Gers fast show no laughing matter for bewildered Dee
RANGERS 3
Aribo (36), Sweeney (o.g. 55), Morelos (70) DUNDEE 0
A new on-field era is starting to take shape and Gio van Bronckhorst is more than satisfied with the progress he’s making.
It’s all about speeding up the process of defeating opponents.
The nature of van Bronckhorst’s first home league match as Rangers manager won’t have come as a big shock to the Dutchman.
Dundee came to Ibrox on a decent run of form, having won three of their previous four matches.
That, however, was never going to stop the visitors from adopting a safety-first approach.
They set out to flood the midfield and force Rangers to cut their way through nine men between them and the goal.
That Rangers eventually won quite comfortably was down to their nonstop effort to move opponents about.
It was something that wasn’t happening too often during the final days of the Steven Gerrard regime.
Van Bronckhorst said: “You’re now starting to see what we’ve been working on.
“We work hard to get our passing game and the speed we want especially against opponents who are really organised.
“You need that flow of passing and we did well with that.
“The more minutes played, the more space we got. When we changed the direction of play quickly, we dominated those areas.
“Even at 3-0 up we were still looking for the fourth goal. That’s the desire you need in games and we have to show that.”
The manager will have been pleased to see Alfredo Morelos hit the net again, but he was outshone up front by the lively Fashion Sakala. The Zambian peppered the Dundee goal with a series of shots — two producing fine saves by Legzdins — and was a constant threat with pacey runs infield from the left wing.
Morelos, of course, can point to the fact he scored and his team-mate didn’t.
It’s likely van Bronckhorst will look at their contributions in the context of the style he’s trying to introduce.
More quality from both is what will please him most.
Joe Aribo was the major influence on Rangers’ play. He started in a fairly withdrawn role but never stopped trying to create chances.
Morelos could have added to his one goal but was tentative with a couple of attempts, particularly one when he was through on the keeper.
Rangers went ahead when Aribo’s shot from the edge of the box was deflected past his goalie by Fontaine.
A second came not long after halftime and just after a deflected Arfield shot hit the post.
Joe Aribo crossed from the left and Ryan Sweeney slashed the ball into his own net.
That came 60 seconds after Dundee had introduced Leigh Griffiths as they went with two up front.
Griffiths, not surprisingly, was the subject of considerable abuse from the stands.
He was booked for a foul on Aribo
and that led to big reaction from the Rangers’ players.
Dundee men got involved as they went to defend their team-mate.
There were later calls for Griffiths to be carded for a second time after a challenge on Bassey ended with the defender rolling about the turf.
The on-loan Celtic man also managed to nearly score when an effort hit the post and went behind via Allan Mcgregor.
Paul Mcmullan had a decent effort saved when Dundee were 2-0 down. Rangers’ character might have been tested a little more if he’d scored.
Morelos made it three when he shot home from close range to end a bit of penalty box pinball.
Joe Aribo confirmed that he’s loving life under Van Bronckhorst.
He said: “We’re enjoying the way the manager wants us to play.
“He’s brought in his own style and it has taken us some time to get used to it.
“We want to score as many goals as possible and put a statement out to the rest of the league.”