BARKER AN UNLIKELY HERO
Forgotten man pounces after coming on for dejected Kent
THIS wasn’t supposed to be Brandon Barker’s day but with Ryan Kent limping from centre stage, the forgotten winger of Ibrox pounced on his moment to deliver his first goal in a Rangers shirt.
Restricted to just a few minutes of Betfred Cup football against East Fife last month, Barker has been among the most subdued of the 11 summer signings brought to the club by Steven Gerrard and the club’s now ex-director of football Mark Allen.
Pressed into action after Kent limped off injured, Barker’s late strike finally killed off the resistance of an awkward Livingston team who had taken the lead just after half-time and, for a portion of the second half, looked capable of scoring again.
The former Manchester City prospect lapped up his moment, racing to the supporters after firing home his powerful finish. His joy was in complete contrast to Kent’s near tearful response to the realisation that a hamstring injury had ended his big day before the interval.
The £7million deadline-day purchase of Kent was by far the club’s richest deal of the summer and, on the back of a comprehensive defeat to Celtic a fortnight ago, his selection on the left of a three-pronged attack was the cause of some excitement among the home fans.
There was clearly an instruction to give Kent plenty of the ball early on and he provided the avenue for Rangers to create the first chance of the game, his burrowing run past Nicky Devlin creating the opportunity for Joe Aribo to slip in Alfredo Morelos. The move deserved a better finish than the Colombian’s thump over.
Morelos then served Scott Arfield with a shooting chance from the edge of the box but the left-foot effort caught the underside of the bar and bounced back into play.
Kent’s withdrawal came seemingly without warning, a raised hand summoning the medical team for assistance. By the time they got to him, the winger’s head was in his hands and he was soon trudging off to be replaced by the eager Barker.
Dominant yet ultimately toothless, Rangers might have been expected to run out for the second half with renewed purpose. Instead they fell behind.
For Gary Holt, this was a welcome return to the managerial frontline after a health scare that saw him hospitalised with a blood condition triggered by a session in the gym. Holt missed his side’s last game against St Mirren but Livingston coped in his absence, maintaining their unbeaten start to the season to sit third in the table going into this weekend.
Compact and hard-working, Holt’s side had showed little appetite for attack in the first period yet a foul by Steven Davis on Robbie Crawford high up the pitch invited the visitors to throw a few men forward for virtually the first time in the game. Lyndon Dykes pounced on a loose ball in the box, shifted towards goal and was caught by the trailing leg of Arfield. Steven Lawless applied a relaxed finish to roll the penalty away from Allan McGregor.
Rangers got level quickly but referee Willie Collum’s award of the free-kick was hotly contested by Marvin Bartley, who claimed not to have caused Morelos’ theatrical fall out on the left touchline.
‘I thought Marvin won the ball and got it clean,’ said Holt. ‘He never touched him. Willie said he won the ball and that if he hadn’t, he would have sent him off. How can you give a free-kick if you win the ball?’
James Tavernier cared little. Last season, the full-back scored against Celtic from an identical position at the Broomloan end. This time, the Copland Road collective got the close-up view as his in-swinging free-kick eluded all takers on its way in.
Belatedly, we now had a proper game of football on our hands, with both teams throwing caution to the gusty Govan air.
Livvy put the ball in the net when Andy Halliday dallied over a pass-back but Collum adjudged Jack McMillan’s ball-pinching challenge to have been overly-physical.
Shots were traded as Chris Erskine hit the post and Dykes forced a save from McGregor, while Ross Stewart was at full stretch to deny Morelos and Arfield.
Within the space of two minutes, the pendulum had swung in Rangers’ direction. First came Morelos’s goal, a bullet header set up by an Aribo flick-on at the near post, but the dismissal of Dykes was just as damaging.
The Australian’s physicality had started to cause problems for Rangers but a cheap yellow for obstructing a Rangers free-kick put him on the edge and he toppled over with a flailing arm that caught Connor Goldson as the two contested a high ball.
Again, Holt took issue, saying: ‘I don’t think it was a second yellow. It’s very harsh. Lyndon has not thrown his elbow. He has jumped and, yes, he caught him but you don’t jump with your arms by
your side. It’s physically impossible, or you’re never going to win a header.’
Livingston still chased an equaliser but that only opened up space for Rangers to exploit.
Through the week, Sheyi Ojo spent some time speaking of his excitement at reprising his old Liverpool double act with Kent, but it was for Barker that he set up for the game’s crowning moment.
Special credit is due to Morelos for the nonchalant back-heel flick that sent Ojo clear. The on-loan Liverpool man had not had the best game but finally set off on a game-changing run, showing pace and poise before releasing the substitute for a finish that fizzed beyond Stewart.
‘The plan was to play Ryan for 60 minutes and then get Brandon on for 30 minutes,’ said Gerrard. ‘His performance and a goal on his home debut will do his confidence the world of good.
‘He’ll only get better and better with games but you can see that he’s a clever player and he can open the door.’
RANGERS (4-3-3): McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Katic, Halliday; Davis, Arfield, Aribo (King 75); Ojo, Morelos (Defoe 80), Kent (Barker 41). Subs (not used): Foderingham, Helander, Barisic, Kamara, Barker, Defoe. Booked: None. LIVINGSTON (4-5-1): Stewart; Devlin, Lamie (Pepe 82), Guthrie, McMillan; Erskine (Robinson 68), Jacobs (Souda 78), Bartley, Crawford, Lawless; Dykes. Subs (not used): Sarkic, Tiffoney, Savane, Stobbs. Booked: Crawford, Dykes. Sent off: Dykes. Referee: Willie Collum. Attendance: 48,793.