Rangers are hanging on in there, by a thread. The Boxing Day 1-1 draw against Hibs was more stupid dropped points at home, especially in a season where it was thought that Ibrox would return to being a fortress. They are doing their best to throw this title challenge in the bin. However, Rangers took the lead through Alfredo Morelos and unfortunately Darren McGregor’s header gave Hibs a share of the spoils.
This team lacks nous, maturity and their game management is poor
The second-half performance was terrible. However, it shows that this side isn’t street-wise enough. The last half an hour was frantic: the game was end-to-end at times. When you’re one goal ahead, that’s when you expect one of the three midfielders to get their foot on the ball, keep it and give Rangers the control that’s needed to see the game out. Unfortunately, despite having decent games, Ross McCrorie or Ryan Jack didn’t add that little finer detail to their play, which would have made all the difference.
The midfield lacks quality and the aforementioned experience, nous, whatever you want to categorise it as. Also, continually playing a defensive midfielder, who isn’t very good on the ball, as the most advanced of the middle three often sees any attacking moves break down far too easily.
Playing on the break against a team like Hibs is not on
It worked at Easter Road despite the scoreline. However, this is where Steven Gerrard deserves some criticism.
For the life of me, I will never understand why Rangers sat off Hibs in the second half. When the first goal went in Hibs were all over the place, and genuinely looked like there was no way back into the game for them. Rangers sat deeper and deeper and were made to pay. It’s a lesson for Gerrard and the players. He often talks about lack of killer instinct and they have to believe that they can provide it in games that go the same way as this one. We cannot sit so deep like that at home to anyone. It’s asking for trouble.
20 goals for Morelos, but imagine how good he would be if he was surrounded by a few attacking players of quality
He carries this team on his back goalscoring-wise. He showed great composure to score the goal along with calmness in his finish. It’s fantastic for Alfredo Morelos to hit 20 goals.
However, imagine if he played in a team where he wasn’t solely relied upon to basically score and create chances. I feel for him at times. He battles away and unfortunately, his teammates, especially the wide men let him down time and time again with their poor decision-making and lack of goal threat from either flank.
Yes, Jamie Murphy is out injured and he’s one who would have lightened the load, but the likes of young Glenn Middleton and especially Daniel Candeias have to do much better. Candeias went missing in this game and Middleton made the wrong decision three times, which had he made the correct one, Morelos would have had tap-ins. Unfortunately, he wasn’t given the opportunity to bail the team out as he did against St Johnstone on Sunday.
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