Tom Lawrence was the hero as Rangers just about saw out a 1-0 victory over Hibs in the Scottish Premiership.
The Welshman curled in a stunning long-range effort from the edge of the box against the Edinburgh side in what proved Lawrence’s second match-winning league strike on the bounce.
The result takes Rangers to within five points of league leaders Aberdeen and Celtic and means Philippe Clement’s team have now won their last four games on the trot without conceding a goal.
And come full-time, Tom Lawrence was being hailed by the same Rangers fans on social media platform X who’ve been heavily critical of the 30-year-old this season.
Rangers fans laud Tom Lawrence goal v Hibs
Tom Lawrence has been incredibly unlucky over the years at Ibrox.
Suffering two major injuries back to back, the Derby County captain was shot down in his prime and has struggled to recapture the bright form he had at the beginning of his Gers career.
But after two long seasons of injury problems, Tom Lawrence has had as full pre-season and is performing at his highest level in years.
Whilst there remains quite some criticism surrounding Lawrence’s mobility, the midfielder’s quality is shining through with Lawrence now on three league goals in six games this season.
Also netting the winner in the 1-0 victory over Dundee United, Gers fans paid tribute to the ex-Manchester United talent come full-time.
One fan echoed these tweets, claiming that Lawrence can be ‘such a good player when he’s on it’.
Another urged the talented Welsh playmaker to ‘take a bow’ following the stunning long range effort against Hibs.
The ‘terrific strike’ also wasn’t lost on another Rangers supporter, who also claimed that three points is ‘all that matters’.
With several Rangers fans giving Tom Lawrence a lot of criticism this season, there was a moment of reflection after the midfielder’s second match-winning league strike in a row.
Tom Lawrence stills needs to win over Ibrox fans
It’s certainly been a bright start to the season for Tom Lawrence, but the midfielder still has a lot of work to do with the Rangers support.
The 30-year-old is part of a squad which has let slip the club’s brief moment of domestic dominance and until Lawrence starts delivering consistently for Rangers, the jury will remain out.
Scoring long-range goals and winning matches is one way to start convincing them, right enough.
Rangers are slowly building some momentum at Ibrox and as the season enters its crucial stage we may well look back on this result v Hibs as an important one.
Perhaps then we’ll also look back on Tom Lawrence’s contribution as being vital to the campaign but you get the feeling this is a make or break season for the Welshman in Glasgow.
