It’s easy to forget, as the away games dominated the headlines, but Murty had a perfect home record in his first caretaker spell. On Saturday, he was able to continue that with a solid 3-0 win over Partick Thistle.
Rangers started with the same team as played against Hearts. The performance largely carried on from the previous weekend, with Rangers dominant. Thistle, with injury issues of late, struggled to make much of an impact at any time.
The game was preceded by the display from the Rangers fans to mark Rememberance. The teams came out to what was largely silence, but unlike the previous home game, there was plenty of anticipation. The display and mark of respect from the club, as well as the Thistle fans in attendance, was something to be proud of.
Rangers looked to start the game at a high tempo. However, the crosses or final ball just weren’t quite finding the mark. Windass was causing some issues with his movement from the left, often being found on the opposite wing during attacks. Candeias and Tavernier got into good crossing positions more than once. Despite all this, Rangers never really created a great chance in the first 15 minutes.
Defensively, they had little to be concerned with either. McCrorie was playing well, yet again showing his ability in a 1v1 situation. Danny Wilson was enjoying being the defensive leader. Both would allow Sammon to win a header from a long ball, knowing the cover was there in behind. Whenever Thistle did get a cross in, Foderingham was dealing with them adeptly.
On 16 minutes, Rangers forced a save from Cerny. Ryan Jack found himself some time and space on the edge of the box, and his low shot was tipped round the post by the Thistle keeper. Only a few minutes later, Jack was again involved, making a great run on the left. He could have attempted the shot himself, but tried a cut back for Windass instead. The ball just evaded the Englishman.
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Rangers were building up the pressure, though. The breakthrough finally came in the 30th minute. Thistle seemed to switch off as Miller and Candeias stood over a short corner. The Thistle defenders who went to block that were distracted by Miller’s complaints of encroaching, and didn’t react when the ball was played to Candeias. His first time cross was excellent, and met by McCrorie to head home. The young defender had reacted first and got across his marker.
There’s always a little bit of magic surrounding the first goal from a youth prospect in your team. That was exemplified by McCrorie’s reaction to scoring. For just a second, you could see he almost didn’t believe it, not sure how to react or celebrate. Ross McCrorie has a real chance of becoming a great player, and the fans celebrating his goal might just talk about that memory in years to come.
From there, Rangers started to put more pressure on Thistle. A good chance for Windass was blocked on the edge of the box. Miller broke a couple of counters down through loose passing, but you could see the second goal was coming. And on 39 minutes, it arrived through Daniel Candeias.
Some good football found Holt running with the ball at the Thistle defence. Candeias made a great run across the defenders which allowed Holt to go through and be one on one with Cerny. His effort was blocked when it looked like he’d score, but the ball broke to Candeias on the edge of the box. He don well to keep the ball down and place it into the bottom corner. In most home games this season, the second goal of the game has been scored by the opposition. It tends to be the one which dictates the momentum and direction of a match. The goal was not only deserved, but very welcome. Had Candeias missed or not been there, though, there would have been some criticism of Holt’s finish. His great run deserved a goal.
The second half saw Rangers kill the game only 2 minutes after the restart. Thistle tried to play a ball back to their keeper, but a poor header was picked up by Windass. Both him and Morelos were through on goal, but Windass slotted it home himself to make it 3-0. That’s the first time he’s scored in consecutive matches for Rangers, so maybe we’re seeing the start of a run from him.
After that, the game somewhat fell into a routine pattern. Rangers kept the ball pretty well, and created a few opportunities, but weren’t able to score another. Some loose play at the back around the 60th minute saw Kris Doolan get a couple of chances, but he couldn’t hit the target. Daniel Candeias looked to entertain with some flicks and direct runs, and was very unlucky not to create another goal a couple of times.
However, there was really little of note in the second half. Rangers had earned the right to ease up, and Thistle looked bereft of confidence. This was a good performance overall, and the team looked to have high energy and desire when required. If it is to be Murty’s last game in charge, he can be proud of his contribution.
Did you enjoy the game on Saturday? Tweet us @rangersnewsuk with any thoughts!