John Souttar ‘bullied’ Yuki Kobayashi as Rangers dominated Celtic in win claims delighted Kenny Miller
Kenny Miller believes Rangers ace John Souttar “bullied” Celtic defender Yuki Kobayashi when the former scored in their encounter on Saturday (13 May).
Souttar headed in his first goal for the club in the 3-0 Scottish Premiership win against the Bhoys at Ibrox.
The centre-back beat his fellow centre-back Kobayashi to the corner from James Tavernier to fire a header past Joe Hart.
“Scoring early, through Cantwell, was vital for Rangers because it made Celtic chase the game, which hasn’t happened often enough in these fixtures of late,” Miller wrote for the Daily Record. “It was a brilliant start to the game for Michael’s side because they pinned Celtic into their own half.
“And set plays is an area I’ve always felt they could get joy in. When I watched Rangers’ first corner and saw Yuki Kobayashi on John Souttar, I wondered whether they’d try to isolate that duel.
“It was a mismatch and John showed great strength to hold off his man for the second goal. He bullied him in the box and had the ability to plant his header past Hart.”
Fantastic day for Souttar
Souttar has had to be very patient for playing time at Rangers since his switch from Hearts, with an ankle injury limiting the defender to just 10 appearances for his new club.
But that patience has now been rewarded, not only with regular playing time lately, but also with a well-taken goal against Celtic, which will have been a very sweet moment for the defender.
The fact it was against the club’s fierce rivals and that it took place was good enough, but it came with the added bonus of being his very first Rangers goal.
Michael Beale won’t be too concerned with Souttar’s feats in the final third, with the defender chosen for his responsibilities at the back.
But a goal-scoring centre-back is a superb asset for any time, with the 26-year-old doing himself no harm in putting his name forward for a starting role under Beale next season.
In other Rangers news, James McFadden laid waste to one Gers player for his “dreadful” attitude shown throughout this season, ahead of what will be a “huge” summer for the club.