Anthony Onifade

Sun 2 April 2023 8:10, UK

BBC Sportscene pundit Neil McCann was blown away by Rangers defender Conor Goldson’s “wonderful” pass for the first goal against Dundee United at Ibrox on Saturday afternoon [1 April].

Malik Tillman bagged a double – his sixth goal in his last six games – to hand the Gers their 13th straight Scottish Premiership victory to keep the pressure on league leaders Celtic in what proved a comfortable afternoon at Ibrox.

And the Light Blues took the lead when Todd Cantwell, off balance on the edge of the United box, brilliantly diverted Goldson’s pass into Tillman’s path before drilling it past Mark Birighitti in the Dundee goal and McCann was mightily impressed with what Goldson did.

Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Sportscene on Saturday night (1 April, 07:42pm), McCann said: “This is the goal and this is what I talk about when I say to keep on probing.

“Wonderful pass from Connor Goldson, into Cantwell and Tillman finishes it great.

“There’s the element here where I want to point out how they keep on going. You can see here when the ball’s punctured in that Goldson’s trying to find Cantwell here.

“[Ian] Harkes has got to get across here but he doesn’t, Goldson finds [Cantwell] and [Alfredo] Morelos is so important. He steps forward, he creates the gap between the centre-backs.”

Silky

Rangers are playing some silky smooth football right now under Beale and the first goal was a true reflection of that. Lovely passing, movement and composure in the final third are what the former Queens Park Rangers coach’s footballing philosophy is all about and Goldson kicked things off with a stylish pass into Cantwell.

When you possess excellent technical players all over the pitch, football becomes easy and that’s what the Gers have at their disposal, especially in the likes of Cantwell and Tillman who once again proved their worth in the team.

And more crucially, they showed that the club are in capable hands if the likes of Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent leave at the end of the season.

Those two certainly won’t be missed if the Gers carry on playing like this, but we can see the foundations already being built in this Rangers team as Beale plans for a major and full-scale assault on Celtic next season, as the Scottish Premiership firmly in their Old Firm rivals’ hands this time around.

Better luck next season, and this Rangers team with some fine-tuning this summer will certainly be a huge challenge and a problem for Ange Postecoglou’s men.

In other Rangers news, another Ibrox exit may be on the cards after a major revelation last week which could force the clubs to part ways with a senior player.