ABERDEEN.....1 RANGERS...... 2
Rangers title tilt stays on course as Morelos finds form again to sink Aberdeen
MI DWAY t hrough the second half at Pittodrie yesterday came confirmation of the news that a Celtic player had tested positive for Covid-19.
While the champions endure a season rapidly spiralling from bad to worse, Rangers continue to pass every test with a clean bill of health.
Stretching their lead at the top of the Premiership to 22 points, even a global pandemic can’t derail the Ibrox side’s relentless march to a first league title since 2011.
How Steven Gerrard has missed the Alfredo Morelos we witnessed here yesterday. For much of this s eason, t he Colombian has provided muscle and brawn while contributing fewer goals than usual.
Two fine finishes against an Aberdeen side forced to play for 63 minutes with ten men propelled the striker to 50 league goals for Rangers a nd felt l i ke t he resumption of normal service.
The second, five minutes into the second half, seemed likely to make this 12th straight win in the league a comfortable affair.
Kudos to Aberdeen, then, for defying the numerical handicap caused by the dismissal of Ryan Hedges i n what had been a game-changing flashpoint.
After 67 minutes the home team punctured the Rangers goal — only the sixth time it has happened in the league this season. And while substitute Matty Kennedy’s strike couldn’t prevent the visitors extending their unbeaten run at Pittodrie to eight games, it conjured up a contest which looked unlikely when Hedges was sent off for conceding a spot-kick which was ultimately missed by Rangers captain James Tavernier.
A man down, Aberdeen rode their luck at times — Curtis Main could have gone off as well — but managed to test Rangers more with ten men than other teams have with 11.
As against Celtic last weekend, the path to victory for Rangers was eased by a red card for an opponent. Aberdeen were pressing high and competing well when they conceded the penalty, Hedges clipping Morelos accidentally from behind as he prepared to shoot.
While a lack of intent can signal a yellow card sometimes, the failure to make an attempt to play the ball left referee John Beaton with no choice. Afterwards, even Dons manager Derek McInnes conceded Hedges had to go.
Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Tavernier’s ten league goals against Aberdeen is the most any player has scored against a single opponent in the Premiership. Nine of those have been penalties, but Aberdeen escaped No 10 when the Rangers captain unexpectedly hit his spot-kick wide.
The reprieve was short-lived. A man down, the Dons retreated into their shell, Morelos claiming his first goal with a superb left-foot finish from 14 yards from a Ryan Kent assist five minutes later.
The only blessing for Aberdeen was that they might have been reduced to nine men when striker Main escaped red for an aggressive challenge on Borna Barisic five minutes before half-time.
The former Motherwell man won the ball, but did so in a way the Rangers players regarded as a danger to the Croatian. Despite angry protests from Barisic, the striker escaped with a yellow and was replaced by defender Shay Logan within a minute.
McInnes said afterwards that he was making the change anyway. The yellow card merely hastened the decision to push on full-back Logan to steady a ship in danger of veering badly off course.
When Morelos failed to capitalise on Ash Taylor’s hesitation with a poor effort in the first minute, the home team must have hoped the Colombian might be having another of his days.
After an i nauspicious start, Aberdeen rallied. An aggressive pressing game forced Rangers’ defenders to go long. The ball went back and forth like a pinball and that crafted an opening for Sam Cosgrove in his 100th appearance for the Dons after four minutes.
Playing up front with the pacey Scott Wright and Main, it was the latter who flicked a long clearance on for Cosgrove. Dragging the ball wide to the left as Connor Goldson dived in, he shot wildly over the bar.
Rangers began knocking on the door after 22 minutes, Jonny Hayes’ knee blocking a netbound Kent effort on the line, before keeper Joe Lewis saved a second attempt from Tavernier.
When the Ibrox skipper fired his spot-kick wide, it took everyone by surprise. Without the enterprising Hedges, however, Aberdeen’s self-belief drained at the same rate as t hei r e nergy. Suddenly
Tavernier and Barisic had the freedom and space to attack at will.
The Ibrox captain was involved in Morelos claiming his ninth goal of the season after 32 minutes, his low cutback nudged into the striker’s path by Kent. The finish was top drawer.
The game looked done when Morelos added a second five minutes into the second half. Joe Aribo’s low cross was cleverly back-heeled to the forward by Kent — looking more like himself — and Morelos took a touch before firing low past Lewis.
For Aberdeen, it now threatened to be a long afternoon. Kent’s left-foot strike was pushed over the bar by Lewis as Rangers threatened to cut loose and improve an already unassailable goal difference.
It was almost too easy for the visitors and Steven Gerrard later admitted that almost proved their undoing. McInnes changed the shape, with Kennedy replacing Wright up front and despite Rangers taking their feet off the pedal, no-one expected the change to have the impact it did. Hayes had already stung Allan McGregor’s palms when Aberdeen scored after 67 minutes. Former Celtic man Hayes was involved again, breaking on the right and picking out Kennedy in acres of space in the centre. The substitute slotted past McGregor to grant the ten men an unexpected lifeline.
‘I thought the game got a little bit too easy for some of us,’ said Gerrard. ‘Instead of keeping the standards up and going for a third goal with balance and control, we got a little bit gung-ho.
‘We paid with one goal and could have paid again, so I’m pleased with the win. It’s another excellent win but there are certainly some points within that performance that we can learn from.’
ABERDEEN (3-5-2): Lewis 7; Hoban 7, Taylor 6 (Edmondson 88), Considine 7; Ferguson 6, Hedges , Wright 5 (Kennedy 58), Campbell 6, Hayes 7; Main (Logan 44), Cosgrove 6. Subs not used: Woods, Ojo, McGinn, Anderson, Virtanen, Ngwenya. Booked: Main, Ferguson. Sent off: Hedges. RANGERS (4-3-3): McGregor 6; Tavernier 6, Goldson 6, Balogun 6, Barisic 7; Davis 7, Kamara 6, Aribo 7; Hagi 6 (Zungu 81), Morelos 8, Kent 7. Subs not used: McLaughlin, Bassey, Helander, Defoe, Itten, Patterson, Barker, Stewart. Booked: Tavernier. Man of the match: Alfredo Morelos. Referee: John Beaton.