Heading into Rangers’ Champions League QR3 clash with Dynamo Kiev, Cyriel Dessers was in the spotlight.
The big Nigerian international striker has been the subject of heavy criticism with the number nine jersey a heavy burden to wear at Rangers when the goals aren’t going in.
And after drawing a blank against Hearts in Edinburgh, both Rangers and Cyriel Dessers looked likely to do the same in Poland.
But with the minutes ticking down in the Lublin Arena, up popped Cyriel Dessers to rescue a 1-1 Champions League draw after Andriy Yarmolenko had given the Ukrainians the lead in the first half.
The result means next week’s return at Hampden is neatly poised and here’s how the Rangers team rated on an exhausting night in Eastern Europe.
Rangers player ratings v Dynamo Kiev
Jack Butland (GK) – 6
Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland made a solid save in the first half but was helpless as Andriy Yarmolenko tapped Dynamo Kiev into the lead.
But whilst the Rangers goalkeeper is a commanding presence between the sticks, like much of the backline Butland’s distribution left a lot to be desired in Poland.
A nervous Rangers were guilty of a number of slack passes out from the back with Butland’s decision-making in this regard raising the nerves of Ibrox supporters.
James Tavernier – 6
Rangers captain James Tavernier appeared a somewhat more vocal presence at right-back in the absence of Connor Goldson.
As ever the marauding right-back’s effort was not missing and tirelessly Tavernier drove the team on to yet another big result in European football.
Was a big night for the skipper and he came through it, even if he never influenced the game in terms of numbers as much as he usually does.
To be fair, this is partly because the game was played down the other side of the park.
Showed some excellent link-up play throughout and took a yellow card for the team with the score at 1-0.
John Souttar – 5
John Souttar has this unenviable ability to make the hard stuff look easy and the easy stuff look difficult.
That Rangers were only 1-0 down heading into the final stages was in no small part down to Dynamo Kiev’s wastefulness.
Rangers’ distribution from across the back four was below par and Souttar was one of the main culprits.
Routinely misplacing easy passes, we hope we can put this down to rustiness at this stage of the season but let it be a warning that sharper, better opponents will punish us.
All that being said however, Souttar contested a tough physical battle with Ukrainian striker Vladyslav Vanat very well and – despite the slack passing – put in one heck of a shift.
Leon Balogun – 5
You know what you’re going to get with Leon Balogun and that is a genuinely committed and experienced defender if not an ageing one.
The experienced name in the squad, like James Tavernier this was something new for Balogun whose duties have increased since the exit of Connor Goldson.
It was a solid if not at times uncertain display but once again Leon Balogun was also terribly wasteful in possession as Rangers struggled to make easy passes.
At risk of overcomplicating things at times, Rangers need more composure at the back and it’ll be interesting to see who is chosen alongside Robin Pröpper to start games.
Ridvan Yilmaz – 4
Having been impressed with Ridvan Yilmaz’s offensive positioning and passing game against Hearts, I was excited to see the Turkish international in action in Dynamo Kiev.
But whilst it was almost always clear what Yilmaz was trying to do v Kiev, it did not happen for Ridvan in Poland.
The left-back was caught napping for Andriy Yarmolenko’s opener and it’s a mistake which hung over Ridvan’s performance.
After this the left-back’s decision-making on the ball eroded significantly and there were a succession of slack through balls and corner kicks.
Ridvan will be feel more hard done by because his error led to a goal, but the truth is had Dynamo Kiev been more ruthless his defensive partners would’ve also surrendered goals.
Like his teammates, Ridvan ran his socks off and it’s worth noting that in the first half in particular, the left-back wasn’t helped by the ineffectiveness of the player in front of him.
Mohamed Diomande – 7
An increasingly polarising figure in the Rangers support for one reason and one reason alone; the boy has big talent.
Having covered every blade of grass for Rangers, the midfielder is another who was wasteful bordering on reckless against Dynamo Kiev.
Immature reactions to turnovers have irked some online, who probably hold Diomande to a higher standard given the clear quality the kid possesses.
