It was a pleasing 3-0 win for Rangers last night, and there were a few candidates for Man of the Match. Let’s have a look at the best of the performances.
The first of those was Bruno Alves. His dominance in the air and leadership drove the team on. Most corners against us seemed to be drawn to him, and the physical nature of St Johnstone’s approach seemed to inspire him to a better performance. Alves has obvious pedigree and quality, but many fans have felt he hasn’t shown his best form so far. Last night was his best performance for Rangers. He looked like someone who simply refused to concede a goal, and the rest of the team were encouraged by that.
it would be remiss to discuss a man of the match without mentioning Carlos Pena. He scored the first 2 goals of the game which pretty much won us the 3 points. Overall, he was a bit of a mixed bag, with some quality forward play mixed with loose moments on the ball. I’ve been criticised for defending his performances in the main, but last night he showed more than he has so far. It’s somewhat delicious that he played in the game when he should have been suspended after the Hamilton game, but the Compliance Officer has acted in such a way that his role is now utterly useless. If Pena continues to show the same movement and attacking intent, he’ll get a good number of goals this season.
The player who provided both of Pena’s goals was James Tavernier, and he was a strong contender for man of the match. Not much got by him defensively, and going forward he was a real threat all night. He would have been the player I considered the best on the park but for the performance of the man I felt was best in our last game as well.
My man of the match on the night was Graham Dorrans. He was asked to play a little deeper tonight. Had Ryan Jack put in the sort of performance Dorrans did, the fans would be ecstatic. He dictated the tempo, passed the ball really well, and his goal towards the end of the game showed his quality. As I’ve mentioned before, expectations on Dorrans have been high, but he justified every inch of his reputation last night. When Pedro mentioned that he had 5 captains, I’m sure he didn’t expect to go into games with only 1 or 2 of those available. In the last couple of games, Dorrans has been asked to take more responsibility, and he’s thrived.
Do you agree with my Man of the Match? Tweet us @rangersnewsuk with your opinion!