Rangers were unable to get back to winning ways as they drew 2-2 with Motherwell at Fir Park. The match was an entertaining one, but ultimately frustrating for both sides as a draw hurt the ambitions of both. Rangers can take some positives from their second half recovery. However, the nature of the first half performance was such that fans are unlikely to see it that way.
Rangers brought Graham Dorrans into the starting lineup for his first involvement since late October. Morelos replaced Cummings up front, and McCrorie made the bench. Motherwell started with the same side that drew with Celtic in their previous match.
FIRST HALF
It was apparent from the first minute that Motherwell were sharper and better at the start of the game. Rangers were being limited to long balls and clearances, with little by way of good football. The first chance of the match fell to Curtis Main, who was forced wide but got a shot away which Foderingham dealt with.
It was only 9 minutes until the deadlock was broken, though. A long ball towards Main was knocked down to Cadden making a run from deep. Russell Martin was caught on the wrong side, and Cadden won the penalty when Martin clipped the back of his leg. It looked like a soft decision in real time, but replays showed that there was some merit in the call. Curtis Main stepped up and scored the penalty, sending Foderingham the wrong way.
Rangers were losing the battles all over the pitch, and only 6 minutes later were punished again for that. A clearance from Martin came back to the defender, and he was unable to connect with it properly. The ball spun back to Tavernier, who took a touch but lost out to Main in a physical challenge. Dorrans didn’t recognise the danger as quickly as Campbell saw the potential for a chance. As such, the Motherwell midfielder got ahead of his man, ran onto the pass from Main, and finished into the bottom corner. The goal very much summed up the pattern of the game until that point.
Rangers didn’t create a chance until the 24th minute. Some smart play from Jamie Murphy meant he found space in the box. His shot was well saved by Carson. Morelos had a chance just after that, with his strike looking goalbound but blocked by Kipre.
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The game was still being controlled by Motherwell, though. They had some great chances to extend their lead. The first came from Cadden, who got through and saw his shot clip the bar. The second was through good running from Campbell, and his shot was blocked by a good challenge by Martin. Just before half time, Main had an effort which went just over the bar from a good run.
At 2-0 down, Rangers could almost consider themselves fortunate as the whistle ended the half. There was little to suggest what was to come in the second period.
SECOND HALF
Rangers had been abject in the first half. They were struggling to play any sort of football, not winning second balls, and creating little of note. All of that changed pretty instantly as the team looked to put things right. Murty held off on making any changes, instead challenging his starting team to prove their worth. It took 6 minutes to reap some rewards.
A cross from Declan John was met by Tavernier running in to the box. He was sandwiched between three Motherwell players, and went down under a challenge by Frear. The penalty was awarded, and Tavernier stepped up to smash it into the net. This call was almost the opposite of the one Motherwell were given. In real time, it looked like a penalty, and replays added a little bit of doubt. Whilst both penalties were somewhat soft, they were justifiable overall.
Only 2 minutes later, Rangers had brought the game level. Morelos done well to win the ball on the right, and found Murphy in the left channel. With John overlapping, the winger cut inside onto his favoured right foot. As he was running across the box, it looked like he had taken one touch too many, but he found the space to drill a low shot back across goal into the bottom corner. From seemingly nowhere, Rangers were looking like they could win the game.
From there, the match really opened up. Main had a shot which hit the bar just after the Murphy goal. On 65 minutes, Windass played through Candeias who hit an effort straight at the goalkeeper. The winger seemed to be hampered by Morelos as his teammate was looking to hit the shot instead. A deflected cross almost gave Windass a chance, but under pressure from defender and goalkeeper he couldn’t get a good header on the ball.
Jamie Murphy was finding good space on the left, and saw a couple of efforts blocked. Motherwell started to tighten up and get a bit more of the ball around 70 minutes into the match. That slowed things down, but Rangers created a good chance on the 80th minute. A cross from Candeias found Windass running near post, but he put a header over the bar under pressure. That led to an injury for Windass as Kipre landed on him as both players fell. Cummings replaced him as Rangers chased a winner.
Two more chances of note were created from there. Jamie Murphy was away on the left, but the pass from Cummings didn’t quite get in front of him enough and killed the run. The last chance came very late in the game, as Morelos found space in the box. Cummings was waiting centrally for any rebound or cross, but Morelos hit his shot poorly into the side netting.
ANALYSIS
Both sides will have come away from this match annoyed at dropping points. Motherwell put themselves into what looked like a great position. They had only dropped 5 points from winning positions before this match all season. Rangers, on the other hand, created some great chances in the second half at 2-2 which could have won them the game. On balance, a draw was largely a fair result.
Rangers fans are obviously frustrated by the result, given recent matches. The way the team turned things around was positive, but it clearly wasn’t enough. With more squad options available, it will be interesting to see if Murty changes things off the back of this match.
RANGERS:
Foderingham, Tavernier, Alves, Martin, John, Docherty, Dorrans, Candeias, Windass (Cummings 81’), Murphy, Morelos.
Subs not used: Alnwick, Hodson, Halliday, Miller, McCrorie, Goss.
MOTHERWELL:
Carson, Tait, Cadden, McHugh, Main, Frear (Hendrie 57’), Bowman (Petravicius 83’), Dunne, Aldred, Kipre, Campbell.
Subs not used: Griffiths, Grimshaw, Bigirimana, Newell, MacLean.