Ibrox View: 82% duels lost – Key Gerrard error almost cost Rangers 3 points vs Saints
Steven Gerrard’s decision to start with Kemar Roofe as a striker against St. Johnstone almost cost Rangers all three points.
It was a bit of a surprising call given Cedric Itten is the most like-for-like replacement for Alfredo Morelos.
The Gers boss also said the Swiss would get chances in Morelos’ absence, yet he had to settle for just 24 minutes on Wednesday.
It was a difficult game at Ibrox.
St. Johnstone defended well and predictably set-up to limit the space available to our attackers.
If Ianis Hagi had not produced a moment of quality we would not have broken the deadlock, and so credit must go to the winger.
Allan McGregor also ensured all three points with a brilliant save to deny Craig Bryson’s close-range effort towards the end.
That shows how finely poised the match was, but it did not need to be that way.
In fact, if Gerrard had not started Roofe it is likely that we would have won more comfortably.
In fairness, Roofe has only just returned from injury, but his performance was one to forget.
He failed to link play with just a 71% pass accuracy and did not pose much of a threat on goal as his two shots failed to find the target (SofaScore).
Roofe also missed a big chance when he sent his volley wide from Joe Aribo’s brilliant cross, and he could have been sent off for a bad challenge on Murray Davidson.
It is little surprise he recorded a WhoScored rating of just 5.9, as he also lost 82% of his duels, per WyScout.
His limited success impacted the chances we created, and up until Hagi fired home we failed to create clear openings.
Roofe’s display highlighted how badly we missed Morelos, or at least a striker who can fulfil a target man role.
Itten would have provided that, as evidenced by his career average of three aerial duels won per game (WyScout).
The 24-year-old had a limited impact on Wednesday but his teammates failed to get him involved.
12 touches is not enough for Itten to show what he is capable of, and though he bears some responsibility for that he still deserves the opportunity to start against Hamilton.
A full 90 minutes will allow him to make a better impression, and he should be able to take full advantage of crosses into the box like the one Aribo provided.
He showed that with his goal against Motherwell, so hopefully Borna Barisic and James Tavernier can provide the quality Itten needs.
He should start, too, if Gerrard wants to make good on his promise.
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