There were more positives than negatives to emerge from Rangers defeat to Celtic at Hampden even if the ultimate low was a bitter pill to swallow.
Players like Nicolas Raskin and Mohamed Diomande showed that they can be counted on with other members of the squad stepping up to the plate too.
One of them was the much-criticised Robin Propper who stepped up to the plate and gave a glimpse of what he might bring to Rangers’ defence.
Robin Propper showing signs of Rangers improvement
The former Twente skipper could have been more composed in possession, however, he handled Kyogo Furuhashi and Adam Idah, keeping them as quiet as Celtic strikers have been for a long time in derbies.
Speaking after the game, Propper was frustrated but had a prediction for the future:
“It’s small moments”, reflected Propper. “In the second-half, we had a moment where we went four against one.
“There are small moments to win the game. You need to take these moments, we did very well.
“They had trouble with us, we were good on the counter attack, compact – we had a good plan today. It was an amazing game, only you want to have the medal and the cup.
“In defence, we had three goals against us, that is too much in a game against Celtic. It is small moments to win these games, and in the end it is penalties – an unlucky one.
“The last couple of weeks, we’ve improved. We’ve won our matches, you see today as well, we are not that far behind in the game. We scored three goals, had some chances. We feel that we are closer.”
Rangers only have themselves to blame for small margin defeats
After no wins in seven and none under the management of Clement, the quality of performance is almost irrelevant in derbies.
Historically, it has always been the case that the result is all that matters, but this is even more accurate now.
Rangers did play well at Hampden, and Propper is right, but for the officials, they could have won.
The biggest difference, is that Celtic wouldn’t have butchered the 4v1 opportunity to make it 2-0, nor would they have conceded three goals that were as soft.
The small margins are what matter, and Rangers only have themselves to blame at both ends of the park.
