Sport
View: 3/10 flops as 9/10 MOTM excellent – Rangers player ratings
Rangers ultimately overcame Ayr United 2-0 to progress in the Scottish Cup on a day where they failed to make their dominance clear.
Borna Barisic turned a bright Gers start into a lead in the 10th minute as he fired a deflected low effort into the near corner after a lay-off from Oscar Cortes who impressed throughout his hour on the pitch.
Despite largely dominating the game it wasn’t until a slew of substitutions late on that Fabio Silva, who avoided a second yellow soon after the break from the erratic Willie Collum, smashed a second high into the net on the rebound after good work from both John Lundstram and Todd Cantwell in the 76th minute.
Here, Ibrox News rates the Rangers players out of 10 for their performances in the Scottish Cup fifth round.
New man Cortes shows glimpse of the Rangers future in cup win
Jack Butland – 6
Perhaps unsurprisingly the man back in contention for an England place wasn’t heavily involved against Championship opposition, so didn’t have a much of an opportunity to impress in front of watching Three Lions representation. Appeared to lack some concentration on a couple of balls into the box.
James Tavernier – 7
Solid down the right but that side was certainly the lesser of the two Rangers avenues of attacks early, but his influence grew as the game went on and he produced some nice deliveries.
John Souttar – 5
Some good work but not as comfortable as he probably should have been. Did an excellent job to thwart an early Anton Dowds attack with a perfectly-timed challenge after Goldson had given away possession but also followed his defensive partner in needlessly getting caught out high up the pitch more than once.
Connor Goldson – 4
Far from his best performance in the circumstances. Caused himself problems as he regularly left his defensive line and was oddly sloppy in possession. Overran the ball and lunged into a first half challenge on Dowds that both risked a Willie Collum card and put his side under unnecessary pressure, only to be bailed out by Souttar.
Borna Barisic (off for Yilmaz ’61) – 7
Decent game as he combined well with Cortes and scored. Smashed a low effort home for the opener with the help of a deflection for his first in a year as he was quickly encamped high up the pitch. But really should have had a second late in the half as he directed a side-footed volley off target in a dangerous position.
Ryan Jack (off for Lundstram ’70) – 7
Low key display but good on the ball as he was routinely looking to play incisive passes through the congested Ayr defence, and avoided any new injury set backs.
Nico Raskin (off for King ’85) – 3
Rough outing. Saw a decent amount of the ball but his passing radar appeared to be off as he struggled to do much with it and played too many to the opposition. Improved after the break but his sloppiness was part of the reason why it took so long for Rangers to put the game to bed. Hasn’t often started lately and didn’t stake much of a claim in this game.
Mohamed Diomande (off for Cantwell ’61) – 7
Encouraging display from the new signing. Showed some flashes of quality on the ball in his first start that will be encouraging for Philippe Clement after the £4.5million fee, and his work in pressing when out of possession will also have pleased his manager.
Oscar Cortes (off for Matondo ’61) – 9 Man of the Match
Excellent start and looked the most dangerous Rangers outlet throughout his time on the pitch, even if he was guilty of overplaying at times. Hit the outside of the post inside two minutes as part of a threatening display and assisted Barisic’s opener with more good work down the left. Went close to a second just before the break.
Scott Wright – 6
As so often, he did okay without really taking his opportunity from the start. Sat wide on the right and put in some decent balls but could’t create the same danger that Cortes was doing in space on the opposite flank.
Fabio Silva – 7
Another fairly dynamic display and scored again to make the result safe so ultimately a decent day, but perhaps not as dominant as he would like to be against lower-league opposition. Was clearly frustrated to get an early booking from Collum that looked soft, but then risked getting sent off immediately after the break with a late challenge.
Substitutions
Rabbi Matondo (on for Cortes ’61) – 6
Decent work late on but was certainly overshadowed by new man Cortes.
Todd Cantwell (on for Diomande ’61) – 7
Injected some much needed quality just when it was starting to look like Rangers might leave the door open. Contributed well in the build up to Silva’s goal with quick feet and a lofted ball that came off the far post.
Ridvan Yilmaz (on for Barisic ’61) – 6
Rare occasion of late where he probably looked less important than goalscorer Barisic, but still feels like he has finally graduated to be first choice.
John Lundstram (on for Jack ’70) – 7
Sured up the midfield well and his excellent pass into the box to find Cantwell ultimately led to the second goal.
Leon King (on for Raskin ’85) – 6
