Cup matches away from home always have the potential to create a bit of drama. In a match in 2003 at Somerset Park, Rangers won 1-0 and were lucky not to concede in the last few minutes. That was with a team containing players like Ronald De Boer, Shota Arveladze, Arthur Numan, Mikel Arteta, Barry Ferguson and Lorenzo Amoruso. The upset was narrowly avoided that day.
The team which played so well against Ayr United on Sunday can be proud of their performance. Over 30 shots on goal, loads of good play that could have led to more, and a real desire to play with some quality – there was plenty of positives. When you factor in the weather and heavy pitch, it was all the more impressive. The lower level of the opposition will see this played down, but hopefully many of the team take the confidence deserved from this match.
There’s a few things the game will be remembered for, and some talking points worth discussing.
WES FODERINGHAM
There’s a number of Rangers fans who have never really taken to Foderingham. There’s a reasonable debate about his ability, and I personally feel he’s a good goalkeeper with the potential to be a great one. However, one thing that can’t be argued is that the mistake against Ayr is the first time he’s cost us a goal of that nature. When he gets the ball to feet at home games, you can feel a number of fans getting nervous. He’s never conceded a goal from it, and against Ayr a large part of it was the pitch. Sheer law of averages suggested it would happen one day, and it didn’t cost the team in any way. I’d imagine, though, that there’ll be even more focus on this aspect of his play in future matches. Hopefully, this mistake was the only one we’ll see from him.
ALFREDO MORELOS
Morelos pretty much managed to beat the Foderingham mistake with his sitter. There’s absolutely no doubt that the ball took a huge bobble. That meant that by trying to lash it into the net rather than just place it, he had less control over what happened. In recent weeks, there’s been a growing narrative that Morelos lets mistakes affect him a lot. This game suggested that may be somewhat untrue.
His finish for the first goal, and the link up play for his second, were both excellent. The celebration of the first goal showed how much he was determined to make up for his miss. For someone of his age, with all the speculation of late, he showed impressive mental strength.
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THE FORMATION
Rangers changed to the 4-4-2 with the diamond midfield for this game. It’s a system that allows for a forward partnership, but takes away one of our main threats – Daniel Candeias. It also means a lot of the play is narrow and tight. Against teams who are organised and have better quality in defence, I’m of the opinion it struggles.
However, many fans are desperate to see both Morelos and Cummings starting games together. I don’t think it’ll happen too often, but both got goals in this match and did well in terms of their all-round game. The partnership would need some work, and it wasn’t the best day to judge that, but there’s no doubt they are both talented players.
For the upcoming match away to Hamilton, I believe Rangers will go back to the 4-2-3-1 of late. It may be that some of the performances against Ayr United will give Murty food for thought.
Rangers now have Falkirk at Ibrox in the quarter final, representing a great chance to progress. That match is a few weeks away, so hopefully the team will continue to improve before then.
If you have any thoughts on the game against Ayr, or any of the above, tweet us @rangersnewsuk and we’ll be happy to discuss!