Neil McCann blown away by Sportscene footage of ‘absolute monster’ Rangers moment vs Livingston
Neil McCann was full of praise when talking about Emmanuel Fernandez’s opening goal against Livingston on Saturday.
Rangers beat Livingston 2-1 in the Scottish Premiership at Ibrox, with Mohamed Diomande‘s second-half strike earning Danny Rohl‘s side the three points after a tight offside call went in the Gers’ favour.
Tete Yengi had equalised in the first half, and the visitors may well have gone on to win the game before Bojan Miovski was found in acres of space before poking through to Diomande in the closing stages.
Rangers were booed by the Ibrox home fans at half-time against Livingston, with Rohl later acknowledging his team’s lacklustre performance against the Scottish Premiership’s bottom club.
Thelo Aasgaard was particularly poor against Livingston, with the Norway international hooked at the break after failing to leave any impression on the first half.
Neil McCann waxes lyrical about ‘monster header’
Injuries to both John Souttar and Derek Cornelius handed Fernandez the chance to start for Rangers on Saturday, with both defenders picking up knocks on international duty this week.
The 24-year-old arrived in the summer, signing from League One side Peterborough in a deal worth around £3.5million.
The defender had made his first start for Rangers against Alloa Athletic in the Premier Sports Cup in August, and was subsequently started in the Scottish Premiership thereafter.
But after just one start against St. Mirren, Fernandez would have to wait until the end of October to play another minute for the Gers.
| Emmanuel Fernandez | Vs Livingston (H) |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Accurate passes | 79/88 |
| Goals | 1 |
| Blocks | 2 |
| Clearances | 8 |
| Interceptions | 2 |
| Duels won | 8/13 |
Saturday’s game was, in fact, just the defender’s fourth-ever appearance for Rangers, and he took his chance emphatically.
Fernandez opened the scoring and was superb throughout the 90 minutes, making several key defensive contributions.
Speaking on BBC Sportscene, former Rangers winger McCann said: “We know he’s got a pedigree attacking set-pieces from down south. It is an absolute monster header.
“He’s belted that, by the way, into the roof of the net. Danny Wilson can only watch.” On James Tavernier‘s delivery, McCann continued: “It’s perfect.
“It’s just stood up – generally Tavernier puts a bit of shape on his corners but that’s just clipped into an area because they know he’s going to work it, and he’s going to go attack it, and he did that brilliantly.”
Emmanuel Fernandez delighted to kick start Rangers career
Fernandez could not have been blamed for fearing the worst after spending almost two months out of the Rangers team, since arriving in the summer.
Speaking after his match-defining performance against Livingston, the defender told RangersTV: “It is tough when people are doing well in my position, or when people are trusted in my position you have to wait your turn, but the main thing is just training well and hoping your opportunity will come.
“The coaches have come in, and they have been great with me, they have given me a lot of information. If I go and talk to them it has been very transparent, and I couldn’t be more grateful. I got my opportunity today and we got a good result.”
Rangers are set to take on Braga in the Europa League on Thursday, a match that Fernandez may well find himself making his European debut in.
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