I BUFFALO YOU
MORELOS’ OLD FIRM GOAL VOW TO FAMILY
Alfredo Morelos has promised his family he’ll score in the Scottish Cup semi against Celtic – to make up for his Old Firm howler.
The Colombian striker has been in fine form for Rangers since his summer move from HJK Helsinki.
But the striker nicknamed Buffalo missed an open goal from two yards out in last month’s 3-2 defeat by the Hoops – and failed to net in yesterday’s 2-2 draw at Fir Park with Motherwell.
Morelos is determined to make up for it in two weeks’ time at Hampden when the Old Firm rivals battle for a place in the Scottish Cup Final. He said: “I’ve already
Graeme Murty says Rangers are building for the future whether he’s in charge or not.
But a stirring fightback against Motherwell at Fir Park to earn a point only served to paper over the cracks.
The Ibrox gaffer is trying to lay foundat ions, despi te not knowing his own future.
But during a torrid 45 minutes in Lanarkshire, the Steelmen bulldozed Murty’s men to go two goals up – and it should have been more.
Bruno Alves and Russell Martin were bul lied by t he Wel l strikeforce, particularly Curtis Main who hit a penalty to open the scoring.
Big Main rag- dolled James Tavernier to set up Al lan Campbell for a second and at that point Rangers were at sea.
The odds of Murty being manager next season were widening with every misplaced pass or flimsy challenge.
But he deserves credit for somehow prompting a reaction from them at half-time.
Gers were handed a lifeline in
the shape of a soft-looking spotkick that Tavernier converted.
Then a superb Jamie Murphy goal made it 2-2 and gave them a share of the spoils.
Murty won’t be fooled by their two-minute revival in the second half – especially with a Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic on the horizon.
Portuguese defender Alves, who toiled beside Martin, gave the impression he was pleased to get out of Fir Park with a draw.
He said: “We’re not happy because we want to win every game. But after the first half, to score twice and get a draw was positive for us.
“The Motherwell strikers were very strong. We know they are physical but we need to deal with that type of game.
“The first half was intense but we need to work better and not lose those goals. We have quality players to deal with this.”
Rangers’ shape was so ragged and exposed early on that Well exploited them at will.
Add to that, players not doing the basics like tackling, tracking back or making six-yard passes – and it was a recipe for disaster.
Stevie Robinson’s men were terrific at the start. They got in Gers’ faces and asked questions of them all over the pitch.
The eighth-minute penalty was a prime example of Gers’ backline being in disarray.
Martin was caught on the
wrong side of Chris Cadden and a clumsy challenge from behind gave ref Nick Walsh no option.
That’s three spot-kicks Martin has conceded in three months since he joined Rangers.
And it set the tone for his side’s first-half performance.
Too many times Rangers have struggled against a three-man midfield.
Graeme Dorrans and Greg Docherty were given little help from Josh Windass ahead of them as the home trio dominated.
By 16 minutes it was 2- 0. This time, Rangers captain Tavernier was physically out-muscled by Main and his slide- rule pass found Campbell on the run.
Dorrans hadn’t followed his man and the Scotland Under-21 kid coolly slotted it beyond Wes Foderingham.
It was a disastrous goal but Martin and Alves simply couldn’t handle Well’s front two.
And Rangers were being over- ran in the middle and couldn’t get their attacking players involved in the game.
In fact, had Cadden’s effort not clipped the bar the Steelmen could have gone in at the break further in the lead.
Rangers couldn’t play any worse in the second half.
Murty asked for a response from the same 11 players – and to be fair he got it.
The penalty for Elliot Frear’s challenge on Tavernier was the break they needed.
The full-back stuck it away and suddenly that got the visiting support up for it again. At that point, Motherwell just had to steady the ship.
But they couldn’t and were undone by Murphy.
He produced what’s fast becoming a trademark run infield from the left f lank before firing the ball low past keeper Trevor Carson.
Daniel Candeias had a chance to make it 3-2 when Windass put him in on goal but Carson saved.
And late on, Alfredo Morelos should have fed sub Cummings but wasteful ly shot wide. It wasn’t all one-way traffic as Main & co. still posed a threat.
Mur t y ’ s men rallied well after dropping two more points but no - one at Ibrox will be too happy.
played in three Old Firm games. They’re incredible – it’s one of the best derbies in the world.
“The city is paralysed on the day of the match. Each team and their fans are full of passion and that transfers to the players.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t yet scored against Celtic. But that is a debt I owe to the fans.
“I have spoken to my family and promised I will score in the next game against Celtic and dedicate it to them.
“Our fans have told me they will get a tattoo with my name on it if I score against Celtic.”
Morelos has spoken out for the first time about the big-money transfer bids that came for him from China in January.
It was reported that Beijing Renhe offered up to £11million – but Rangers rejected all bids.
However, Morelos has revealed the club that did the bidding was called Guangzhou Evergrande.
He said: “The issue is closed and everything is calm with me.
“All options for China are closed for now. I am focused on doing things well and continuing to grow as a player.”
The Colombian told media in his home country he’d love to play in English football one day.
He said: “Scotland’s football is close to the Premier League – even our league has a very similar name to it.
“I know clubs from England will be watching me and that encourages me to do well.
“I recently extended my contract at Rangers until 2021.
“I’m doing a good job at Rangers and I have the backing of the coaching staff.”
Now Morelos is ready for his first senior cap for his country and said: “I’m ready. I am sure they follow all Colombians in Europe. But my priority is to score sco for Rangers.”