George Overhill

Sat 4 March 2023 16:54, UK

Rangers defeated Kilmarnock 3-1 at Ibrox to bounce back from the Celtic defeat in a game where they were excellent for 45 minutes and then were comparatively awful after the break.

A comfortable first half saw a Light Blues procession with Connor Goldson, Fashion Sakala, and James Tavernier from the penalty spot to put them three up and demonstrate a very positive reaction from the Viaplay Cup loss.

But it was a game of two halfs as the Gers looked sloppy after the interval, giving away numerous fouls and allowing themselves to be put under a lot of pressure and Jereil Dorsett pulled one back, to leave questions for Michael Beale.

Ibrox News rates the Rangers player ratings out of 10 for their performances here.

Allan McGregor – 4

Didn’t have a massive amount to do but very shaky when called upon. Risked conceding a penalty soon after the break after fumbling a shot that was directly at him. Looked anything but commanding as Dorsett got ahead of him to nod in while flapped an arm at the ball. Not good enough.

James Tavernier – 6

Put the game out of sight with his well-taken penalty before the break even if his delivery from wide wasn’t on point. Same fingers will be pointed at him for not commanding the situation when things aren’t going so well. Probably could have cleared the away side’s goal on the line if he wasn’t appealing to the assistant.

Connor Goldson – 7

Tapped home to open the scoring to take the pressure off when a struggle to break down the opposition would have certainly caused some restlessness. Had his hands full after the break and made some important last-ditch headers but the back line did not look overly assured. Was beaten in the air at the corner for Dorsett’s goal but possibly unlucky as he was being climbed on.

Ben Davies (off for Souttar ’92) – 6

Never really stands out positively or negatively and the same was the case in a strong first half and a weak second half here. Did ok, but doesn’t take charge if others around him are faltering.

Borna Barisic – 6

Fine going forward when this team is on top but didn’t provide much of a roadblock defensively when Kilmarnock were threatening.

Ryan Jack – 5

Dropped off the pace as badly as anyone as the game descended into mediocrity. Was nowhere near Ash Taylor when the Killie man should have pulled one back, and then crashed into a late challenge that got him booked. Not good enough as the game was drifting out of control. Summed it up by drifting offside needlessly for what could have been a fourth late on.

Nicolas Raskin (off for Lundstram ’72) – 7

Looked great in the first half, not so much in the second. Showed why he should have started the Celtic clash at Hampden, looking sharp on the ball with numerous one-touch combinations, admittedly against more limited opposition. Faded like everyone else after the break, misplacing passes and giving away fouls.

Fashion Sakala (off for Morelos ’83) – 7

Got into dangerous positions from the off without making it pay but forced his way into the scoresheet with a helping hand from Colak and the Kilmarnock defence. Couldn’t get anything going in the second half as Rangers let their opponents back into the game.

Todd Cantwell (off for Arfield ’92) – 6

Middling performance overall as the first-half dominance gave way to sloppiness after the break. Always looking for the ball but didn’t do a great deal with it a lot of the time.

Ryan Kent – 8 Man of the Match

Threatening in attack as he should be in a game such as this and was central to the attacking prowess for Rangers in the first half. Got increasingly frustrated after the break as he was on either side of regular fouls. Looked to be the man doing the most to try to drag Rangers back on top with some driving runs but couldn’t find the same rhythm as the game went on as he teammates weren’t matching his attacking intent.

Antonio Colak (off for Hagi ’92) – 6

Nice game for him to come back into the line-up but put the visitors under all sorts of pressure in the first half and registered an assist for Sakala. Struggled to get involved in the second 45.

SUBSTITUTES

John Lundstram (on for Raskin ’72) – 6

Alfredo Morelos (on for Sakala ’83) – N/A

Ianis Hagi (on for Colak ’92) – N/A

John Souttar (on for Davies ’92) – N/A

Scott Arfield (on for Cantwell ’92) – N/A

In other Rangers news, Ross Wilson’s and Stewart Robertson’s own words have come back to haunt them now that their human shield has slipped.