Kenny Miller slams Ben Davies for poor defending in Rangers loss v Celtic for BBC Sportsound
Kenny Miller has slammed Rangers centre-back Ben Davies for his poor defending in the 3-2 defeat against Celtic in the Old Firm on Saturday (8 April).
With the score at 1-1 after the hour mark, Davies failed to put a dangerous cross behind for a corner and instead cleared it straight into the path of Kyogo Furuhashi, who gratefully took the gift and gave Celtic the lead.
This costly error, which Miller described as “so poor”, ultimately opened the floodgates for Ange Postecolgou’s side – who moved 12 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table with victory at Celtic Park.
Speaking live on Sportsound, and as shared on the BBC Sport live blog (8 April, 13:54), former Gers striker Miller was critical of the sloppy defending by the 27-year-old.
“It’s a wonderful finish. Again he’s alert, alive, ruthless when the chance drops,” he said.
“But it’s so poor from Ben Davies. He should be heading that out.”
Dreadful
Some of the defending on show from Rangers in the second half was shambolic.
Just as the Gers were starting to grow into the game and look like they could claim a result, Davies’ mistake shot them in the foot.
The logical move for the Englishman would have been to turn the ball behind for a corner, but he instead attempted to take an extra touch and find a far trickier clearance.
For Michael Beale, the defeat against their fierce rivals could be an eye-opener ahead of the summer transfer window.
Since arriving at Ibrox, the English manager has only managed to pick up a single draw from his three encounters against Celtic, a statistic that hints further investment is necessary this summer.
Although Davies was culpable of some school-boy defending in this instance, the centre-back has been one of Rangers’ strongest performers in recent months.
It may be a tough mistake to shake off, but Davies could still be one of the key figures in helping the Gers close the gap to Postecolgou’s winning machine.
In other Rangers news, these two players “will depart” Ibrox according to a BBC Sport man