Rangers played host to Brentford earlier today in a behind closed doors practice game at Auchenhowie.
The bounce game presented a chance for several members of Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad to get valuable match fitness under into their legs, whilst Christian Eriksen appeared for the Bees, as he steps up his recovery and return to top flight football.
Amad Diallo took an instant opportunity to put yesterday’s disappointment behind him, as he bagged a brace for himself in what sounded like an entertaining 2-2 draw with the West London side.
A full match report was given on the official club website.
The Rangers team that stated the game was as follows:
Robby McCrorie – Mateusz Zukowski, Jack Simpson, Leon Balogun, Leon King – Steven Davis, Glen Kamara, James Sands – Kemar Roofe, Scott Wright, Amad Diallo.
Alex Lowry, Charlie McCann and Juan Alegria were amongst some of the B team players to make an appearance in the second half.
⚽️ #RangersFC hosted @BrentfordFC in a bounce match this afternoon at Auchenhowie.
👇 Read the Match Report.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) February 21, 2022
Valuable
Obviously this fixture would have been arranged prior to yesterday’s massive disappointment at Tannadice for the first team, but in the aftermath of those dropped points, the game increased in value.
Amad Diallo has rightly taken some criticism for his role yesterday but much of this has been over the top. Further game time for him can only be a good thing and he will have a part to play in the run-in.
For others like Davis, Roofe and Kamara, they have been reduced to the bench lately so this exercise will keep them ticking over for when they are recalled to the top team. Overall, it will have been beneficial and valuable to replicate game time away from regular training against a strong level of opponent.