Reality check for remodelled Rangers, but Miller insists: ‘We can hurt anybody’
IF GAMES like this are something of a reality check for Mark Warburton’s remodelled Rangers side, then the fact that they still emerged victorious will bring little comfort for the chasing pack struggling to keep pace in the Championship title race.
It was all about persistence and perspiration as they overcame a well-drilled Dumbarton side. Little was seen of the slick play that has so often thrilled in the early part of this campaign and it took a second-half double from Martyn Waghorn, the second from the penalty spot, to see them over the line. Despite being reduced to ten men after the sending off of Gregor Buchanan for his foul on Kenny Miller which led to that award, the hosts did not capitulate and got a penalty of their own at the end which Garry Fleming put away to emphasise how close this game was.
Rangers will always be prized scalp but their form makes putting a spoke in their wheels an even greater incentive for their Championship opponents now, as Warburton is aware. The Ibrox club’s manager acknowledged the hard work and diligent organisation that part-time Dumbarton had displayed in the game and admitted they were successful in containing his side for over an hour of this game, before Waghorn struck with a low drive that caught out home goalkeeper Mark Brown.
Striker Miller, who started for the visitors, also conceded it had been Rangers’ toughest 90 minutes of the season to date apart from their league encounter with expected promotion rivals Hibs, but felt they should have gone on to win more emphatically. “At 0-2 I did think we should have had a few more goals,” he said. “We were pressing when they were down to ten men and with 20 minutes to go you would expect us to go and get another couple. It was a hard day, but it’s another good three points.”
The obvious way to try to stop any fancied opponents is to have a solid backline and flood the midfield and Dumbarton went for the textbook approach by stringing five across the middle. However, there was much more to their performance than just a good shape. The manner in which they doubled up to choke off the runs by fullbacks Lee Wallace and James Tavernier which have yielded so many goals for Rangers showed excellent game awareness.
In the first 45 minutes it reduced Warburton’s men to making too many sideways passes to get them any real momentum. The Sons, meanwhile, failed by the width of a post to take the lead as Fleming’s header rebounded to safety. Willie Gibson also went close with a curling free-kick.
“We held our own against them,” said home midfielder Scott Brown who is on loan from St Johnstone. “We definitely matched them for 60 minutes and we were probably unfortunate to lose the first goal. Even after the sending off we held our shape well and grabbed a goal at the end. I think they found it hard to play through us.”
Brown has more than just a passing interest in tomorrow night’s League Cup tie at Ibrox which pits Warburton’s side against his parent club in what many believe will be a genuine test of the progress made by Rangers this season. “I’ll be up in Perth on Monday so I’ll probably be asked a few questions,” he said. He expects it to be close – “I don’t think there’s a lot between the two divisions. Anyone can beat anybody else on their day even within this division.”
Miller recognised the different nature of the test presented by St Johnstone, but morale in the Ibrox camp could hardly be much better after this, their 11th straight win under Warburton. “It’s another game at home that we’ll be looking to win,” Miller said. “We have had decent results against Premiership teams in the last few seasons and with the quality we’ve got in the dressing room we can hurt anybody.”