There have been increasing signs of Rangers taking advantage from set-pieces recently, with Connor Goldson notching another goal for Rangers in the process.
It was the Englishman who broke the deadlock just before half-time, at a crucial time for Rangers, depriving Raith Rovers of the boost of going in at half-time on level terms. The Gers kicked on in the second half to secure progression to the Scottish Cup semi-final in a game that was never really in doubt.
Goldson’s header came from a Borna Barisic out-swinging corner with Michael Beale’s team once again showing some variety. As well as the direct cross, at other times there was a similar approach to last weekend against Kilmarnock when a smart routine saw Todd Cantwell have a couple of efforts blocked before the ball dropped to Goldson who put it in the back of the net.
The central defender was delighted to add to his numbers yesterday, proving to be a threat in the other box in what is hopefully an ongoing trend.
He told to the club’s official website of the importance of capitalising from dead ball situations:
“It is important we are a threat from set-pieces, especially in games where it is hard to break the opposition down. Personally, I wanted to score more goals this season so thankfully in the last week I have managed to get two.”
“We started trying to force a few things because the goal hadn’t come so it was definitely important to get the first goal before half-time.”
A clean-sheet is always welcome regardless of who the opposition is, as Goldson and Ben Davies completed another game together. Allan McGregor was rarely troubled in the game, but there were a couple of silly errors from the defence which thankfully came to nothing.
Sunday’s opener makes it three goals for the season for Connor Goldson who can hopefully make it a half dozen or more, particularly in the games that really matter with those important set-pieces presenting crucial opportunities to take advantage of.