Giovanni van Bronckhorst defensive gamble backfires as Rangers drew with Motherwell
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s gamble came back to bite him as Rangers threw away a two-goal lead to draw with Motherwell at Ibrox.
The result saw the Light Blues pass up a golden opportunity to cut Celtic’s lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to one point, following the Hoops’ goalless draw with Hibernian.
An own goal from Bevis Mugabi and a strike from Fashion Sakala, both coming within the space of two minutes, had put Gers comfortably ahead at the half, but a flat second half performance let the visitors back in.
Van Bronckhorst had decided to go with a back four consisting entirely of men who had played the duration of the Borussia Dortmund tie on Thursday night, with John Lundstram reprising his defensive role from the second half of that game, but with a man less in support.
Both Leon Balogun and Borna Barisic were left on the bench and the home defence looked jaded down the stretch as they were hit with a double counter-punch.
Tactical error
The benefit of hindsight is of course highly relevant in this situation, but when the starting line-up was released prior to kick-off it was a surprise.
The omission of the Nigerian centre-back, who had returned from injury in the Europa League tie to great effect, was a big decision.
The switch to a back five that had come with his introduction was instrumental in Gers taking control of the tie, and Lundstram dropping back from his midfield spot looked a masterstroke.
Wing-backs Calvin Bassey and James Tavernier were also hugely influential, given the licence to get forward.
But despite a curling effort and a couple of trademark crosses from the captain, none of the defenders were at their best on Sunday, inviting scrutiny as to why fresher legs had not been utilised.
In fact it was arguably the makeshift centre-back Lundstram who was the strongest performer, with pundit Shelley Kerr impressed at halftime on the Rangers TV match broadcast, saying: “He’s just strolled the game in the first half… You knew he’d come into that role seamlessly.”
He was outpaced after the break however, as Kaiyne Woolery crossed for Jason Roberts’ first for the Well, and Connor Goldson should have cut out the ball instead of letting it run through to be converted.
The Englishman was again poor for the equaliser, unable to sort his feet out as Woolery bundled past him, before Tavernier was too easily side-stepped and Allan McGregor allowed himself to be beaten at the near post.
Barisic was perhaps unlucky not to start, having been the tactical sacrifice on Thursday, but the decision to leave out Balogun was very strange.
The defence looked flat as the game wore on, suggesting the exertions had taken a toll, and the manager who had gotten so much right in Europe was left to rue his mistake as a huge opportunity went begging.
In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton was quick to sum up his thoughts on the result after the final whistle.