EMERGENCY
Gers defy a series of injuries to motor to easy win in so-called grudge match
IT was four going on five, six or seven. And that was only the injuries.
At one point it really looked as if Steven Gerrard would run out of subs as his players fell clutching calves and hamstrings.
One of them, Leon Balogun didn’t even make the first whistle. He was replaced by Filip Helander and the defender’s misfortune was a portent of things to come.
Ryan Jack had gone in 10 minutes, Brandon Barker eight minutes later and when the man who replaced him, Alfredo Morelos, left on a stretcher, this was looking like a very expensive day for Rangers even if the points were already in the bag by that time.
The first three injuries were unavoidable but Morelos was the victim of a tackle by Ryan Edwards that should have ended the Dundee United defender’s involvement in the game. It was the very definition of rash and reckless and Morelos is lucky that he might only miss one game with the gash above his knee.
The controversial Colombian was playing really well at the time, looking much more like the striker he can be even if he didn’t get on the scoresheet.
Four of his team-mates did though and but for a fine goalkeeping display from Benji Siegrist more of them would have.
The United No.1 made a string of good stops as the men in front of him were pulled all over the place by the pace and movement of the Rangers attack. Ryan Kent maintained his recent electrifying form and his opening goal was exceptional, running onto Ianis Hagi’s nutmeg of Lewis Neilson, producing a sleight of foot to outwit Edwards and finish confidently.
James Tavernier, scoring his 49th goal in his 250th appearance, made it comfortable by the interval and further goals from Kemar Roofe and Scott Arfield, who was excellent when he came on midway through the second half, gave the scoreline a realistic look.
United were left exposed by their ambition. They went out to give it a go, pressing high up the pitch in the early stages but leaving spaces that Rangers were able to exploit and enjoy in a manner denied them by most teams who come to Ibrox.
Kent caught the eye but Steven Davis and Glen Kamara, who replaced Jack, provided an excellent base for the others to go and play. The duo hardly wasted a pass all afternoon and provided the cover needed when Tavernier and Borna Barisic were bombing on in the wide areas.
Make no mistake, their contribution to Rangers’ seventh successive clean sheet – a Scottish record for any club at the start of a league campaign – was crucial. But even then, United came as close as anyone has in trying to breach the Ibrox backline.
Nicky Clark was inches wide with a first-half header after a rare error of judgment from Jon McLaughlin in coming for a corner and, in the dying minutes, Ian Harkes smashed a shot off the bar. But there was as much satisfaction in maintaining that run of defensive invincibility as there was in the margin of victory.
Gerrard was more than satisfied and said: “A lot of things went against us in terms of injuries and we had to adapt. I have to give the players a lot of credit. Dundee United were giving us the ball back in some good areas and I think 4-0 flattered them. We could have had a few more goals.
“Four-nil is okay. We could have scored a few more but I don’t want to be too critical. But from the beginning of the season until now, if there is one aspect where we can improve it is that we could be more clinical, more ruthless.
“But we are still waiting for (Cedric) Itten to get up to speed. Kemar Roofe hadn’t played much before he came in. Alfredo’s had his situation, so we’re still waiting for our No.9s to get 100 per cent sharp.
“We’ve tried to learn from where we’ve gone wrong in the past. Maybe we didn’t have enough tools in the final third to change it. But what will be interesting is if we can keep them all in the door and if we can get them all up to speed.
“We were lucky to keep our record. They’ve hit the bar and had a good shot at the near post. Dundee United kept at it. They were desperate to score that goal and take the record, so you’ve got to give them credit as well.”
United boss Micky Mellon knows the financial gulf between the clubs is huge and so too was the football gap. But he insisted his team will continue to try to take on the big boys his way.
He said: “We were determined to come here and have a go because that’s the type of Dundee United team I want to be the manager of. I don’t want to sit on our own 18-yard box and hope for the best. We wanted to give it a go but we know what we need to improve on.
“There were periods of the game we did okay in. I’ll look over it but the most disappointing thing was losing four goals.
“In bits of our play, we just need to be better with the football. And we need to show a bit more belief when we get into dangerous areas and create opportunities.
“You can count the gap between the Old Firm and the rest in this league in money, can’t you?
“It’s tough. But that doesn’t mean to say we aren’t competitors and that we can’t improve what we have.
“We can still make these games a contest. But in terms of the gap, anyone with half a brain can understand that.”