Leon Balogun slammed by Kris Boyd after what Rangers defender did in win v St Mirren
Kris Boyd has slammed Leon Balogun and the defence after Mikael Mandron equalised for St Mirren before halftime in the Rangers away win.
The Gers had the perfect start as Dujon Sterling chased a lost cause to force an opening goal through a James Bolton own goal.
The lead lasted just five minutes as Mandron’s header bypassed Jack Butland who was on top form throughout.
Cyriel Dessers grabbed the all-important winner on the day which secured a much-needed three points in the Scottish Premiership.
Speaking at halftime on Sky Sports Football (28 April), Boyd slammed the Balogun and the Light Blues for their defending for the equalised.
He said: “When the ball goes back, the defenders have got to move five yards and clear the box. Rangers are just standing in a line, they know it’s going back and as soon as it comes in then it’s, ‘I’m going to react’. You’ve got to move with the ball.
“Get yourself five yards up, you’re too deep and all of a sudden, Mandron’s there. Fantastic.
“We gave Balogun a big build-up before the game in terms of defensive strength – he’s got to do better there.”
Should Leon Balogun or Connor Goldson start for Rangers?
For the Scottish Cup semi-final and the clash away to St Mirren, Balogun was preferred to the Englishman by Philippe Clement.
The 35-year-old was part of the defence which kept a clean sheet at Hampden Park, keeping Lawrence Shankland quiet. He kept the shirt for the trip to the SMISA Stadium.
Goldson was dropped following an overall positive performance in a drab Rangers 0-0 showing against Dundee.
According to FotMob, the 31-year-old won the most duels on the pitch with 13 and the most tackles with two. This saw him pick up a clean sheet of his own.
Boyd was far from complimentary of Balogun for his part in the St Mirren equaliser but he had a solid enough performance.
He made 3 tackles and won 83 per cent of his ground duels throughout. He even managed to have a 79 pass accuracy to keep the Gers ticking over.
It is a good time for Clement to have options in his backline with the run-in for the Scottish Premiership underway.
Either of the two central defenders won’t be happy to miss out but it is a nice problem for the Light Blues to have.
In other Rangers news, Todd Cantwell fails to win over Philippe Clement ahead of ‘massive’ Ibrox clear-out.
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