The Run Continues
Rangers are not used to fighting for second place in the SPL in the modern era; indeed, usually it is a scrap for the title, or a runaway lead. But not fending off sides for the runner’s up spot. No.
Regrettably, the start to this season has led to a dogfight for the more advanced positions in the league rather than the usual smooth transition to the top of the table Rangers fans are accustomed to, and has left a split support over the state of the club. Rangers are not used to being destroyed at Easter Road by Hibs.
However, recent weeks and maybe the last two months have witnessed a distinct resurgence in the side. Maybe not to the level of champions, there has been a substantial improvement, and the clobbering of Hibs at Ibrox plus the hearty fight at Parkhead have been evidence of a team beginning to believe in themselves again, and a manager finally starting to get to grips with the SPL.
It has taken far too long, granted, but to see a side with a genuine coherence emerging from the decimation of the squad as it stumbled from one impotent result to another is a pleasing upgrade to behold.
Witness then, the latest instalment of the anticipated revival, as the team faced an Aberdeen flying high in second place, two points ahead of the Govan outfit.
Hopes were high in the Granite City that Jimmy Calderwood’s men could sustain their own fine run of five straight victories, a record which had propelled them to the illustrious heights they’d been absent from for well over a decade.
But with a Rangers team finally starting to look settled, and possessing a spirit sadly absent from previous games, could the northern outfit gain another three points to force a five point gap between the two?
From the first minute to the last of this encounter, this revitalised Rangers fought for every ball. The passion, commitment and enthusiasm not to mention workrate needed for a game like this was abundantly present, and permeated every aspect of the match. From the moment the game began, each player fought tooth and nail to gain the upper hand, and to say the spirit of Rangers was alive and well was an understatement. The players might not uniformly be of the quality we expect, but when they fight so hard and work as a team, one cannot fault their contribution and commitment. And no Rangers fan accepts a side which withers and dies with nary a punch.
This team had punch, and plenty of it. Indeed, their rich effort was rewarded on 22 minutes when a Sionko cross was wildly miscued by Novo, and it looped up over Langfield, Nisbet style. An early lead attained, the victory was not secured, and only two minutes later Novo repaid the favour by sliding in a cross for Sionko to guide into the net at close range.
Now the lead looked comfortable, and it wasn’t until Lovell’s 84th minute tap in following a horrible error from the sub Rae gifted the Dons a backdoor route into the game.
Thankfully for the Ibrox men their excellent work over the 90 minutes was not to be undone and when the final whistle blew, another three points had been secured and a place jumped in the table.
No one would deny this group of players are not, by and large going to make the hall of fame, but they are garnering spirit and the desire to play for the jersey. It is just a pity it has taken this long.
That all said, no one would accuse Sebo of lacking spirit, but everyone would accuse him of lacking ability. It is a shame for the likeable Slovakian, but five months into his time at Ibrox has inspired no evidence for the case proving his class. Comparisons to Miller at Parkhead have been drawn, on the basis of the Scot’s scoring drought when he first arrived in the East end of Glasgow. Unfortunately, his contribution to the team was unquestionable, and while he was not scoring, he added so much more to the team. Sebo lacks any of that input, running around like a headless chicken unable to find his way to any kind of form, consistency, or even accurate passes. The fans will him to put his poor run behind him and find something, but the more time which passes and the more time he fails to deliver the more convincing the prosecution begins to look.
However, that said, it’s more prudent to focus on the effective afternoon enjoyed by the men in blue. We cannot ask more of them than they keep this up.
Regrettably, the start to this season has led to a dogfight for the more advanced positions in the league rather than the usual smooth transition to the top of the table Rangers fans are accustomed to, and has left a split support over the state of the club. Rangers are not used to being destroyed at Easter Road by Hibs.
However, recent weeks and maybe the last two months have witnessed a distinct resurgence in the side. Maybe not to the level of champions, there has been a substantial improvement, and the clobbering of Hibs at Ibrox plus the hearty fight at Parkhead have been evidence of a team beginning to believe in themselves again, and a manager finally starting to get to grips with the SPL.
It has taken far too long, granted, but to see a side with a genuine coherence emerging from the decimation of the squad as it stumbled from one impotent result to another is a pleasing upgrade to behold.
Witness then, the latest instalment of the anticipated revival, as the team faced an Aberdeen flying high in second place, two points ahead of the Govan outfit.
Hopes were high in the Granite City that Jimmy Calderwood’s men could sustain their own fine run of five straight victories, a record which had propelled them to the illustrious heights they’d been absent from for well over a decade.
But with a Rangers team finally starting to look settled, and possessing a spirit sadly absent from previous games, could the northern outfit gain another three points to force a five point gap between the two?
From the first minute to the last of this encounter, this revitalised Rangers fought for every ball. The passion, commitment and enthusiasm not to mention workrate needed for a game like this was abundantly present, and permeated every aspect of the match. From the moment the game began, each player fought tooth and nail to gain the upper hand, and to say the spirit of Rangers was alive and well was an understatement. The players might not uniformly be of the quality we expect, but when they fight so hard and work as a team, one cannot fault their contribution and commitment. And no Rangers fan accepts a side which withers and dies with nary a punch.
This team had punch, and plenty of it. Indeed, their rich effort was rewarded on 22 minutes when a Sionko cross was wildly miscued by Novo, and it looped up over Langfield, Nisbet style. An early lead attained, the victory was not secured, and only two minutes later Novo repaid the favour by sliding in a cross for Sionko to guide into the net at close range.
Now the lead looked comfortable, and it wasn’t until Lovell’s 84th minute tap in following a horrible error from the sub Rae gifted the Dons a backdoor route into the game.
Thankfully for the Ibrox men their excellent work over the 90 minutes was not to be undone and when the final whistle blew, another three points had been secured and a place jumped in the table.
No one would deny this group of players are not, by and large going to make the hall of fame, but they are garnering spirit and the desire to play for the jersey. It is just a pity it has taken this long.
That all said, no one would accuse Sebo of lacking spirit, but everyone would accuse him of lacking ability. It is a shame for the likeable Slovakian, but five months into his time at Ibrox has inspired no evidence for the case proving his class. Comparisons to Miller at Parkhead have been drawn, on the basis of the Scot’s scoring drought when he first arrived in the East end of Glasgow. Unfortunately, his contribution to the team was unquestionable, and while he was not scoring, he added so much more to the team. Sebo lacks any of that input, running around like a headless chicken unable to find his way to any kind of form, consistency, or even accurate passes. The fans will him to put his poor run behind him and find something, but the more time which passes and the more time he fails to deliver the more convincing the prosecution begins to look.
However, that said, it’s more prudent to focus on the effective afternoon enjoyed by the men in blue. We cannot ask more of them than they keep this up.
posted by RangersMedia @ 8:47 PM
<< Home