Rangers loanee Sam Lammers finally opened to FC Utrecht account at the weekend while helping the Eredivisie outfit equal a 33-year-old club-record in the process.
The last time Utrecht went 13 Eredivisie games unbeaten, Ally McCoist had the European Golden Shoe shining on his mantelpiece while Andy Goram was putting his finishing touches on a £1 million move from Aberdeen.
At the risk of making you all very aware of your own mortality, 1991 is well over 30 years ago now. As such, the extent of Utrecht’s achievement – and of Sam Lammers’ impact at the Stadion Galgenwaard – should not be underestimated.
Sam Lammers impressing after Rangers exit
The Rangers-owned forward had already set up three goals for his new, albeit short-term, employers before opening his account at the fifth attempt on Sunday. A fine finish which put the finishing touches on a 4-0 thrashing of Fortuna Sittard.
“Sam had been waiting for it for a while,” Utrecht coach Ron Jans tells ESPN, his loan signing finding the net for the first time since Rangers took on Dundee in November.
“Before the match we said: ‘Sam, we can tiptoe around it. But, on behalf of the squad, it’s time you score a goal for FC Utrecht!’.
“Well, here we go.”
Lammers’ first league goal in three months not only lifted the club to within touching distance of the European places, it also wrapped up a thumping win which ensures this is Utrecht’s longest unbeaten domestic run in over three decades.
“Scoring goals is like holding a bottle of ketchup upside down. Sometimes, you have to hold the bottle upside down for an eternity and nothing comes. Sometimes, there’s no stopping it,” smiles Lammers, parroting a phrase made famous by PSV Eindhoven icon Ruud van Nistelrooy.
“Van Nistelrooy did an internship when I played for PSV. I once spoke to him about his theory,” Lammers tells Algemeen Dagblad, an almighty weight lifted from his shoulders.
“Hopefully, the bottle is now open for me. Of course, I was really looking for my first goal. But the assist I gave to Taylor Booth (to make the score) 1-0 was more important than my goal.
“That was more like the icing on the cake.”
Three assists and one goal in 5 Eredivisie games
Utrecht have now netted eight goals in their last two Eredivisie matches, with Lammers either scoring or assisting three of those. It remains to be seen whether return to form back home in familiar surroundings can have the effect of jump-starting his Rangers career. He will return to Ibrox in the summer, due to the absence of a purchase clause in his Utrecht contract, though his long-term future remains uncertain.
But, for the first time since that prolific spell at Heerenveen all the way back in 2018/19, Rangers’ £3.5 million summer signing is impacting games in a meaningful way again. And the importance of that, for Lammers’ confidence as well as for his career, could be nothing short of transformative.
