Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has raved about a ‘fantastic’ late block from Borna Barisic against Hibernian [RangersTV].
The Gers triumphed 1-0 in tough conditions at Ibrox on Boxing Day, with a 33rd-minute Ianis Hagi strike enough to take all three points against the Edinburgh club.
It was far from a straightforward outing, though, with the defence tested on several occasions in the closing stages of the game as Hibs pressed for an equaliser.
In one such instance, after Allan McGregor had saved a curling Melker Hallberg shot, Barisic got out quickly and threw himself in front of a Kevin Nisbet effort.
It was a crucial intervention from the Croatia international, with just six minutes of normal time remaining, and his manager praised him heavily after the game.
‘We had to make sure we were really resilient (in the closing stages) and we couldn’t afford any mistakes,” said Gerrard [RangersTV]. “It was a dangerous time when two points could have been taken away from us.”
“I thought Borna Barisic’s block was fantastic, and certainly worth the extra two points today.”
Barisic was partially at fault for Motherwell’s opening goal in the 3-1 Premiership win at Ibrox last weekend as he was slow to get out to the cross which led to their early strike.
There was no such hesitancy on this occasion, though, and while it wasn’t the only good piece of defending from a player in blue during a testing final 15 minutes, there’s no doubt it was key to the victory.
The left-back has played a big part in both defence and attack so far this season, scoring twice and contributing ten assists in all competitions, and it’s crucial that the club holds onto him in the January transfer window.
There’s a lot more work to be done for Rangers in the league, but the Boxing Day victory over Hibs took Gerrard’s side to a whopping 56 points from 20 matches and constituted the ideal start to a potentially season-defining week.
See how Barisic fared in our Player Ratings from the game.
