ROOFE’S PARTY PIECE A WINNER
Rangers sub turns jeers to cheers as Dons are dumped on Ibrox gala day
HIS late entrance was met with a chorus of jeers from an increasingly tetchy home support — but it would be Kemar Roofe who prevented Rangers’ 150th birthday party from getting properly messy.
Despite the Ibrox side absolutely dominating this game in terms of possession from round about the half-hour mark, chances had been few and far between.
Aberdeen, in spite of a relatively bright start, were defending deeper and deeper.
It had taken 71 minutes for the home side to even manage a shot on target, a low effort through a forest of legs that was easily held by Dons goalkeeper Joe Lewis.
When Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst made the call to remove Alfredo Morelos from the play and replace him with Roofe, the Ibrox supporters made their feelings perfectly clear.
Frustration at the man responsible for making no substitutions during a stodgy one-goal victory over St Johnstone in midweek was now turning to anger over making substitutions they simply didn’t agree with.
The fury that greeted Rangers’ midweek announcement they are playing a ‘friendly’ with Celtic in Australia in November — offered too late to make it appear that they are anything but the support act to an Ange Postecoglou homecoming — was in danger of bubbling back to the surface, too, in the wake of an afternoon in which it was largely agreed to leave such things for another day.
On this occasion, though, van Bronckhorst’s big call paid off. With nine minutes left on the clock and the nervousness in the stands almost tangible, the breakthrough came.
Glen Kamara chipped the ball across to the opposite side of the area from the left touchline, captain James Tavernier powered a header back into the danger area and Roofe got on the end of it to bundle the ball home and pull Rangers level on points with Celtic at the top of the Premiership table.
Watching both Old Firm sides right now, though, it is impossible to tell how this battle for the flag will transpire. Both are clearly feeling the tension. Both have the potential to drop points and the upset over the recent actions of the Rangers board is not going away any time soon.
As the players left the field at the end — with Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor going round all the officials to vent his frustration over something or other — the final chants of the day from the boisterous end of the Broomloan Road Stand were aimed at the directors’ box, telling them to stick the Sydney Super Cup where the sun don’t shine.
The pre-match Tifo display centred around banners featuring great figures in Rangers’ history — the founding fathers, John Greig, Graeme Souness, Brian Laudrup, et al — and had one piece of artwork of Tavernier with last season’s trophy under a golden ‘2022’.
Let’s just say there’s a long way to go before he’s lifting another trophy. This is going to be more about who can hold their nerve best rather than who is more proficient at holding the ball.
Given the colourful build-up to this game, with a fans’ zone outside the stadium and fireworks on entry, it would have been reasonable to expect a reaction on the park from the home side. It took a while for it to come. And even then, it was a slow burner.
For starters, the club had trumpeted the fact their players would be sporting a special white ‘Gallant Pioneers’ kit to mark the occasion, available in the club store for an eye-watering £105.
In the end, they only warmed up in the jersey. When they took the park, they were wearing their trademark blue shirts — with reports suggesting the club had not sought SPFL permission to wear the special kit.
If their apparel wasn’t quite what was expected, neither was their performance. Particularly in the opening stages.
In recent weeks, the conversion of chances has been a major issue for Van Bronckhorst’s side. Yesterday, the creation of them was the primary reason for complaint.
Aberdeen, who had manager Jim Goodwin in among the players for their warm-up with club captain Scott Brown nowhere to be seen, settled into the game quickly. They were determined to try to keep possession, look for openings.
In truth, they had very limited success in that regard, but they harried their opponents well, chased in packs and kept them at bay in the initial exchanges.
They flattered to deceive over the piece, though, with barely an effort at goal worthy of the name.
Morelos did send a low effort flashing wide after one minute and 48 seconds, but it would not be until after the half-hour mark before Rangers would come remotely close to scoring again.
Morelos fed Kamara inside the area, his cutback came off an Aberdeen defender and hit Lewis’ right-hand post before going behind for a corner.
That signalled the beginning of a long period covering both sides of the interval in which Rangers controlled the game and forced the issue deep inside visiting territory.
Fashion Sakala, who had a particularly erratic afternoon on the right of the Rangers attack, put a header wide at the back post shortly before the break with Joe Aribo sending another headed effort high and off-target from a Borna Barisic cross early in the second half.
Aribo then set up Sakala with a terrific knockdown, only for the Zambian to blaze the ball over from a good position. When he put a header into the side- netting from a deep Ryan Kent cross moments later, his goose was cooked.
Scott Arfield entered the fray for Sakala just before the hour, with Leon Balogun also replacing Barisic and Calvin Bassey reverting to left-back — but it failed to create the required spark.
With 12 minutes to play, and Rangers still having all the ball with little to show for it, on came Roofe to haul his side out of the mire.
The win was dogged and deserved, for sure, but damn hard work.
By the looks of things, this is going to be one heck of a grind from now until the destination of that trophy is confirmed.