It wasn’t his greatest night technically – nor was it for any Rangers player – but Dio does a lot of the dirty work and it was another tireless showing in the middle of the pitch.
A key player.
Connor Barron – 7
Another player who is impressing Rangers fans is Diomande’s midfield partner Connor Barron.
Barron is a talented midfielder in his own right and a different type of player to the Ivorian but the energy of both players mean they compliment each other very well.
Full of industry and endeavour, Connor Barron is impressing by the game at Rangers and it looks like the club are ready to back the Scotland hopeful with minutes this season.
We are enjoying the midfielder’s focused and committed displays, with Barron showing a fresh fearlessness in driving the team forward from the back.
The midfielder is still growing but we’re starting to understand why Aberdeen fans were so sad to see him go.
Tom Lawrence – 6
The best thing we can say about Tom Lawrence is that he is genuinely looking as sharp as he ever has in a Rangers jersey fitnesswise.
There are short bursts of energy, wonderful touches and little moments of incisive direct forward play which really show huge promise at this early stage of the season.
But it’s in effecting moments in the right area of the pitch where we’re still waiting to see it come together this campaign.
We know Lawrence has quality and as a senior member of the team, there is a clear urgency to take responsibility and influence matches.
We just want to see it more often even if the midfielder twice almost scored for Rangers in Poland.
Fashioning a chance which was parried out in the opening stages, Lawrence also almost scored with a looping effort in the second half.
Another positive display from Lawrence but still a little way to go yet.
Ross McCausland – 6
Ross McCausland’s inclusion actually had some Rangers fans nervous before kick off.
But the winger allayed those fears in the first half when he cut inside and rasped a lovely left-footed effort off the Dynamo Kiev post.
It was a reminder of the quality the young Northern Ireland winger possesses and sent a message that he’s not afraid to use it.
Again a victim of the match being played down the other side, McCausland showed a lot of neat touches and inventive link-up play in the first half.
Faded badly in the second and was eventually replaced.
Scott Wright – 3
Scott Wright was genuinely anonymous and was such a little factor in the match he was actually hooked at half-time.
This was yet another start and therefore yet another opportunity for Wright to make his mark at Rangers which hasn’t been taken.
Unlike his contemporary on the other side of the pitch McCausland, Wright wasn’t so eager nor confident on the ball and struggled to support James Tavernier in defence.
Rangers will need greater influence on the pitch if they’re to qualify.
Wright was hooked at half-time.
Cyriel Dessers – 8
The man, the mystery, the enigma; Cyriel Dessers.
Heading into the match there was plenty of talk about the striker and really it did seem like it wasn’t going to be his night.
There were once again a few decent touches interspersed with the ball routinely breaking down in sweeping attacks once they’d reached the striker.
There were also some desperate efforts on goal.
As per usual Cyriel Dessers refused to give up and put in a busy display as the club’s loan striker.
But in the final minute the big striker would pop up with his first goal of the season to ensure Rangers would bring a 1-1 draw back to Glasgow.
It was a big goal from a man under big pressure and for that reason, we’re giving Cyriel our Player of the Match.
Substitutions
Jefte – 6
Brought on for Scott Wright to help cover Ridvan Yilmaz down the left. Showed some good energy and decent touches, but struggled to fashion any clear cut chances. Contributed to the equaliser. Bright addition.
Vaclav Cerny – 7
The signing of Vaclav Cerny has been a little understated at Rangers given the player’s international and Bundesliga pedigree.
It’s clear Cerny has quality and, whilst the ball had a habit of running away from here, it’ll be good to see the winger up to full speed in Scotland.
Set up Dessers for the last minute equaliser with a wonderful, curling cross into the six-yard box.
Dujon Sterling – 6
It was good to see fan favourite Dujon Sterling back on the field and we reckon this is going to be a big season for the Rangers utility man.
Showed good power, energy and technical quality when he came on and is a genuine force to be reckoned with when he gets going.
Bright substitute appearance and we’d like to see more of him in midfield.
