It wasn’t perfect but, it was also a lot better. The second-half performance against Hearts showed that the Rangers players are still motivated under Giovanni van Bronckhorst and listening to his instructions.
In the first half, we lacked pace, intensity and drive. There were no runners from midfield helping out Ryan Kent and Rabbi Matondo when they picked the ball up in wide positions until a word from the manager at the break made all the difference.
Speaking after the game, as reported by The Rangers Review, Gio highlighted our energy and how we need to play against teams who sit so deep, throwing in crosses from outside the box just isn’t going to work:
“I think our energy and our work rate today, we did really well. In the first half, we tried to get an early goal, I think we started really well. There were some transition moments where we had so much space and didn’t create those chances into goals.
“Second half I think we did much better and also with our positions in the box when we were in their final third. I think the goal was an example of how you need to play against opposition when they defend that deep.
“First half and the beginning of the second half you always have the threat of the two strikers when we were attacking and in one or two moments they were quite dangerous so we had to be really focused the whole game.
“In the end, we tried to score the second goal but overall I think in the last 20 minutes of the game we didn’t give any chances away.”
It’s so frustrating because it is so clear to everyone else that just throwing crosses into a packed box is never going to work. Our wingers have to get to the by-line either by their own graft or by linking with their full-back and/or midfielders. That was the biggest difference in the second half.
As soon as defenders are having to face their own goal to defend it is a lot easier for midfielders to run onto the ball. We saw it with John Lundstram’s chance in the first half but never repeated that movement pattern until Malik Tillman’s chance shortly before he opened the scoring with an almost identical move.
There is still a long way to go in terms of the season and for this Rangers squad when it comes to showing that they do have what it takes to make a concerted title challenge any more of the first half and we’ll have no chance, the second and we might at least keep Celtic honest.
I watched a training drill on the Rangers website and that was what they were doing , third man running to get to the bye line and cut the ball back to the penalty spot area and yet we never do it in games .Colak gets most of his goals from around there so it should be a definite tactic for us . Scott Arfield coming on was the reason we started to make space and open up Hearts as his running was pulling them all over the place , just like he did at Tynecastle. The fact that we need to rely on a 34 year old to do this is a worry and an indictment on our recruitment policy.
100% and an indictment of our injuries too given that Lowry, Hagi and Lawrence would probably be preferred in that role.