match thread (image) [FT] Rangers 3 (Tavernier 45pen; Colak 58; Tillman 78) - 0 Union SG

[weebluedevil 1,172]

5 hours ago, buster. said:

The evidence that I can see thus far suggests that we are going out tonight.

To go through, I think we'd need to click into top gear for periods of this match and defend well throughout.

 

Not impossible, but unlikely.

 

I can't see us suddenly clicking with high tempo, slick football but we could end up replacing it with a high energy approach/less precise. The danger with the latter is that after about half an hour, we drop off it and that we could easily be counter-attacked from the word go, if not precise.

 

The other approach is to be patient. Start fast but not in a sustained way and look to conserve energy, thinking about the 90 minutes.

 

Against Malmo last year, it was the former.

We got the goal we needed to level the tie after 18 minutes but we were knackered after about 35 minutes and never really recovered, even against 10 men.

 

Maybe Gio will be slightly more conservative and think about the 90 minutes but at the same time, he will have to be more direct from the word go than of late.....It was Cedric Itten and Alex Lowry who scored our last First Half goals in a competitive match (Hearts, Away in League last season). We have scored 4 goals in our last 5 competitive matches (90 minutes), plus 2 in Extra Time.

 

Fingers crossed but with no real expectation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, I agree. We have started slowly this season so it would be improbable that we can suddenly attain the levels we know we can. Morelos will be given minutes late on when we are still chasing a result, I suspect, and I dont see Colak getting the service or chances as Union pack their defence tonight. 

[weebluedevil 1,172]

I'd have Matondo starting, he's the most likely to create opportunities for Colak on the right, and gives us another dimension over and above what Tav already brings. 

[Malangsob 1,203]

Actually, really lookin forward to this one. 

 

We need a knockout...gonna be a chase. 

 

 

[the gunslinger 3,366]

nothing to loose here. It's either a glorious win or an expected defeat. 

[craig 5,199]

4 hours ago, the gunslinger said:

Agree with all this. It's a near impossible task unless this lot are somehow awful and we just made them look good. 

 

I don't think that's the case their defenders looked good as did their keeper. They also looked very dangerous on the break. 

They got pumped 3-0 to the team that are 8th in the Belgian league at the weekend.  I think it is a mixture of them not being that bad but we also made them look good.

 

I would like to think their antics post-game have put fire in our players bellies.

 

I am strangely confident we will pump them tonight. 

[compo 6,141]

What's needed is a sleeves up performance and get tore into them from the off just like the Bayern game in 72 

Mon the gers 

[gisabeer 409]

I'd love to see morelos and colak on the same pitch tonight but I dont see it happening.  It's all about us tonight.  We have to put in a shift like we did against Dortmund,  taking the game to the opposition and showing no fear.   If continue with the slow build up and the meaningless passes at the back we will struggle.  

 

My starting line up

 

             McGregor 

 

Tav Goldson Sands Barasic 

 

     Tillman Lundstrom 

 

Matundo kent Lawrence 

         

               Colak 

 

[Gonzo79 13,637]

USG are rubbish.  

 

If we go out, it's entirely our own fault due to the terrible performance over there.  

[onevision 1,447]

50 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said:

USG are rubbish.  

 

If we go out, it's entirely our own fault due to the terrible performance over there.  

Totally agree Gonzo.

Even though we played really bad last week they are not a good side and we are only in a bigger predicament due to an atrocious referee decision.

 

I am not 100% confident but confident enough to have stuck £50 on us qualifying at 13/5.

Edited August 9, 2022 by onevision

[Uilleam 5,429]

The match, tonight, is more worrying than it ought to be. This is due, firstly, to the lousy performance and result in Brussels, a game where everything that could go wrong -from pre-match preparation to events on the pitch- did go wrong,  including (Holy Mother of God!) that panjandrum and supposedly infallible panacea, VAR. So bad was the whole affair that that there are either no lessons, or a libary-full, to be taken. I think that, on balance,we have to ignore last Tuesday, as a never to be repeated one-off.  

We are all aware of the full horror, the potential damage, and we have all had our say. Does it get any worse than that? Really, it can't. Can it?

 

Thus, at least arguably, we have to look at the two SPL games we have played for any pointers, and a second, although not necessarily secondary, concern emerges. In both these games we had more possession than in an Exorcist remake, and did, ultimately, little with it. This must not be an Omen for tonight. 

 

The team needs to start with energy, and keep up a quick tempo, with a high press, and smart passing, keeping these smug bastards on the back foot. An evening of slow and lumbering trundle ball in front of a drilled defence will lead, only, to the Europa League. 

It is doable, of course it is, provided the manager does not err on the side of caution, deploy two sitters, and ignore genuine pace, until it is too late. A little bit of boldness, please Gio, in formation and game plan. 

 

Rattle the Belgians early, and they will fold. 

 

I wonder if we might see Fashion Sakala. I kinda hope so: he is fast, unpredictable, can lift the crowd, and, of course, he came from the Jupiler League. 

 

It could, and, really, it should, be a(nother) famous night down Govan way. If the goals flow for The Famous, the mainstream media will be swallowing each other's tongues. 

 

Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours.