Tom Lawrence nightmare continues as Danilo flops, Jack Butland shines – Rangers player ratings vs Hearts
Rangers rode their luck as they came away from Tynecastle with a battling 1-0 win against Hearts as too many players were below their best.
After a chaotic first half an hour where James Tavernier had cleared off the line it was the captain who slid an excellent ball through for Abdallah Sima to run onto and slide his third goal in two games in for the opener.
In a game which could have gone either way Danilo missed two huge chances and Jack Butland produced two excellent saves as Philippe Clement’s men held on for three points.
Here, Ibrox News rates the Rangers players out of 10 for their performances at Tynecastle.
Jack Butland – 9 (Man of the Match)
Did exactly what was asked of him and absolutely crucial with two huge stops. Excellent save from Lawrence Shankland inside half an hour in his first meaningful action and another vital stop to deny Kenneth Vargas after the break.
James Tavernier – 8
Two important pieces of work also proved key for Rangers. Scrappy start as he risked a booking inside two minutes with a rash challenge and was wayward with his passing, but came up with a huge goal line block to keep Alex Cochrane out after Butland’s save which settled him. Lovely surge and through-ball to assist Sima’s opener.
Connor Goldson – 5
Didn’t have a massive amount of work to do defensively but wasn’t a particularly reassuring presence when he was required. Looked flustered when put under pressure inside first 10 and was played around too easily in the box again by Nathaniel Atkinson to set up Shankland’s big chance. Had to score just after the hour with a free header but could only divert the ball onto his shoulder.
Leon Balogun – 6
Not a great first half as attacks seemed to largely pass him by even if he wasn’t shown up quite as directly as Goldson. Better after the break and good in the air to repel a number of balls into the box. Went on a lovely attacking run up the field that saw his shirt ripped as Hearts tried to halt him.
Ridvan Yilmaz (off for Sterling ’71) – 4
Again didn’t take advantage of his chance to convince he can replace Borna Barisic long-term as he gave the ball away a number of times to put Rangers under pressure and didn’t do anywhere near enough defensively while his side were under pressure in the first half. Improved after the break and wasn’t far from firing one into the top corner himself but wasted a far better chance soon after.
John Lundstram – 5
Not great in a game where Rangers seemed to have very little control in the centre and Hearts controlled play for too much of the night. Too weak in the challenge. Better in the second but well below his best.
Tom Lawrence (off for Cifuentes ’17) – 3
Miserable night. Looked well off the pace in his short time on the pitch as he conceded possession repeatedly early on before the latest in a long line of injury set backs to his Rangers career struck. Never got the chance to play himself into the game.
Ross McCausland – 7
Another solid game for the youngster. Probably the fastest Light Blues player to settle into the game and the only attacker who had any semblance of ball control in the early exchanges. Influence waned as Hearts resorted to fouling him regularly later in the game.
Todd Cantwell (off for Cantwell ’88) – 6
Despite a second straight start in his preferred number 10 spot it was a quiet first half but flicked an attempt narrowly onto the roof of the net as the break approached. Looked more comfortable after the half but couldn’t produce the sort of impact he managed against St Mirren.
Abdallah Sima – 7
Another telling contribution. Ran clear into space to collect Tavernier’s pass and slip the ball under the keeper for a 34th-minute opener to continue his great run of scoring form, but arguably didn’t do a huge amount otherwise. Hard to criticise when his finish was the key. Some nice runs threatened to produce more but the understanding with Yilmaz down the left looked to still be a work in progress.
Danilo (off for Roofe ’71) – 4
Very disappointing. Should have put the game out of sight with a goal either side of the break but contrived to waste two huge chances. Very quiet first half as he struggled to get involved in the action aside from a rebound he netted from an offside position until stoppage time when he seemed certain to score from close range, but took an extra touch and was kept out by Zander Clark. Then did the same to be blocked soon after the restart by Kyosuke Tagawa. With transfer links to opposite number Shankland abound his performance will have done little to dampen them.
Substitutions
Jose Cifuentes (on for Lawrence ’19) – 5
Got off on the wrong foot before he’d even got on the pitch as he wasn’t ready to come on as Lawrence was helped off. Didn’t do much to improve the situation all the way to the break as he continued to look a yard off the pace. Did improve after half time as he began to match the pace of the game but still not a great outing.
Dujon Sterling (on for Yilmaz ’71) – 6
Decent outlet down the left in a rare Rangers outing.
Kemar Roofe (on for Danilo ’71) – 6
Not a great deal of goal threat.
Sam Lammers (on for Cantwell’ 88) – N/A
No time to contribute.
In other Rangers news, a relationship between two key men is already “strained to breaking point” at Ibrox.