John Lundstram in woeful 4/10, James Tavernier stands out in 9/10 – Rangers player ratings v St Mirren
Rangers claimed a comfortable victory over 10-man St Mirren after netting three goals against the hosts on Sunday (8 October).
James Tavernier converted from the penalty spot on 30 minutes after Ryan Strain was handed a red card for a handball inside the box in Paisley.
Abdallah Sima added a second and the Light Blues captain notched a late third to secure a 3-0 win and hand Steven Davis his first three points of his interim spell in charge of the Gers.
Ibrox News has rated the players out of 10 for their performances against St Mirren.
Jack Butland – 6
The keeper didn’t have to make a single save in the first half despite the hosts applying some early pressure. That pattern continued in the second half, with Butland not being called into action at all. It would have been a welcome afternoon for the Englishman after he has been forced into making a number of big saves throughout most of the games at the start of this campaign.
James Tavernier – 9
The Gers captain took his penalty superbly, slotting it into the bottom corner and beyond Zach Hemming, who went the right way. Tavernier played his part in everything that was good about his side and he can be pleased with his performance after questions have been asked about him lately. The right-back did his job well defensively and got forward at every opportunity, including playing a lovely ball forward into the path of Nico Raskin to set up Sima for the second goal. His strike for the third was also exceptional.
Connor Goldson – 5
The centre-back was a bit sloppy in the opening stages of the game. He picked up a booking after just 12 minutes when he was beaten after getting too tight to his man and was forced to bring him down on the edge of the area. But he wasn’t called into action much after that, particularly after the red card, and was reasonably solid.
John Souttar – 6
Souttar didn’t really put a foot wrong throughout the game after earning a recall to the starting lineup. He won several headers and didn’t give the St Mirren forwards a sniff.
Borna Barisic – 6
The defender was pretty solid at the back after not being called into action on too many occasions. The Croatian put in a couple of nice balls and looked to get forward on a regular basis to support Sima down the left.
John Lundstram – 4
It wasn’t a great afternoon for the midfielder despite the comfortable victory. Lundstram made some sloppy fouls and gave possession away on a few occasions. There will be questions asked about whether he is the right man to continue in that position.
Nicolas Raskin – 6
The best of the Light Blues’ midfielders on the afternoon, as he looked to get forward and involved in the attacks at every opportunity. He made a good run forward for the second and played a nice ball into the path of Sima to slot the ball home. Could have scored in the first half, but the keeper made a smart save.
Jose Cifuentes (Off for Rice ’90) – 5
The Ecuadorian had some decent spells in the game and did a lot of running, but he wasn’t great on the ball. He would’ve wanted to have had more of an impact.
Zak Lovelace (Off for ’41) – 6
The 17-year-old was bright on his first start for the club. Lovelace hugged the right-hand touchline and played a crucial role in the opening goal. He beat his man with a brilliant piece of skill and fizzed a ball across the face of goal, with Strain handed a red card and conceding a penalty for a handball at the back post. After picking up a yellow card for a late challenge on Hemming, he was unfortunately forced off the field with what looked to be a hamstring injury just before half-time to sour what had been a promising performance.
Abdallah Sima (Off for Lammers ’90) – 6
It was a quiet afternoon for Sima by his standards before he scored the second. But it was a superb finish from the winger as he continues to prove his importance to the side is growing before being subbed off towards the end for Lammers.
Kemar Roofe (Off for Dessers ’61) – 4
It was an extremely quiet afternoon for Roofe and he’ll be disappointed he wasn’t more involved in the game. While the service was pretty nonexistent into the forward, he didn’t do enough to create opportunities – failing to have a single shot – or do anything to bring others into play before he was replaced by Cyriel Dessers with half an hour left to play.
Subs:
Ross McCausland (On for Lovelace ’41) – 6
The winger looked bright after coming on for the unfortunate Lovelace, as he played a couple of nice balls into the box. He also sent Dessers through on goal, but he couldn’t take the chance to hand the youngster an assist.
Cyriel Dessers (On for Roofe ’61) – 4
The forward didn’t really do much to endear himself to the Gers fans again. He missed a huge chance in the closing stages to show that his confidence remains very low at this moment in time.
Sam Lammers (On for Sima ’90) – N/A
Bailey Rice (On for Cifuentes ’90) – N/A
In other Rangers news, an official club partner was left disgusted by what the Gers players did against Aris.