Let’s have a look at the ratings for the Rangers players from their win against Aberdeen on Sunday.
WES FODERINGHAM – 7
Foderingham will be annoyed at the concession of the goal, as he’ll feel he could have done better. However, he didn’t have a lot of saves to make on the day, and was pretty dominant in the box with set pieces and crosses. His decision making for distribution was excellent, and didn’t allow any real pressure to be put on the defence. A solid display overall.
JAMES TAVERNIER – 8
Tavernier had another great game, and was excellent both going forward and defensively. He dealt with the Aberdeen threat on numerous occasions, and it was his driving run which led to the second goal. He did concede the free kick that led to the Aberdeen goal, and the challenge was needless, but that was his only mistake on the day of any note.
DAVID BATES – 8
For his first league start of the season, Bates was excellent. We saw both sides of his game, with good defending, positioning and aerial strength, but some poor play when on the ball. The latter was of little consequence, and he can rightly take a lot of confidence from how he played. He’s now played twice at Pittodrie and been part of a winning side, and that says quite a bit for him.
DANNY WILSON – 8
It was unfortunate that Wilson had to go off at halftime, as he’d been excellent in the first half. Won his tackles well, kept the defence organised, and scored a great goal. There are some who seem more intent on criticising the defending, or even the goalkeeper, for his goal, but that header gets better each time you watch it. At the end of the game, though, he did look very unwell!
DECLAN JOHN – 7
John played well defensively, with very little troubling him throughout the match. He also set up the first goal with a good free kick. Covered the centre halves and midfield well when we had to play narrow, and didn’t get caught out at all even when down to 10 men. He’ll have games where he makes more of an impact going forward. However, this was the sort of game you worried about in terms of his defensive ability, and he more than passed the test.
MORE RANGERS STORIES
ROSS McCRORIE – 8
McCrorie was yet again excellent in front of the back four. He won tackles, wasn’t scared to foul someone if he felt it was required, and even had a couple of great forward passes which were unlucky not to lead to chances. Given how he’s performed in both positions, it’ll be interesting to see where the new manager plays him in future games.
RYAN JACK – 7
If not for his red card, which has caused a lot of debate, Jack would have been man of the match. He was completely dominating the game in midfield, and the tempo of the match was under his control. He rarely wasted a pass, and most of them were forward to try and create attacks. The red card incident is one that will be talked about, but I suspect any appeal from the club will fail this time around.
JASON HOLT – 8
Holt won the free kick which led to the first goal through smart movement and direct play. It summed up his entire performance in many ways. He showed for the ball constantly, and fought for everything again. He was excellent in keeping possession in advanced areas, and never let his level drop at any point. In the past, the main concern about Holt has been consistency, so it was good to see another strong performance from him.
CARLOS PENA – 7
Pena had a very good first half. His touch and passing was secure, and he created a couple of chances for Windass, although one was pretty lucky. He was able to find space in the central area quite well, something that’s never easy for a player to do. In the second half, he’d started well, with a through ball to Miller in particular being a highlight. He was the correct player to be brought off once the red card happened, but he certainly can be happy with how he played.
KENNY MILLER – 7
Miller was unlucky not to score in this game with the chance created by the ball from Pena. He was also involved in the build up to the second goal, smartly blocking off McLean who was trying to chase back. He talked the players through the game in terms of defensive positioning, and put in a real shift. After the red card, he was moved to the left hand side and spent his time trying to cover the runs of Logan. This blunted any attacking threat.
JOSH WINDASS – 8
Windass was excellent, despite his early booking for a blatant dive. His movement caused the Aberdeen defence similar problems to Wednesday night. When you look at the run he made for his goal, it epitomised his performance. He showed pace, desire, strength and intelligence to get on to the ball from Candeias, and finished the chance well. He’s now scored 4 goals in his last 6 games, and also contributed with an assist. He’s certainly in great form, and hopefully it will continue.
FABIO CARDOSO – 7
Cardoso came on at half time for Wilson, and stepped into defence well. He won headers and blocked shots, and never looked uncomfortable under pressure. His block of the late Greg Stewart chance was excellent, and he rightly celebrated that. After missing a few weeks, it was a good performance.
DANIEL CANDEIAS – 6
Candeias came on for Pena as Rangers moved to a 4-4-1 after the red card. His pressing and excellent cross led to the second goal. After that, he was integral in how the team defended, as Aberdeen looked to stretch the game in wide areas. His attitude was excellent, especially as he must be a little frustrated at not starting games at the moment.
Eduardo Herrera also came off the bench, but it was in the last couple of minutes.
How did you rate the players? Tweet us @rangersnewsuk with your thoughts!