Four Steps Forward and a Bus Trip Back

RANGERS 1 – 3 St. Johnstone (Saturday 16th December 2017)

Goals:
RANGERS - Morelos (5')
St. Johnstone - Alston (10'), Johnstone (61'), Cummins (71')

Ibrox Telegraph Player Ratings:

Foderingham – 5

The first-minute mix-up between Wes and Bruno proved ominous. St Johnstone had three efforts at goal and each one flew past our no.1 keeper. Andy Goram set the gold standard for goalkeeping at Ibrox. Foderingham falls short of it by some distance.

Tavernier – 6

Tav started the game brightly, but for 70+ minutes this was a poor performance. The only attacking threat (if it can be called a threat) that we posed along the right-side of the field came from Tavernier. And if we have to rely on his ball trickery to get past opposition left-backs, we know we're in trouble. His defensive work was poor, and he should to have scored on 85 mins after a lovely pass from Niko Krancjar.

John – 6

DJ looked lively and inventive in the first half, yet finished the game struggling to contain the attacking threat posed by (none other than) Richard Foster. As Saints hit their third goal, the young defender sprang into the air to avoid having his legs hit by the goal-bound shot.

Alves – 5

A poor game from Bruno. Ever since Pedro's departure, there has been a clear dip in performance levels from Alves and Candeias. Normally his greatest attritbutes, his reading of the game and anticipation of events were all over the place in this game. Poor passes and mistimed tackles made it a game to forget. We can only hope for improvement in the coming weeks.

Wilson – 6

Wilson also had a good first half, where he looked like the revitalised Wilson we have seen in recent weeks. But his performance nose-dived in the second period. He misjudged the flight of the cross that led to Denny Johnstone’s goal, and his soft tackling played a major role in Saints’ third and final goal. This was the Wilson of the Warburton era. He has enough ability to be a player, but his concentration levels at key moments are his biggest downfall.

McCrorie – 6

This was McCrorie’s least effective game to date. The presence of Jack in midfield seemed to make his role redundant in the first 20 mins of the game, but he came into it in the second half. Was probably our strongest player in a poor team towards the end of the game, but tactics seemed to play their part in a below-average performance.

Jack – 6

Played a nice ball through to Morelos for our goal, but – as if anxious to avoid picking up cards - seemed to run on eggshells throughout the game. He came out stronger in the second half, but couldn’t get to grips with the game.

Holt – 6

Had a decent first half in which he showed signs of a good partnership with Jack in midfield. But in the second forty-five, he looked more like the ineffective squad player of old. The atmosphere inside Ibrox was nervy and subdued for most of the game, and Holt seemed to get more jittery as the game went on.

Candeias – 5

Another torrid display from Candeias. His passing and crossing has been poor for weeks, and this continued against the Perth side. During Pedro’s reign, he was one player we could depend on to give a solid 8/10 in just about every game. Of late, he has offered little to excite an unimpressed support.

Morelos – 6

Alfredo took his goal well, but he struggled to hold on to the ball or offer anything going forward in this game. He will be disappointed with his hold-up play. At the end of the game he looked genuinely upset that we had lost the points. This result should be affecting all the players in the same way.

Windass – 5

I expected him to follow-up on his strong performances of late, but he hardly touched the ball in the first half. He was more involved in the second, but it was a poor performance. Late in the game, the many thousands who headed for the exits seemed to quicken their pace when, instead of crossing to Morelos, he fired a shot high over the goal. For the entire game, he had nothing in his armoury to navigate a packed Saints defence.

Herrera – 4
Hmm?

Krancjar – 5

It was rumoured that Niko had been superb in training this week, but it failed to materialise on matchday. Aside from threading a perfect ball to Tavernier in the box, he looked a player short of match practice.