Whilst Rangers were more solid than spectacular at Firhill, there were a few good performances which merited man of the match consideration.
For example, Josh Windass has scored the opener and assisted the second goal. His movement and pace was one of our main threats all game, and he linked up well in the second half. David Bates had a really good game in defence. He not only won the physical battle with Sammon, he played some great passes which set up attacks. James Tavernier was back to his usual threat, and scored a great goal. Daniel Candeias set up the opener, and showed great energy and touches of class throughout.
For me, though, the man of the match on the night was Jason Holt. Rangers took some time to get going in the game, but his running and aggressive pressing set an example others stepped up to follow. He took responsibility for the game, and didn’t allow Thistle to settle into any sort of comfortable tempo. On numerous occasions, he forced players to go backwards, and allowed the Rangers defence to get higher up the pitch.
His desire and drive continued into the second half, where the whole team played with more composure. Sean Goss is a player who needs the defensive work done for him so he can be the deep-lying playmaker. Holt was able to provide that, which gave Goss the platform to have more influence. Whilst there wasn’t any real memorable moments on the ball from Holt, the way he harried every opposing player throughout the game was inspiring.
It was very much the performance of a captain throughout, especially after the disappointment of the weekend.
Do you feel Holt was man of the match? Tweet us @rangersnewsuk with your thoughts!