Arfield says Gersdrawis a statement of big intent
RANGERS have fired a warning shot at their Europa League rivals with their impressive point in Villarreal, according to midfielder Scott Arfield.
Steven Gerrard’s men were huge underdogs for their groupstage opener at El Madrigal but refused to buckle in the face of the LaLiga big guns and claimed a much-deserved 2-2 draw.
While others were writing off Rangers’ chances of progressing from a tough section, Ibrox boss Gerrard declared before the match that his team were determined to make the knock-out rounds.
And now Arfield believes Gers have proved they are contenders to escape Group G.
“I think we’ve sent out a message with this result,” said the Canada international.
“No disrespect to the other sides, but I think Villarreal are the strongest team in our group. So to come here and stand up to them, particularly after the first half when we never really got going, is great.
“They scored with a worldie from Carlos Bacca in the first minute and that settled them. They found their rhythm a lot quicker than we did.
“But it’s testament to everybody in our dressing room that we came back. The message was clear at half-time, we had to do what we hadn’t done in the first half and get closer to them and hit them on the break.
“Thankfully that’s what we’ve managed to do, so I think it does send out a message.
“However, it’s only one game and there’s plenty more to go. The competition from this point gets harder, the standard gets higher and you’re going to see the true test of us coming up.”
Bacca’s 44-second opener was a body blow but Rangers did not let their heads drop, even when Arfield’s second-half equaliser was quickly followed by another Yellow Submarine strike from Gerard Moreno.
And they got the result they merited when Kyle Lafferty swept home with quarter of an hour left.
Arfield could have stolen the headlines during four minutes of drama-filled stoppage time when he was played in by Graham Dorrans but could only fire straight at home goalkeeper Andres Fernandez.
Gers were up against a side that finished fifth in the Spanish top flight last season but showed they were a match for Javier Calleja’s men.
And Arfield believes teenager Glenn Middleton deserves a huge pat on the back after the substitute played a key role in Lafferty’s equaliser.
He said: “Glenn scares people. You saw when he came on, he doesn’t think about anything else than taking on his full-back.
“That’s the beauty of him. I’d like to see us keep that naivety and innocence about him.
“He’s good at what he does, he touches the ball and goes by people like he did last night.”
Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard admitted he plunged Joe Worrall into the Europa League deep end by handing him a surprise debut against Villarreal.
The on-loan Nottingham Forest centre-back had not featured since moving north on transfer deadline day.
But the England Under-21 international was given the nod to take on the LaLiga big guns as he came in to replace the previously ever-present Nikola Katic.
And he got off to the worst possible start when he inadvertently teed up Carlos Bacca for a stunning opener just 44 seconds in.
But Gerrard was delighted with how the 21-year-old responded as he helped the Ibrox men claim a hugely impressive 2-2 draw at El Madrigal in their Group G opener.
He said: “I put him right in the deep end. He was in a sink-orswim situation.
“When a manager gives you your debut away in the Europa League, against a side of this level, it was a big ask for him to come in and perform. I thought he was outstanding.
“He was very comfortable in possession and defended well, bar the first goal. It’s difficult to criticise him as it was a bit of a lucky deflection.”
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McIlroy said he adopted an aggressive approach yesterday and it paid off.
He added: “At the second hole I hit a perfect seven iron and in the third hole I hit a big drive. Harry (Diamond, caddie) and I both saw where the flag would be and it was a good day to be aggressive.
“The perfect drive left me in a strong position.
“It’s nice when you play aggressive and it pays off. I made the most of a good tee shot.
“We have worked on my putting in Florida and I’m being a little more instinctive.
“I’m trying to be reactive and felt like I have putted well over the last two days.”
Rose carded a second round of 67 at East Lake to finish seven under par, a total matched by Woods, who added a 68 to his opening 65.
A second win of the season for Rose tomorrow would see the Englishman secure the overall FedEx Cup title and a bonus of £7.6million, while Woods is seeking a first victory since 2013 to put the seal on his remarkable comeback following spinal fusion surgery in April 2017.
Rose, who carded five birdies and two bogeys, said: “(I’m) happy with that score, it was a little rough around the edges compared to yesterday but you can’t play like yesterday every single day. Happy that I was able to find a score out there for sure.
“I was waiting for a bit of momentum, felt like the round had got a little flat around the turn and then those two birdies in a row (on 13 and 14) got me going.
“I took a look at the leaderboard at that point and realised that no-one had gone anywhere today, it was obviously a bit trickier for some reason.”