Against All odds
After the dire atrocity at Falkirk Stadium in which a soaked and windswept Rangers side struggled to string two passes together and were ultimately undone by an energetic and Latapy-inspired home side, the Ibrox side faced a tough home visit from Hibernian.
If recent history was anything to go by, the Easter Road club were one of the many bogie sides Rangers have been traumatised by. Dundee Utd and ICT are two of the others.
Trepidation going into this game was high that the Easter Road outfit would produce another sterling display to roll over the Ibrox side again, most likely Sproule producing another speedy masterclass to torment the home defence again.
In the absence of Scottish striker Boyd, manager Paul Le Guen had to make an enforced change up front. Posited were the notions of bringing in Sebo as a direct replacement, or Buffel as a left winger with Prso occupying the striker role. Both of these scenarios were unfounded, however, as the Frenchman opted for something else entirely by bringing in the Czech winger Sionko and shifting Novo out to the left. This was unforeseen by all and sundry, and lent credence to the notion that the former Lyon boss has zero faith in Slovakian Sebo and does not trust him as a starter. This ultimately suggests Sebo is viewed as a waste of money, and has no future at Ibrox. This was his major chance, and his boss had no faith to try him.
Moving onto the game, however, and it was pretty clear from the opening five minutes that this was not going to be another Hibs defeat of the Govan team. After a mildly scrappy opening period, the home side took this game by the horns and absolutely controlled it. There was no room for the away side to breathe as Rangers completely dominated possession. The backline looked completely solid, the midfield ran smoothly, and the forward line clicked. A major reason for this was the sublime effort from Ferguson. The midfielder categorically ran the show, pulling the strings throughout the park, and releasing team mates all the time. His passing was perfection, his vision superb, and he utterly grabbed this game and demonstrated just how good a player he is. On this kind of form, which, to be fair, he has been enjoying for over a month (Falkirk apart), it is a very strong argument to claim he is the best player plying their trade on these shores. This is not to take away from those around him, many of whom also boasted marvellous performances;
Svensson, for one, produced an infinitely reliable display at the back, playing with the courage he had been quoted as wanting the team to be endowed with. His positional sense was excellent, he produced many timely interceptions, plus slid in perfectly without a second’s hesitation in the penalty box to divert a dangerous attack. Add to that some effective headed clearances plus an overall air of confidence and it seemed to suggest we are finally seeing the real Karl Svensson.
Furthermore Prso belied his aching knees to torment the Hibs defence, and constantly looked dangerous, thoroughly deserving his goal.
Indeed, Novo had put Rangers ahead fairly early on and the side never looked back; a very nice moment being when Sionko added the second; every team mate looked delighted for him, and his captain made a special effort to congratulate him. The third goal came from the head of Ferguson, a delightful looping effort snaking over Malkovski before half time. It was no more than he deserved for such an instrumental performance.
The second half saw Hibs try to force themselves into the game, and while they certainly gleaned more possession thanks to Rangers’ soles elevating off the pedal, they made no inroads to that sturdy defence who rebuked anything the visitors could throw at them. The pattern of easing off lasted half the second period, before an easy-street Rangers stepped up a notch and went for a fourth – regrettably no goal came.
Nevertheless, it was an excellent and composed performance – excelling in the first half to a level no fan was expecting, before a calm and professional second half.
It is also worth mentioning the nullification of Sproule, or should that be ‘Srpoule’ as his jersey boasted, by Smith. While not sorely tested by the winger, Smith had the containment of him at a canter, and showed why the side had missed him. Indeed, the only two contributions of the Northern Irishman were to receive a yellow card for ‘punching’ Ferguson in the back (Who likewise received one too, presumably to even things up), and to then petulantly slam the ball off the turf and gain a second – and an early bath.
A last word must go to Thompson and Brown – the hype surrounding these two has been reaching epic proportions, speculation mounting over whether they will leave their club and join one of the OF. Their efforts today were minimalist at best, and would have done them no favours if either believed they were in the shop window being perused by the Ibrox club. Perhaps distracted by the stories in the press, and certainly affected by Brown handing in a transfer request, the two midfielders were conspicuous by their respective absences.
