Match Thread [FT] Rangers 4 (Lammers 10'; Danilo 78'; Sima 84'; Dowell 90') - 0 Livingston

[Rousseau 9,425]

1 minute ago, Gonzo79 said:

Can we not just call it defensive tactics instead of 'low block'?

 

That sort of jargon reminds me of the pish I'm subjected to at work.  

 

If a team sets up defensively and is well organised, with fit players, it will nearly always be a struggle to get goals.  Even the greatest sides often toil when the opposition play that way.  

There's more than one defensive tactic, though. 

[Sutton_blows_goats 4,263]

I was quite surprised Livi changed it at half time. They must have smelled blood. We did well to change it and end up with the 4-0 victory. A big complaint of mine from the last season is we didn’t score enough late goals and punish teams, build up the GD, we did that today.

 

Livi had that little period in the game

where they had a couple of half chances, the game was definitely on a knife edge until we killed it. Butland made a couple of good stops.

 

The referee also wasn’t as big a factor in the second half as he was in the first. Remarkable to think only 1 Livi player was booked.

 

Again it looked like everything we created went through cantwell (first half v low block more specifically) and while it’s great to watch him I do wonder how we would get by without him for an extended run of games should he be injured. Cifu performed well. Tav looks tired, at one point in the first half I think it was the left back (montano?) managed to beat him for pace.. worrying as this seems to be happening more and more often. Lammers took his goal well

 it couldn’t really get into the game otherwise.

 

Moving forward I’d like to see Danilo as our number one centre forward. Dessers still looks a bit away fitness wise.

 

We will probably see Sima start on Tuesday and I wonder if Matondo has played himself into contention with that

cameo yesterday.

 

Still a long way to go for us, titles shouldn’t be lost by playing Livi at ibrox but we need to win and we did.

 

On to Servette.

Edited August 13, 2023 by Sutton_blows_goats

[CammyF 6,817]

42 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

What happened to your 'There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics' patter? I suppose stats are alright when they help your argument.  

 

I disagree. 

 

We dominated, but created very few chances against the low block. It was only when Livingston gambled that we created chances - which was great, don't get me wrong: you want to see MB taking advantage of the state of the game. 

 

You can be happy with the final result if you wish, but, for me, we still have the same issues. If Livingston kept their defensive shape it would have been a poor 1-0 victory.  

 

Our xG was 2.3. We need to be creating more. 

By very few, what specific number do you mean? We scored 4 goals (3 of them really well worked), had a goal disallowed, their keeper made 2 saves, Dessers headed over just before halftime, then their defender brilliantly stopped a goal bound effort from Dessers. 

 

That makes 9 chances we created (converted 4 of them), that's hardly "very few" and that's just off the top of my head. 

 

EDIT - Just remembered Sima's chance in 2nd half when he should have went to ground and Souttar hit a strike over the bar in 1st hall. That's now 11 chances - very few indeed 🙂

Edited August 13, 2023 by CammyF

[Gonzo79 13,716]

20 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

There's more than one defensive tactic, though. 

[alexscottislegend 2,086]

1 hour ago, Rousseau said:

Yes.

 

That and striking the ball. That's his whole game. 

Unfortunately Tav is a fixture in the side - Mr Rangers - and the only way we get him out the team is to sell him.

[Sutton_blows_goats 4,263]

8 minutes ago, alexscottislegend said:

Unfortunately Tav is a fixture in the side - Mr Rangers - and the only way we get him out the team is to sell him.

People will argue with Tav it’s a case of you don’t know what you have got until it’s gone. But like many footballers and Morelos being another good example, they don’t stay the same forever.

[RANGERRAB 3,276]

Meant to say did the Kieran Dowell goal yesterday not remind you of Jorg Albertz 20 odd years ago?

where I sit in the SJ rear I had a great view of it…..what a strike🤠

It’s a while since we’ve had a naturally left sided MF player like Dowell. Hope he can keep this up. His career did seem to have stalled a bit before he joined ifs.

[Gonzo79 13,716]

13 minutes ago, RANGERRAB said:

where I sit in the SJ rear I had a great view of it…..what a strike

I've not been impressed with Dowell but that was some strike.  

[Rousseau 9,425]

1 hour ago, CammyF said:

By very few, what specific number do you mean? We scored 4 goals (3 of them really well worked), had a goal disallowed, their keeper made 2 saves, Dessers headed over just before halftime, then their defender brilliantly stopped a goal bound effort from Dessers. 

 

That makes 9 chances we created (converted 4 of them), that's hardly "very few" and that's just off the top of my head. 

 

EDIT - Just remembered Sima's chance in 2nd half when he should have went to ground and Souttar hit a strike over the bar in 1st hall. That's now 11 chances - very few indeed 🙂

You said 20 shots in your previous post, so it was 20 chances. It was actually 22 shots / chances. 

 

Quite good, but that's not unusual. 

 

My issue is the quality of the chances: 7 shots in that first half, with an xG of 0.47. 

 

It's not enough. Hopefully it'll come, but we're not clicking yet. 

 

I'd like to see the 1.8 xG from the second half in the first against the low block, not when they're opening up, which suits us. If we can consistently create good chances against a low block I'll be more optimistic - we don't even have to take the chances, although I think we have better quality now so that shouldn't be an issue. 

 

I remember we had this same debate a couple of seasons ago when you were waxing lyrical about a 4 goal win against Hearts, whereas I thought it was a poor performance. I might be wrong but I think GvB was sacked... ?

[CammyF 6,817]

37 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

 

 

I remember we had this same debate a couple of seasons ago when you were waxing lyrical about a 4 goal win against Hearts, whereas I thought it was a poor performance. I might be wrong but I think GvB was sacked... ?

What a weird statement - you do realise most football managers get sacked or move on before they get sacked! im sure there will be stats somewhere to back that up 🙂

 

So we've moved from "very few" chances created to "quality" of chances created. What is your definition of a "quality" opportunity?

 

Would you agree that the 4 goals were obviously quality chances (as they were converted into goals). The Cifu disallowed goal was also a "quality" chance as it was a "goal" but then chopped off. 

 

Or that the the pens we should / could have had would also count as "quality" chances as they are basically 1 v 1 and Tav has a decent record from 12 yards.

 

What about the Dessers shot in the 2nd half was this also a "quality" opportunity as it took a brilliant defensive block to divert it for a corner? 

 

Think it's safe to say, on reflection, that we created both quantity and quality chances yesterday. Don't need XG to confirm it, just watch then game. 

Edited August 13, 2023 by CammyF