Rangers skipper James Tavernier admits he’s ‘really happy’ with the form of Todd Cantwell and Rabbi Matondo after both scored in the 2-1 Scottish Premiership win over Aberdeen on Tuesday.
With Cyriel Dessers failing to maintain his recent resurgence in front of goal as Neil Warnock arrived at Ibrox for his long-awaited Premiership bow, the man in the opposite dugout needed two of Rangers’ lesser-spotted goalscorers to step up to the plate in midweek.
And Philippe Clement certainly got his wish.
Rabbi Matondo, the pressure on as he stepped in for the injured Abdallah Sima, needed only seven minutes to open the scoring at Pittodrie. Todd Cantwell, arguably the game’s outstanding player, then drove in a second-half winner after the overworked Kelle Roos had spilled a trademark Todd Lawrence swerver from range.
Matondo and Cantwell score in big Rangers win
And Tavernier, after a hard-fought win which drew Rangers level with Celtic at the top of the table (albeit only for 24 hours), was delighted to see Cantwell follow the advice given to him by his experienced skipper.
“Todd’s doing really well,” Tavernier smiles. “I always get on his case about being in the (number) ten position, staying in the middle of the pitch. And if he does that, he gets the goals.
“If he gets in the right position for us, he can be a real impact player. He’s been in really good form and I’m really happy with the way Rabbi has been going as well.
“That’s two in two (Matondo also scored against Livingston at the weekend). And, as a team, we need players coming on or starting, to put in a performance for the team.
“I feel everyone who is asked to do a job are doing really well.”
Gers motoring under Philippe Clement
The January acquisitions of Fabio Silva, Mohamed Diomande and Oscar Cortes have given Rangers’ squad far greater depth in a number of key areas too. Cortes in particular caught the eye against Aberdeen.
Clement is full of praise for the way the Lens loanee has taken to life on Scottish soil.
