STUNNED WRIGHT AT THE DEATH
Rangers left reeling after County teenager hits last-gasp leveller
TEENAGER Matthew Wright strode off the Ross County bench to give Rangers a bloody nose ahead of their midweek Old Firm showdown at Celtic Park and earn the sobriquet of ‘Super Sub’.
The 19-year-old from Stornoway marked his emergence since graduating from the club’s academy with a stoppage-time equaliser that stunned the league leaders and their 2,000 fans who made the long trip north anticipating a third win over the Staggies this season.
With the match into the 96th minute, Wright punished slack defending when he converted Regan Charles-Cook’s corner to boost County’s survival hopes.
Currently tenth in the Premiership, County were rank outsiders, according to the bookies at least, and when Connor Goldson fired Rangers in front in the 72nd minute of an exciting match strewn with errors, it appeared as if the odds men had called it right.
But County had other ideas and they had the Wright stuff when Jordan White — scorer of the opening goal — made way for the Islander after 83 minutes.
But when Wright prodded the ball into the net following CharlesCook’s corner from the left, it was yet another example of slipshod defending on an afternoon littered with mistakes at the back including costly lapses by both goalkeepers.
Rangers also discovered to their cost that while skill may be required to win trophies it also takes guts and determination to grind out a result — and County had both.
Undefeated in their previous 12 matches, Rangers were expected to build on an early Amad Diallo goal and be home and hosed by half-time in front of a sell-out Dingwall crowd.
But the County players rolled up their sleeves and led at half-time through goals from White and Charles-Cook.
However, when James Tavernier levelled and Goldson then put the visitors ahead shortly before substitute Kemar Roofe had fired against a post, County appeared fated to suffer a third defeat in the space of eight days.
Instead, they kept at it, never lost their belief, and were duly rewarded with a result that belies their league position and augurs well for the relegation scrap that may lie ahead.
Manager Malky Mackay was fulsome in his praise of teenager Wright and also highlighted the contribution of the club’s chief executive, Steven Ferguson, during his time in charge of the youth set-up. He said: ‘I am really happy for Matthew, who is also a great credit to Steven.
‘Steven has been the manager and he was the academy director for ten years and brought through a lot of youngsters. And anyone who knows this part of the world realises the logistical
challenges. Matty coming from Stornoway is ten years of mum and dad getting on a ferry and driving for two hours to come here two nights a week and on a Saturday, so I am delighted for his family as well. He is a boy who scores goals.’
Ross Callachan had stressed the importance of getting in the faces of the Rangers players straight from the kick-off and the midfielder epitomised that approach.
Regrettably, from the home side’s point of view, Callachan’s warning that a lapse in concentration could prove fatal went unheeded when the opposition surged into attack in the fifth minute.
County were caught out by the swiftness of the break and were unable to recover their composure to prevent the loss of a quick goal. Joe Aribio’s low cross from the left was deflected off a defender into the path of the inrushing Diallo (right), who steered the ball into the unguarded net.
Cedric Itten and Aribo subsequently posed a threat of sorts but, to their credit, County did not wilt and cave in and instead attempted to redress the balance by scrapping for every ball and putting in tenacious tackles in an effort to subdue Rangers.
Their strong mindset was rewarded with an equaliser after 25 minutes, albeit
White was assisted by a wholly uncharacteristic lapse in standards by Allan McGregor.
The veteran keeper appeared to have Joseph Hungbo’s cross from the left easily covered but somehow spilled the ball for White to tap in.
If no one had seen the goal coming, what happened four minutes later took everyone by complete surprise, not least the shell-shocked Rangers players who were clearly still reeling from the effects of White’s strike. With the defence back-peddling to cope with Charles-Cook’s pace, the winger kept his cool after
Calvin Bassey had failed to cut out a header from White and completed his run with a perfect finish from the edge of the box into the bottom left corner.
While Rangers had enjoyed the lion’s share of possession up to that point it was difficult to begrudge County their reward for persistence and steely determination in breaching a defence that failed to do its job.
Callachan’s industry, Hungo’s trickery and Charles-Cook’s pace was a potent force that Rangers could not deal with at times and a measure of how far County have come under Mackay.
Rangers’ efforts to square matters before the interval amounted to a long-range attempt from Glen Kamara that Ash Maynard-Brewer held fairly comfortably and a Tavernier free-kick that whistled over the crossbar. Perhaps if County had managed to cling on for a lengthier period in the second half, Rangers’ frustration would have grown to assist them in what was still a huge task.
But when Maynard-Brewer twice spilled the ball in the first four minutes of the second period, County paid a heavy price.
Having escaped punishment when he gathered Scott Arfield’s effort at the second attempt, MaynardBrewer was unable to recover when he failed to grasp Diallo’s shot in the 49th minute and Tavernier converted Ryan Kent’s lay-off from close range.
There followed a period of at times frantic defending by the home side, but County managed to avoid the loss of another goal in quick order to keep alive their hopes of achieving a surprise result, for more than 20 minutes at least.
But when Rangers regained the lead after 72 minutes, it looked like curtains for the hosts.
Borna Barisic’s corner from the left fell for Arfield, whose shot was blocked and spun up for Goldson to head his side back in front.
But County stayed strong in terms of commitment and their renewed efforts meant they were able to emerge with their pride fully intact when Wright struck to earn his side a point that may prove to be hugely defining in their fight for top-flight survival.
With Charles-Cook on several clubs’ radar, County face a fight to keep the player in Dingwall.
But Mackay, who denied there had been any approach for the player, stressed: ‘I have a chairman who is very strong in what he is doing.
‘Regan’s challenge was to go and kick on from a quiet season last year — and I believe in him.
‘Early on in the season, you could see what he had in his game in terms of being wide but what he didn’t have was drifting into the penalty box for second balls.
‘Once he started doing that, he has scored ten goals now.’