance but delighted with our response in the second.

"We played a back three tonight to shore up the back, but it was more to get Erskine and Spittal on the ball, but we really struggled to do that.

"We gave away possession constantly and it gave us a lot of problems."

Asked about his scorer's dismissal on 67 minutes, Archibald said: "I think it is a red. He takes an extra touch and loses control of it and those ones always end up red cards.

"He's lunging to get it and it's a striker's challenge, so we've no complaints with it.

"Chris Erskine can't tackle and we know that, but there's no malice. Apologies for the tackle and we have no arguments with the red card.

"We can go and build on it as we made a game of it. We're delighted for our fans that we hung on.

"It will be a different type of game in the League Cup on Tuesday."