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Andy Walker slams James Tavernier as Rangers captain 'lost control' v Hearts
Sky Sports commentator Andy Walker slammed Rangers captain James Tavernier for his wild attempt at a cross in the first half of the 2-2 draw against Hearts on Wednesday [24 May].
The Gers were looking to extend their three-game winning run in the Scottish Premiership as they took on a Hearts side chasing European qualification.
However, Beale’s side fell behind in the first minute when Lawrence Shackland took advantage of some poor Rangers defending from a long throw-on to nod in his 28th goal of the season.
As Rangers went in search of an equaliser, they simply failed to break down a stout Hearts resistance which was further compounded by Tavernier’s poor attempt at a cross, which Walker criticised, live on Sky Sports coverage of the game [24 May, 08:27pm]
Ian Crocker began by saying: “Just when they needed a decent cross, the captain, unusually, failed to provide one.”
Walker provided his response, saying: “Well, exactly that. Normally, he’s got a lot of quality in his end product. He does look to put it in with a bit of pace but he just lost control of it there.”
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Uncharacteristic
Even though Rangers found their equaliser in the end through Todd Cantwell’s brilliant individual striker, Beale will have been worried by the performance of his key star in Tavernier.
That cross he attempted was wild and incredibly uncharacteristic given the quality he possesses when creating chances from the wide areas.
The full-back was found on that right flank on so many occasions but failed to deliver the telling cross, though he wasn’t the only one until Cantwell provided the spark Rangers needed.
With the Gers set to announce the free transfer of Dujon Sterling, the Chelsea academy product will be licking his lips at the sight of potentially taking Tavernier’s place in the team next season, should his first-half showing continue.
However, the veteran full-back is a quality individual and he will be hell-bent on correcting his errors before long.
In other Rangers news, an out-of-court settlement is predicted to be on the cards after the latest legal developments at Ibrox