As noted in the match ratings article, there were a number of strong performances from Rangers on Wednesday night. Jason Holt was given man of the match by the sponsors. Morelos scored and had an impact upon the game in various ways. Daniel Candeias showed both quality and desire. David Bates was excellent at the back.
However, two players stood out in my opinion. The first of those was Wes Foderingham.
When you win 2-0 and dominate the game for the vast majority of it, you don’t expect your goalkeeper to be in the reckoning for man of the match. However, Foderingham made a number of good saves, and it was the timing of these which was particularly impressive. In the first half, at 0-0, he stood up well and saved from Mackay-Steven. Not long after that, Rangers took the lead. In the second half, he made three saves in quick succession just after Rangers went 2-0 up to prevent Aberdeen from having any sort of comeback. He was solid in his distribution, didn’t panic with some loose passbacks, and played with authority. Graeme Murty made comments after the game praising his performance as well.
Man of the match for me though was James Tavernier. He’s now scored 3 goals against Aberdeen this season, and played very well in every game against them. In the first half, he created a few chances with some excellent passes, and defended well. His cross for the opening goal was inch-perfect, the sort that we’ve seen from him numerous times this season. He was unlucky not to score right at the end of the first half, the ball just evading him in the 6 yard box.
In the second half, he lifted his game another level again. Very early in the half, Mackay-Steven tried to be fancy when running at him, and Tavernier simply made him look like a small boy as he shouldered him out of the way. His running and link up with Candeias was key to many of our attacks. It was his excellent pass that led to the winning of the penalty, and he scored the spot kick to seal the game. After having to wait 5 minutes to take the penalty, he showed no signs of overthinking or nerves.
And somehow after all of that, he made even more contributions in the final 10 minutes. He was there to block 2 certain goals with his covering and desire. He took a knock on the post at the second of those, but ran off the injury to see out the game. An assist, a goal and some key defensive events made him my choice for man of the match.
Who did you feel deserve the award on the night? Tweet us @rangersnewsuk with your thoughts!