Rangers: Steven Thompson ‘can’t believe’ what Cyriel Dessers did in win v Ross County
Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers left Steven Thompson baffled with a miss in the first half of the Light Blues’ win over Ross County at Ibrox.
The Nigerian forward scored twice as Philippe Clement’s side ran out 3-1 winners at Ibrox on Wednesday (14 February) with John Souttar’s late header ensuring all three points remained in Glasgow.
But it should have been much more comfortable for the Gers, with Dessers in particular spurning several excellent chances to add to his tally and BBC Sportscene’s Thompson slammed the centre-forward in a new Lawrence Shankland admission.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland on Wednesday (14 February, 20:31) he said: “I can’t believe he’s missed it, to be honest with you. This is the thing about Dessers right, he has scored 13 goals but sees the amount of opportunities he misses in every match. It’s too many.
“He’s got to cut down that conversion rate. If Dessers was an out-and-out goalscorer like Rangers have had through the years, a McCoist, a Boydy, a Billy Dodds, he would already be on the same amount of goals as a Shankland this season, because he gets the opportunities but he takes one in three or one in four.”
Can Rangers rely on Cyriel Dessers to beat Celtic to the title
It seems strange that Rangers supporters and pundits are still having to debate Dessers after the Rangers forward scored twice in a 3-1 win, but the striker could have had five or six against Ross County on Wednesday night.
The 29-year-old had 10 shots in the match, meaning he had more efforts on goal than completed passes, but he never looked comfortable in the final third, even after tucking away his brace with a wonderful header.
Rangers need a player to hang their hat on if they want to beat Celtic to the title this season, especially at the top end of the pitch and despite his exploits on Wednesday, it still isn’t clear whether Dessers can be trusted to deliver consistent in front of goal.
With the January transfer window shut while Danilo and Kemar Roofe remain sidelined, Clement is going to have to hope that the Nigerian forward keeps managing to find a way to tap home one or two goals a game, even if it means he keeps spurning great chances.
In other Rangers news, Andy Walker has slammed Connor Goldson for a “reckless” and “dangerous” display
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