Rangers player ratings v Hibernian as Micheal Beale gets to work with 3-2 win
Michael Beale finally got his first competitive game under his belt as Rangers manager as he welcomed Hibernian to Ibrox on December 15.
It couldn’t have started much worst with Hibs scoring twice early on, the second only 53 seconds after Fashion Sakala had swept his side level.
Thankfully, it was a different second half with goals from Ryan Jack and Alfredo Morelos handing the Bears all three points after great work from Malik Tillman for both.
Ibrox News rated the players out of 10 below…
Alan McGregor – 6
His distribution could have been much better throughout, but there was nothing he could do about the goals as the new-look defence ahead of him simply left him helpless. The stopper was critical though in making a huge save at the end of the first half.
James Tavernier – 5
How many times this season have we been left complaining about that final delivery from the skipper? Tonight, it was the exact same with his dead-ball quality simply at zero for most of the evening.
John Lundstram – 2
Wow, this is an experiment that Beale will likely never try again at Ibrox. Lundstram was hopeless throughout at the heart of the defence and was at fault massively for the goals – not good enough.
James Sands – 4
The American made it clear that it was two midfielders at the heart of the defence, and with Leon King on the bench, he was lucky to stay on as long as he did. Beale will not be happy with either of this duo.
Adam Devine – 6
When those around him were constantly asleep, the young defender stepped up and was counted against the continuous runs of Chris Cadden, keeping him very quiet. His delivery could have been better compared to that of Borna Barisic, but that will come.
Ryan Jack – 6
In a new-look Beale team where it was clear the message was to play the ball around quickly, Jack did not have the quality needed at all as he continued to lose possession in areas with no pressure but, of course, as it usually is, the man struggling is often there to grab the headlines, as Jack did with the second goal – hopefully, that gives him some much-needed confidence.
Glen Kamara – 5
Kamara is someone who has the quality to spread the ball around with ease, but he was far too laid back with no urgency in his play at all, something that made the Ibrox crowd angrier with each touch. Something tells us he needs a rocket and Beale may have given it to him at half-time.
Malik Tillman – 8
The American never really got into the game when it was fireworks around him in the opening 45 minutes, but his second half was simply inspired. His header saw Jack equalise, but his work before the Morelos goal was incredible and that is more of what we need to see moving forward as he turns up as our saviour.
Fashion Sakala – 7
Got the opening goal and was busy throughout, pushing the lads forward when not much else was working. The Zambian was the standout man and he should have scored a second with a point-blank header.
Ryan Kent – 6
Another evening of busy work but no real end product again, although he did grab the assist for the opener at Ibrox. With contract news continuing to steal the headlines, there was a real sense of fans growing frustrated with the winger every time something didn’t go well.
Alfredo Morelos – 6
So frustrating to watch. Everyone can see the determination and anger when it isn’t going well, and Morelos needs to channel that into his performance and he did just that being in the perfect place to tap home the third – we need that for 90 minutes.
In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton has taken a swipe at Barry Ferguson for column in the Daily Record