It’s better late than never, as the old saying goes. That certainly was the case as Rangers left it late in Perth to come from behind and eventually grind out an important 2-1 victory. Despite the poor first half that saw Rangers go in one down due to Matt Kennedy‘s goal, Steven Gerrard‘s troops rallied in the second. An Alfredo Morelos brace got the orange-shirted Gers all three points. It’s a funny old game. The overall performance was worse than the midweek fixture at Hibs and yet Rangers came away with the victory.
Rangers are so Jekyll and Hyde
It’s becoming a hallmark of this side. They seem incapable of putting it all together, by getting a good result while playing well at the same time. Instead, they are so inconsistent that they are even becoming inconsistent from one half of football to the next. The first half against St Johnstone was utterly awful. There was nothing to be positive about. Luckily, Gerrard‘s men were up against a team lacking in any quality or they could have been two or three down at the break.
In keeping with the up and down nature of this side, they lifted it in the second half. The movement of the ball was quicker, the passing was sharper and more incisive and in the end, they managed to dig out a win. I’ll be honest, at half-time, it didn’t look like two goals were coming, but credit to the players for digging it out. However, their inconsistent nature is a worry with two more big games this week. It has to be addressed for those matches, and over the winter break to take into the second half of the season.
4-4-2 worked
Steven Gerrard has been somewhat married to the 4-3-3 since joining Rangers. However, he knew this game was a must win and he decided to throw on Kyle Lafferty and Glenn Middleton. It was an old-fashioned 4-4-2. Much to my surprise, it worked perfectly. Not only were Rangers now playing at a higher tempo, but Morelos and Lafferty were occupying the St Johnstone centre-halves. It gave them a problem. They were linking up, one going short and the other in behind. It created space for the wide players too as we seen at both of the goals, as the St Johnstone full-backs could no longer stay out wide due to the two bodies in the Rangers attack.
Alfredo Morelos saved Christmas – and kept Rangers in the title hunt
Nineteen goals and we aren’t at Christmas Day, such is the form of the little Colombian. Again, he came up trumps when his team needed him most. I have to admit, he was not having a good game until Lafferty was introduced. However, that extra man in attack aided him, gave him more space and more of a licence to play in pockets and roam.
As time was running down, you thought Rangers would ruin Christmas again. The header and volley, which was of outstanding quality at such a pressure time in the match, reaffirmed Steven Gerrard’s decision to keep the striker in the summer. He’s only getting better and better. Morelos looks like he’s on a one-man mission to win the title for his side.
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