THERE’S NO STOPPING MORELOS
Windass backs Ibrox star to hit 30 goals
JOSH WINDASS sees no reason why new Rangers scoring sensation Alfredo Morelos cannot crack the 30-goal barrier this season.
Morelos struck twice in the 4-1 Ibrox victory over bottom-of-the-table Dundee, the third occasion in six domestic appearances that he has bagged a double.
That is seven goals in league and cup for the Colombian so far in a lightning start to life in Scottish football with Pedro Caixinha’s side.
‘He’s class,’ enthused Windass. ‘The ball always seems to fall to him at the right time and he always seems to put it away. That’s the sign of a quality striker.
‘I hope he can carry it on for himself and the club. Can he score 30? Well, he’s well on his way already this season. He’s on course because he’s got seven in (his last) five, so why not?’
Caixinha has already predicted that Morelos, signed
RANGERS are thankful for Alfredo Morelos needing no time at all to warm to the task of netting goals in Scotland. The striker’s season started on April 5 back in Finland and, at the rate of 18 goals in 17 matches since then, Pedro Caixinha will be keen to test if his stamina can match the obvious scoring prowess.
His double against dismal Dundee was the third time the Colombian has struck twice in only six domestic outings.
Here, he settled Ibrox nerves shortly before the interval then rounded off the Rangers scoring after substitutes Josh Windass and Carlos Pena had struck in the second half. Faissal El Bakhtaoui’s consolation could not spare Dundee from sinking to bottom spot in the Ladbrokes Premiership table.
On this form, Rangers will not wish Morelos to run out of puff and the 21-year-old does not look as if he will relish a rest, such is his appetite for goals.
A mid-season breather might be inevitable given the obvious strain a 13-month season would place on the HJK Helsinki find.
While the sun shines, however, Morelos will be left to reap the rewards. The main one here gave manager Caixinha his first home league victory of the season and saw Rangers inch up the division, only three points off the pace set by Celtic and Aberdeen.
On a tough day for Niko Kranjcar and Kenny Miller, Rangers revved past Neil McCann’s visitors after the veterans were taken off in the early stages of the second half. Their replacements, Windass and Pena, were most grateful to hit the mark.
For Windass, so often the fans’ fall guy in the struggles of Rangers since the start of last season, his header was a first goal since July 2016 against East Stirlingshire in the Betfred Cup. For Pena, it was his first for the club, with the promise of more to come from the flamboyant Mexican.
McCann started with much of his experience in reserve for the Ibrox test as he gave the impressive Lewis Spence a first start.
Darren O’Dea and Paul McGowan were on the bench — a place that certainly would have spared Scott Allan some abuse. A young man brought up just along the road from Ibrox, Allan was destined to become a Rangers player in the summer of 2015 following a brilliant season with Hibernian.
The saga astonishingly ended with the Rangers fan making a doomed transfer to Celtic. He was given a traitor’s welcome, therefore, for all of the 37 minutes he was on the pitch, struggling with the effects of a groin issue before being replaced by AJ Leitch-Smith, signed on loan from Shrewsbury Town.
For all their failings against Hibernian and Hearts at Ibrox, Rangers had at least made ferocious starts to those games. Against Dundee, there was not the encouragement of that early tempo from which to feed off but the hosts were well worth their margin of victory come the end.
Initially, chances fell the way of Kranjcar. However, when he tried to guide home a Morelos delivery at the back post, Scott Bain got down smartly to push the ball off his line. The next time Rangers penetrated the penalty area, Cammy Kerr’s block denied the Croatian while the Dundee keeper was stranded on the turf.
Kranjcar was strong to hold off challenges before feeding Morelos but the striker was forced too wide for his liking as he took the ball round Bain and slammed his effort into the side netting. The half was heading towards an unsatisfactory stalemate for the home support when Rangers ripped through a static Dundee rearguard in style.
The key flash of inspiration was a cute flick from Daniel Candeias, produced on the take from Miller and with his back to goal. That paved the way for Morelos to stride on in behind and produce a first-time strike. Bain’s left palm got a chunk of the effort but not enough to stop the ball from squirming inside the post.
Dundee failed to take advantage of what Rangers gave them. El Bakhtaoui outpaced James Tavernier on the break but, when a killer delivery was required and Roarie Deacon waited for the chance to slot home from the centre of the area, the pass was poor.
Within a minute of the restart, Dundee should have levelled. Leitch-Smith picked out Deacon and errant marking permitted the winger to leap and power a header that flashed inches wide, with Wes Foderingham rooted to the spot.
An unusually weak first-time hit from Miller was easy catch material for Bain and the keeper was forced to work harder to keep out a swerving drive from Candeias. So Rangers lived on nerves while unable to put the game away.
Tavenier headed off the line from Kevin Holt but failed to entirely clear the danger, leaving Rangers grateful that Sofien Moussa, hurried back from knee surgery, was unable to connect with the ball when sliding in at the back post.
The extra injection of Windass soon told and Dundee were left to rue a missed opportunity. On 68 minutes, he was the recipient of another splendid assist from Candeias. Windass planted a header past Bain after Candeias whipped a Graham Dorrans pass his way.
The energy of Windass extended to setting up the third down the left. Pena, Caixinha’s most expensive and highly touted transfer of the summer, peeled away from penalty-box attention and tucked home from eight yards.
Elaborate celebrations between the Mexican and Morelos ensued, Rangers fans hoping this is an exotic double act to light up the winter months.
With five minutes remaining, another explosion from Morelos. On the overlap from Tavernier, the striker burst past Holt and really had no right to score from his angle. That is where Bain came in, however, by pushing the cross-cum-shot into his own net.
There was time for a debut from Manchester City loanee Aaron Nemane but it was El Bakhtaoui who had the last word, firing a Dundee consolation into the bottom corner from 16 yards. RANGERS (4-4-2): Foderingham; Tavernier, Cardoso, Alves, Wallace; Dorrans, Jack, Candeias (Nemane 86), Kranjcar (Windass 54); Miller (Pena 63), Morelos. Subs (not used): Alnwick, McCrorie, Herrera, Rossiter. Booked: Morelos. DUNDEE (4-5-1): Bain; Kerr, Hendry, Waddell, Holt; Deacon (Wolters 69), Kamara (McGowan 79), Allan (Leitch-Smith 37), Spence, El Bakhtaoui; Moussa. Subs (not used): Parish, O’Dea, O’Hara, Aurtenetxe. Booked: Holt, Waddell. Referee: Andrew Waddell. Attendance: 49,164.