Leon Balogun, Mohamed Diomande excellent, John Souttar dismal – Rangers player ratings v Hearts
Rangers rode their luck to record a crucial 2-0 victory over Hearts in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park.
Cyriel Dessers gave the Light Blues the ideal start as the much-needed reaction to poor results against Ross County and Dundee saw him show great composure in the box to slide under Craig Gordon in the fifth minute.
After an increasingly fraught and scrappy game threatened to be dragged back into the balance Dessers added his second in the 78th minute, finishing off after an excellent break from Todd Cantwell, to set up a Scottish Cup final against Celtic.
Here, Ibrox News rates the Rangers players out of 10 for their performances at Hampden Park.
Jack Butland – 8
Had to be on top form in the first half, and was, as he made an important stop to spare Lundstram’s blushes and then made a point-blank save from Frankie Kent, although VAR would likely have deemed the Hearts man offside. Not called into much action even when Hearts were on top thereafter until he produced a huge save in the final minutes.
James Tavernier – 7
Big reaction. Excellent start as he started the move which saw Dessers go close and then crucially won possession back high up the pitch with two challenges in the build up to the goal. Looked back to his best for the most part after some off-colour displays and came up with a vital intervention in his own goal mouth to dig out Souttar in the second half and driving forward in attack throughout.
John Souttar – 3
Worst game for some time. Having been much-improved this season he struggled badly when drawn out of his central position. Made a huge error to let Kenneth Vargas in early in the second half to be rescued by his captain and soon after was caught out by Alan Forrest on the left flank again as he looked all over the place compared to his new central partner.
John Souttar struggles next to Leon Balogun for Rangers
Leon Balogun – 9 – Man of the Match
Absolutely vital at the back. Justified his return to the starting line-up as the veteran defender looked a much more commanding in defence than Connor Goldson has looked of late and without him the Jam Tarts threat would have been far greater. Tidied up a threatening situation brought on by Souttar and surely retains his place in the starting XI.
Dujon Sterling (off for Barisic ’79) – 6
Combative from the off at left-back and surely keeps his place there for however long it takes Ridvan Yilmaz to return over Barisic. However, he did leave a lot of space behind him down the left which proved to be a nightmare for Souttar.
Mohamed Diomande (off for Raskin ’80) – 8
Strong, dynamic display in midfield. His return from thumb surgery that has kept him out of the past two games was a vital difference for Rangers as the January signing made numerous crucial challenges in the centre of the park and drove forward on the ball repeatedly in an excellent performance.
John Lundstram – 5
Didn’t react as positively to recent poor form as some of his teammates did. Made a sloppy start to play his side into trouble with a loose pass deep in his own territory. While there were some nice touches in possession he looked a lot less confident than Diomande next to him, although he did improve in that regard after the break.
John Lundstram put in shade by Mohamed Diomande
Rabbi Matondo (off for Silva ’63) – 6
Offered more in the first half than Fabio Silva has done for a few games but lacked the finishing touches. Went on one wonderful dynamic run down the length of the pitch midway through the half in the build-up to a Tavernier shot. Disappeared after the break and was spotted with an ice pack after going off.
Todd Cantwell (off for Lawrence ’80) – 8
Shades of his best form at last. Sharp start as he assisted Dessers’ opener and was soon found tracking back to halt Lawrence Shankland inside his own box inside a quarter of an hour. Looked lively on the ball going forward in a way that has been lacking too often this term and it was his fantastic late, driving run which made the game safe as he set up Dessers again.
Abdallah Sima (off for McCausland ’15) – 7
Delivered a wonderful early ball in which Dessers couldn’t keep down and looked like being a crucial threat down the left, but only lasted 15 minutes as he was withdrawn with yet another injury blow to Clement.
Cyriel Dessers – 8
The Gers striker’s season in a microcosm but ultimately the difference. Delivered the perfect start. After diverting a Sima cross over he quickly found his range to fire Rangers into a crucial early lead, showing the sort of control that often deserts him to slide home. Frustrated with later contributions as he chose the wrong option too often but got it right late on with his composed second to seal the game.
Substitutions
Ross McCausland (on for Sima ’15) – 7
A welcome reminder of his qualities after his early introduction, having struggled for game time of late. Battling display defensively and good drive going forward.
Fabio Silva (on for Matondo ’63) – 4
Didn’t offer a great deal after his introduction and somehow managed to fall over when presented with a tap-in by Dessers.
Borna Barisic (on for Sterling ’79) – 6
Nico Raskin (on for Diomande ’80) – 5
Tom Lawrence (on for Cantwell ’80) – 7
Perhaps inspired by Cantwell’s performance he showed some nice drive to lay on a decent late chance for Dessers.
In other Rangers news, a second bid has been launched to sign a “tough and dynamic” senior Ibrox player.
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