GIO RISES TO THE CHALLENGE
Comeback win against gung-ho visitors offers Ibrox boss a crumb of comfort ahead of Ajax encounter
LGoodwin talked the talk but his side struggled to walk the walk
OOKING DOWN from the directors’ box, high in the main stand, was Steven Gerrard’s tactical sidekick. At times Rangers performed as if Michael Beale was already back in the technical area, guiding the team.
As things stand, Giovanni van Bronckhorst is the man who picks the team; the coach who sets the formation. If Rangers continue to play with the urgency and intensity shown in a 4-1 thrashing of Aberdeen, conjecture over the return of their former assistant manager from Queens Park Rangers will remain just that. Speculation.
The trouble with this Rangers team is that you’re never quite sure. Knowing what to expect from game to game is as tricky as predicting who’ll be Chancellor of the Exchequer this time next week. Last season’s Europa League finalists face Ajax on matchday six requiring a minor miracle to beat the Dutch masters by five goals and snatch third place in Group A.
Perform as they did against Liverpool or Napoli or Livingston and the goodwill generated by their best display of the season won’t last. Play as they did against Aberdeen and they could finish a dismal campaign on a rousing note. Before travelling to Glasgow, Jim Goodwin talked the talk. His Aberdeen team found it a good deal harder to walk the walk.
In the build-up to a battering from a rampant Rangers, the Dons boss bemoaned the defeatist attitude which afflicts so many visitors to Ibrox. He challenged his players to perform without fear.
Early in his Pittodrie reign the Irishman pitched up in Govan and parked the bus. Failing to muster a shot on target, the visitors had just 32 per cent of the possession and lost to a late goal.
With his own team in place, Goodwin sensed an opportunity to do something different. Despite the early promise of an opening goal from Connor Barron, it didn’t work. The plan to go toe to toe with the Scottish Cup holders in their own backyard backfired. Aberdeen, rather than Rangers, ended the day riddled with self-doubt.
After taking the lead in 21 minutes, the visitors stopped playing. Antonio Colak levelled with his 14th goal of the season and careless play from Ross McCrorie conceded the free-kick which proved the turning point in the game before half-time.
Momentum shifted to Rangers when John Lundstram smashed the ball into the net, captain James Tavernier scoring a third before firing a second-half penalty against the base of the post. Alfredo Morelos then added a fourth minutes after having a strike chalked off for offside. The final score was four going on six or seven and, bracing himself for accusations of tactical naivety, Goodwin was magnanimous in defeat. There could be no denial that the better team won.
Victory came at a price for Rangers. Turkish left-back Ridvan Yilmaz limped from the fray and will miss the game against Ajax. Central defender Ben Davies was also taken off with a groin problem after a first half when the home side reacted to the loss of the first goal a little better than they did against Livingston.
In hindsight, Aberdeen must wish they’d found a way to keep playing the football which teed up the first goal of the game for young midfielder Barron. Leighton Clarkson’s smart pass down the channel offered striker Luis Lopes — Duk to his friends — a chance to twist Davies one way, then the other, before tripping over the challenge of Tavernier. Referee Nick Walsh was spared a difficult decision when Barron hammered the loose ball into the postage stamp corner.
Goodwin spoke afterwards of this being a game where Aberdeen were damned if they did, damned if they didn’t. After the goal they seemed unsure whether to stick or twist. They tried to keep playing an attacking game and the wide open spaces in midfield gave Rangers carte blanche to run at them.
Fashion Sakala was denied a goal by Kelle Roos, but went on to have one of his best games. Lundstram was a pillar of midfield strength. Malik Tillman, meanwhile, was outstanding. The young Bayern Munich midfielder teed up the equaliser when he ran beyond the defence to gather a piercing Lundstram through ball and square for Colak to slot home the equaliser.
Tillman continues to divide opinion amongst the Rangers support. The quality of his performance here couldn’t be criticised.
‘I have had my ups and downs,’ the American international acknowledged. ‘But I feel I have way more to learn, especially from our key players in the team.
‘I can learn from them every single day. I try to learn every single game. I would say I can still improve myself.
‘I was okay, I wanted to score a goal as well but I didn’t do it. I think all in all I am pretty happy.’
The key interlude in the game
arrived before half-time. Presented with a chance to clear his lines from deep in his own half, McCrorie held on to the ball too long and ran into trouble. Forced to haul down Ryan Kent in a dangerous position, the free-kick was headed straight to the feet of Tavernier, the skipper’s driven shot was brilliantly saved by Roos. First to react, the final act of Davies was to turn it back into the path of Lundstram to lash the ball emphatically into the net for 2-1.
Aberdeen’s best player, Duk blew a wonderful chance to head the visitors level from the restart. Rangers took full advantage of the let-off by steamrollering their opponents with relentless possession and attacking football.
Tavernier arrived at the back post to get above Jack MacKenzie and head a Borna Barisic cross past Roos for 3-1. The Ibrox captain then blew a chance for his second from 12 yards after VAR official Willie Collum recommended that referee Walsh take another look at a clear handball by Dons defender Jayden Richardson.
Even a missed penalty couldn’t halt the Rangers momentum. Clarkson robbed Scott Arfield of a fourth with a goal-line block. VAR chalked off a Morelos finish for offside. Minutes later the Colombian was given the benefit of the doubt after another interminable delay.
A 4-1 scoreline was a poor reflection of the dominance Rangers enjoyed, but relieved the pressure on manager Van Bronckhorst no end.
‘I think we are under pressure every game, especially from ourselves,’ said Tillman. ‘We have the mindset of wanting to win every game. Obviously we didn’t win our last game so we needed to bounce back. And we did that in a good way.’
Big wins in the Scottish Premiership prepare teams like Rangers for the Champions League in much the same way as jogging for a bus prepares most people for the London marathon. Desperate to avoid one of the worst group stage performances of all time, however, Tillman hopes to finish against Ajax with at least a point.
‘We always go into the game to win it and show the best we can and show the energy we did today,’ he added. ‘We will try to win it and show the fans what we can do.’