Sean Fisher

Wed 21 December 2022 8:10, UK

Sky Sports commentator Ian Crocker pulled no punches when analysing Ryan Kent’s mistake for Rangers v Aberdeen on Tuesday night.

Rangers were extremely lucky to keep pace with Celtic in the Scottish title race on Tuesday, with Scott Arfield rescuing a late 3-2 win for Michael Beale’s side.

Fashion Sakala opened the scoring, but Luis Lopes and Leighton Clarkson scored either side of halftime to turn things around for the hosts. It looked as though Rangers would leave Pittodrie Stadium empty-handed until Arfield popped up with a last-gasp double.

As Rangers pushed forward in the second half, Crocker slammed Beale’s side for a sloppy passage of play. Connor Goldson gave the ball away twice in quick succession before Kent played a lazy pass under no pressure that was easily intercepted by Aberdeen.

Speaking via Sky Sports Main Event (20 December, 9:34pm), Crocker said: “It’s given away by Ryan Kent now. Awful pass.”

Confidence crisis

It was blatantly clear on Tuesday evening that this Rangers squad is still horribly low on confidence.

The scrappy 3-2 win against Hibernian last week came through grit and desire, and Gers had to rely on their persistence once again on Tuesday.

The defence remains a huge issue for Beale to address. James Sands put on a terrible performance against Aberdeen as a makeshift centre-back, and Beale is likely counting down the days until his defensive stars return to action.

The mistakes at the back seem to be affecting the whole side, with a handful of players consistently giving the ball away in simple situations.

Beale will be aware just how lucky he and his side got on Tuesday and will be keen to get straight back on the training pitch regardless of picking up all three points.

Hopefully the dramatic victory will inject some more confidence and arrogance into this Rangers squad that still looks like it’s recovering from the Giovanni van Bronckhorst era.

In other Rangers news, Lee Bowyer reverses his opinion on Joe Aribo’s move to Ibrox