Sam Lammers stinks out Ibrox with 2/10, James Tavernier stars in 8/10 display – Rangers player ratings v St Johnstone
Rangers defeated St Johnstone 2-0 at Ibrox on Wednesday (20 December) to close the gap on Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic to two points with a game in hand.
Cyriel Dessers came off the substitutes’ bench for injured starter Kemar Roofe early on and opened the scoring for the Gers with 28 minutes played.
Diallang Jaiyesimi was sent off for the visitors soon after but Rangers, who made five changes from the 1-0 Viaplay Cup final win over Aberdeen, were made to toil before James Tavernier’s late penalty.
Ibrox News rates each player out of 10 for their performance against St Johnstone, using stats from WhoScored and Sofascore.
Jack Butland – 5
Had next to nothing to do on one of his quietest outings of the campaign. St Johnstone did not manage a single shot on target, though he did sweep up the ball once or twice to just about earn his wage.
James Tavernier – 8
An absolutely nuisance – as ever – down the right-hand side as he constantly looked to get forward. Played a game-high five key passes, including the assist for Dessers’ opener. Also contributed to another clean sheet with a team-high six tackles, while capping the performance with a goal.
John Souttar – 6
Sustained a head injury early on which was a worry, but he managed to recover from that and enjoyed a solid game on the whole. That said, Rangers’ defence will not have many quieter evenings than this all season.
Connor Goldson – 6
Like Souttar, he did not really have a great deal to do. Best you can say about him is he helped keep possession ticking over as he always looked for the ball. Defensively, he did not have a single clearance, block, interception or tackle to make.
Ridvan Yilmaz – 3
Crowd made their frustration towards Yilmaz known countless times. Seemed to take the wrong option far too often, while nobody gave away possession as often as the left-back (27 times).
John Lundstram – 4
Very concerning that he did not come back out for the second half after being caught by Jaiyesimi in the red card challenge. He had been an assured presence during his 45 minutes on the field, completing 45 of his 50 passes.
Kieran Dowell – 6
Featuring for the first time in six weeks or so, Dowell looked solid in holding midfield and was constantly looking for the ball. Nothing special, but Clement knows he can now rely on him in a troublesome position.
Ross McCausland – 6
It was a frustrating evening for Rangers’ attackers as they plugged away with little to show for their efforts. Led the way for the number of dribbles attempted with seven, completing four of those. Could do with more of an end product, though.
Sam Lammers – 2
Yet another ineffective display from the attacking midfielder, who is anything but a playmaker. Had just 35 touches of the ball, which was the fewest of any starter to play more than an hour, while he failed to play any key passes. It is now 10 games without a goal involvement.
Abdallah Sima – 5
Went close shortly before being substituted off – one of four shots he attempted – but this was otherwise a below-par showing from Sima. He did not have near as much an impact in the final third as he should have considering the opposition were down to 10 men for so long.
Kemar Roofe – 3
Handed a fourth league start of the campaign but lasted just 16 minutes before hobbling off the field. Looked distraught as he made the way down the tunnel, and you have to wonder just how long the Gers will persist with the injury-prone striker.
Subs
Cyriel Dessers (on for Kemar Roofe 16′) – 9
Scored the key breakthrough goal for Rangers – the third time he has opened the scoring in a league game this season – and won the penalty that Tavernier converted. He has taken time to get going, but now starting to prove his worth.
Dujon Sterling (on for John Lundstram 46′) – 7
Come from nowhere to become a regular for the Gers of late. This was another good showing from the makeshift holding midfielder, which should see him start against Motherwell.
Scott Wright (on for Abdallah Sima 68′) – 6
Completed 91 per cent of his passes, but did not register any crosses. Still, offered more than the man he replaced.
Todd Cantwell (on for Sam Lammers 68′) – 6
Given a breather and, while he did not make too much of an impact when coming on, he is so much better than Lammers in the number 10 position.
Leon King (on for James Tavernier 86′) – N/A
In other Rangers news, a call made by Clement badly backfired against St Johnstone.