Last night, there were more than a few candidates for Man of the Match. Let’s have a look at some of them.
First up was Kenny Miller. He opened the scoring as he often does, and sent through Morelos and Tavernier for their goals in the first half. His movement was excellent, often finding the space between the opposing defence and midfield for a pass, and he won the free kick that led to our fifth goal. Had he stayed on the park for the 90 minutes, it’s almost certain he’d have been my choice for man of the match.
Alfredo Morelos is an obvious candidate as well. Two goals, some excellent work rate, real passion and signs of ability with link-up and overall play. He’s also very strong on the ball with his back to goal, which will win him fouls and allow the midfield to get forward in support. The level of opposition wasn’t high enough to make a real judgement, but he certainly looked the part. He’ll need to be careful of the bookings for celebrations though, because he does come pretty close to those “striker’s tackles” that could lead to yellow cards as well.
The only reason Morelos doesn’t get my vote for Man of the Match, though, is because Daniel Candeias somehow managed to just pip him to it. He’s going to be a firm fan favourite very quickly if he keeps this level of work rate and performance up. Already, it seems like him and Tavernier have a great understanding. His constant attacking intent is exactly the sort of aggression on the ball that Caixinha has been demanding since his first day in the job, and his desire to win is pretty clear. He also works hard defensively, which is allowing Tavernier a bit more security going forward.
If any female Rangers fans want to have Daniel’s babies, I reckon they’ll have to fight their way through a number of guys first.
Against Motherwell, we showed some real threat on the left-hand side of the park which made them change formation. Last night, most of our threat came down the right. Candeias, written off by some after the games against Progres, is providing a very effective option on the break whilst also having the work rate to be good in the other phases of play. Opposing managers may try to nullify him somewhat, but we’ll now have options on both sides of the park that will make that difficult to achieve.
Do you agree with my Man of the Match? Tweet us @rangersnewsuk with your opinions!