Sam Stone

Sun 15 January 2023 17:47, UK

Kemar Roofe’s extra-time goal was enough for Rangers to seal their place in the Scottish League Cup final after a hard-fought win over Aberdeen.

Bojan Miovski had given the Dons the lead in the first half before Ryan Jack’s second-half strike levelled the score up for Michael Beale’s side.

Anthony Stewart was dismissed after a horror tackle on Fashion Sakala just before substitute Scott Wright produced a fine piece of wing play to set up Roofe for the winner. Here Ibrox News rates the players out of ten for their performances at Hampden Park.

Allan McGregor – 6

Didn’t really have too much to do apart from pick the ball out of his net in the first half. Potentially could have made more of an attempt to save Miovski’s shot but it would’ve been a remarkable stop. Made a superb save in extra time to deny a long-range effort.

James Tavernier – 6

Impressive performance from the Gers captain in an attacking sense. His delivery was largely okay and he was always on option when the Gers were going forward. However, he was caught out defensively one too many times, with Malik Tillman having to cover for him.

Connor Goldson – 5

Didn’t have to do much with Aberdeen sitting back for much of the game. Misplaced a couple of long passes but did everything he needed to do in a defensive sense.

Ben Davies – 6

Potentially could’ve done better for Aberdeen’s opener. Got himself in a good position to clear the ball but couldn’t quite get on the end of it. Apart from the Dons’ goal, it was a relatively routine afternoon’s work.

Borna Barisic – 3

We don’t quite know what Barisic was doing for Aberdeen’s opener. It was a shocking error from the Croatian full-back and gave the Dons the initiative. Had two mishit shots and lost the ball far too often. Really poor performance.

John Lundstram – 5

Steady performance from Lundstram. Did enough to keep control in the midfield alongside Jack. Wasn’t anything spectacular, but still an important presence for the Light Blues.

Ryan Jack – 7

Decent performance by Jack. It was a difficult pitch to play on which was perhaps not conducive to Rangers’ passing play. He tried his best to keep things going in the middle of the park but couldn’t quite set the tempo he would’ve liked. Good strike for Rangers’ equaliser in the 60th minute.

Malik Tillman – 7

Once again on of the Gers’ best attackers. Looked to make things happen every single time he got the ball and made the right decision more often than not. Considering the poor surface and high-octane environment it was another classy display from the American.

Ryan Kent – 8

Lots of huffing and puffing initially from Kent but grew into the game brilliantly. Picked the ball up far too deep at times and came searching for the ball far too much at times but started to have a big influence in the latter stages of the game. Produced some scintillating moments with some neat dribbling and was a big part in the semi-final falling Rangers way.

Fashion Sakala – 6

Sakala was really bright in the first half but faded in the second period and didn’t offer as much of a threat. Was surprising to see the influential Tillman substituted before the Zambian. Clearly, a player Beale rates very highly.

Alfredo Morelos – 5

Looked slow and lethargic at times when Rangers were probing the Aberdeen box. Went close with a first-half effort but that was about as good as it got for the Colombian. He’s a big game player and he failed to impact the game as much as he would’ve liked.

Kemar Roofe (on for Morelos, 74′) – 7

Glen Kamara (on for Tillman, 74′) – 5

Scott Wright (on for Lundstram, 90′) – 6

Scott Arfield (on for Sakala, 105′) – 5

Adam Devine (on for Barisic, 105′) – 5

In other Rangers news, the Gers are expected to sign this “World Cup star” in January.