However, all in all a marvellous day at the office for Rangers and Le Guen. Perhaps a corner has been turned. Sure we’ve heard that one before…
If recent history was anything to go by, the Easter Road club were one of the many bogie sides Rangers have been traumatised by. Dundee Utd and ICT are two of the others.
Trepidation going into this game was high that the Easter Road outfit would produce another sterling display to roll over the Ibrox side again, most likely Sproule producing another speedy masterclass to torment the home defence again.
In the absence of Scottish striker Boyd, manager Paul Le Guen had to make an enforced change up front. Posited were the notions of bringing in Sebo as a direct replacement, or Buffel as a left winger with Prso occupying the striker role. Both of these scenarios were unfounded, however, as the Frenchman opted for something else entirely by bringing in the Czech winger Sionko and shifting Novo out to the left. This was unforeseen by all and sundry, and lent credence to the notion that the former Lyon boss has zero faith in Slovakian Sebo and does not trust him as a starter. This ultimately suggests Sebo is viewed as a waste of money, and has no future at Ibrox. This was his major chance, and his boss had no faith to try him.
Moving onto the game, however, and it was pretty clear from the opening five minutes that this was not going to be another Hibs defeat of the Govan team. After a mildly scrappy opening period, the home side took this game by the horns and absolutely controlled it. There was no room for the away side to breathe as Rangers completely dominated possession. The backline looked completely solid, the midfield ran smoothly, and the forward line clicked. A major reason for this was the sublime effort from Ferguson. The midfielder categorically ran the show, pulling the strings throughout the park, and releasing team mates all the time. His passing was perfection, his vision superb, and he utterly grabbed this game and demonstrated just how good a player he is. On this kind of form, which, to be fair, he has been enjoying for over a month (Falkirk apart), it is a very strong argument to claim he is the best player plying their trade on these shores. This is not to take away from those around him, many of whom also boasted marvellous performances;
Svensson, for one, produced an infinitely reliable display at the back, playing with the courage he had been quoted as wanting the team to be endowed with. His positional sense was excellent, he produced many timely interceptions, plus slid in perfectly without a second’s hesitation in the penalty box to divert a dangerous attack. Add to that some effective headed clearances plus an overall air of confidence and it seemed to suggest we are finally seeing the real Karl Svensson.
Furthermore Prso belied his aching knees to torment the Hibs defence, and constantly looked dangerous, thoroughly deserving his goal.
Indeed, Novo had put Rangers ahead fairly early on and the side never looked back; a very nice moment being when Sionko added the second; every team mate looked delighted for him, and his captain made a special effort to congratulate him. The third goal came from the head of Ferguson, a delightful looping effort snaking over Malkovski before half time. It was no more than he deserved for such an instrumental performance.
The second half saw Hibs try to force themselves into the game, and while they certainly gleaned more possession thanks to Rangers’ soles elevating off the pedal, they made no inroads to that sturdy defence who rebuked anything the visitors could throw at them. The pattern of easing off lasted half the second period, before an easy-street Rangers stepped up a notch and went for a fourth – regrettably no goal came.
Nevertheless, it was an excellent and composed performance – excelling in the first half to a level no fan was expecting, before a calm and professional second half.
It is also worth mentioning the nullification of Sproule, or should that be ‘Srpoule’ as his jersey boasted, by Smith. While not sorely tested by the winger, Smith had the containment of him at a canter, and showed why the side had missed him. Indeed, the only two contributions of the Northern Irishman were to receive a yellow card for ‘punching’ Ferguson in the back (Who likewise received one too, presumably to even things up), and to then petulantly slam the ball off the turf and gain a second – and an early bath.
A last word must go to Thompson and Brown – the hype surrounding these two has been reaching epic proportions, speculation mounting over whether they will leave their club and join one of the OF. Their efforts today were minimalist at best, and would have done them no favours if either believed they were in the shop window being perused by the Ibrox club. Perhaps distracted by the stories in the press, and certainly affected by Brown handing in a transfer request, the two midfielders were conspicuous by their respective absences.
However, all in all a marvellous day at the office for Rangers and Le Guen. Perhaps a corner has been turned. Sure we’ve heard that one before…
posted by RangersMedia @ 8:27 PM
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