Ibrox View: 2/10 star dreadful as 8/10 MOTM saves Clement - Rangers ratings v Motherwell

Rangers fought back to beat Motherwell 2-1 with an improved second-half showing to book their place in the League Cup final against Celtic.

After a delayed start an appalling first 45 saw ex-Gers man Andy Halliday open the scoring with a stretching volley at the back post on 25 minutes, as Jefte ran in the opposite direction, before Tom Lawrence got injured yet again and Cyriel Dessers missed an open goal before the break.

The Nigerian responded in the perfect fashion to equalise in the 50th minute after nice build up from Connor Barron, and Jefte almost made amends as his low shot was turned onto the post, before Nedim Bajrami found the winner in the 81st minute when played in by Vaclav Cerny, finishing off a counter-attack with a deflected effort.

The result will do little to inspire confidence in under-fire Philippe Clement, and the first half was about as bad as it could be, but at least demonstrated some fight for the Belgian.

Here, Ibrox News rates the Light Blues players out of 10 for their performances at Hampden Park.

Jack Butland – 6

Barely involved for the most part. Left completely exposed for Halliday’s goal but he hardly commanded the situation himself.

James Tavernier (off for Sterling ’67) – 2

Nightmare afternoon. Difficult start as his control let him down repeatedly when he looked to get forward early, and his frustration was increasingly visible as he couldn’t get anything going. The ball had more chance of going out of play than finding a teammate when it fell to him, and he failed to close down Steve Sneddon’s cross for the opener. Played a role in the build up to the equaliser but side-footed over with the goal gaping to sum up his day.

James Tavernier has miserable afternoon for Rangers

John Souttar – 6

Okay. Began fairly well to comfortably cut out a couple of the Well’s advances. Went close with a twisting header just before the break. The Halliday goal came from a passage of play where he was easily beaten by a simple ball over the top, even if he did recover to block the initial cross.

Leon Balogun (off for Kasawirjo ’78) – 7

The pick of the back four. Decent start to relieve multiple instances of early pressure but a clumsy foul the first time he was faced up in a one-on-one on the ground. Pretty good after the break but a concern that he got hurt, although significant that Robin Propper didn’t come on.

Jefte – 3

Chaotic. Started well but went off the rails badly. While Tavernier could barely get the ball under control on the right the Brazilian was surging up the left like his captain used to, but after skying the sort of chance the skipper used to bury he lost his way entirely. The mindless decision to run away from the ball as Halliday scored saw Michael Stewart explode at him, as his overall defensive work for that passage of play was terrible all round, and the wheels fell off from there for a time with fouls and losing possession. Almost made amends with a rasping low strike from the edge of the box which was tipped onto the post.

Jefte catastrophe lets Andy Halliday score

Nico Raskin – 6

Decent energy and some good bursts on the ball and far more effective than some of his teammates. Faded as the game went on and his teammates finally woke up.

Connor Barron – 8 – (Man of the Match)

Impressive. Far from perfect but the makings of a coming of age performance from the 22-year-old. Busy first half without making a major impact and decent hit from distance. But as Rangers finally started to find a response after the break it was Barron who looked to be dragging his teammates forward with him when so many looked to be wilting under pressure, and his assist for Dessers was vital as he surged into the box, pointed where he wanted it from Cerny and found the striker to finish.

Vaclav Cerny – 7

Decent in spells and finished strongly, but disappeared in others when his start suggested he would be a major threat throughout. Nice feet to put his full-back on the back foot straight away, followed by a decent attempt on goal as he looked like the primary early threat, but soon went the same was as his captain and became sloppy on the ball and shrunk as the task grew. Woke up again after the break and went close with a couple of nice attempts but his one-footedness cost him. Found Bajrami on the break and hit the post late on in strong overall performance but went missing for too long in the middle of the match.

Vaclav Cerny a danger for Philippe Clement

Tom Lawrence (off for Diomande ’36) – 4

Another miserable day for the Welshman. Very quiet opening period, with his most obvious involvement when he ran into Barron and both fell over mid-way through the half. Hurt once again and replaced early.

Nedim Bajrami – 5

Got a key goal, somewhat fortunately, on far from his greatest day for Rangers. Immediately lost his first duel with Kaleta to demonstrate the limitations of playing him out wide and a quiet performance followed as he was largely wasted out there, as Clement opted not to move him inside even when Lawrence was injured.

Cyriel Dessers (off for Danilo ’67) – 4

Dismal first half, followed by a crucial reaction after the break. The striker often gets a rough ride when he’s contributing more than many, but his first half at Hampden was about as bad as it gets. Pulled a threatening chance wide of the far post with the first major opening and his open-goal miss just before the break summed up everything that is wrong with this side, although it certainly looked like he was fouled immediately after making contact. Demonstrated his character to level soon after the restart with a neat finish when it was so badly needed but the goal was really his only positive contribution.

Cyriel Dessers scores on rough day at Hampden

Substitutions

Mohamed Diomande (on for Lawrence ’36) – 6

Not terrible but it is increasingly difficult to tell what he does best. Added more than Lawrence but still left a lot to be desired at times. His decent curling effort should have resulted in the equaliser on the rebound, but was largely forgotten as Dessers fired wide. Up and down otherwise.

Danilo (on for Dessers ’67) – 6

Didn’t see much of the ball but good movement as his run cleared space for Bajrami’s winner, and the speed he demonstrated in doing so was encouraging after such an injury nightmare.

Dujon Sterling (on for Tavernier ’67) – 6

Has struggled to get into the side this term but this could be a turning point after Tavernier struggled so badly. Not at his dynamic best and one moment where he and Diomande both left a loose ball in defence was poor, but sharper than his captain in attack and defence.

Neraysho Kasanwirjo (on for Balogun ’78) – 6

Relatively uneventful cameo but he looks to have leapfrogged Propper in the pecking order.

In other Rangers news, Tom English has shared what a senior Ibrox figure has said about getting rid of Clement this season.

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