Rangers: ‘Timid’ Ben Davies slammed by former Ibrox players after what happened at Celtic
Ben Davies has been branded “timid” after the Rangers defender’s error gave Kyogo Furuhashi a goal for Celtic, by Kenny Miller and Kevin Kyle.
The former Liverpool man failed to clear a ball into the box from the left in the second half at Parkhead, skewing it into the air, and then despite reaching it first he only succeeded in knocking a soft header against Jota and taking himself out of play.
The loose ball fell to Kyogo who put Celtic 2-1, with another error from defensive partner John Souttar later sealing the points in the eventual 3-2 loss on Saturday (8 April), and former Ibrox forwards Miller and Kyle both felt Davies wasn’t commanding enough.
Speaking on Open Goal (11 April, 12m) Kyle said: “With the Davies mistake, he should clear that first-time with his left foot out of the park… and the second one it’s one of them where he’s looking at the ball [in the air] and he doesn’t know where anybody is.
“I feel like he’s timid to actually go and head it, as if there’s a fear. And he’s just kind of half-heartedly… Your big left-sided centre-half, just go, ‘F___ you’ [head it out], set yourself up and defend the corner properly.”
To Paul Slane’s suggestion that defenders are more concerned with playing with the ball than “being good defenders” Kenny Miller responded: “You’re not playing when the ball’s 40 feet in the air… I just think he was very, very timid going towards it.”
Let down
It was indeed a timid sequence but it was all the more disappointing because until that point Davies had been growing into the game.
Having lost his senior centre-back partner Connor Goldson on the eve of the match, and with Souttar making just his second Rangers start, the 27-year-old was in potentially uncertain territory heading into an Old Firm derby with no Gers fans.
As he improved it looked like it might turn into somewhat of a coming out party for the summer signing, but his error ultimately made it a day to forget.
He will need to bounce back quickly, as will Souttar, with Goldson’s injury a significant blow to Michael Beale, especially with the next Celtic meeting just over a fortnight away (30 April).
The defensive improvement from earlier in the season has been important as injuries have eased up to provide a settled unit.
But despite the overall showing from both men on Saturday being solid, the first upheaval in some time with Goldson’s late absence saw both make key errors which cannot be repeated.
In other Rangers news, another Ibrox mainstay is now heading for the exit as opinions change around his future.