Rangers’ MOTM? Not Middleton, and not Kent….

The sponsors’ MOTM last night was Glenn Middleton.

RTVs was both he and Ryan Kent.

Ibrox Noise’s MOTM? Captain Andy Halliday.

Torn as we were between all three of the above and Ovie Ejaria, with honourable mention of  the smooth display of Graham Dorrans, we found ourselves blinking in some mild disbelief that we actually struggled to choose the best player, simply because there were so many of them.

Alfredo Morelos was making his usual mischief in the box, and his goal was a fine example of strength and clinical finishing.

Kent tore Ayr’s backside out time and time again, and improves every match – he might not be an absolute fan favourite, hell he’s not an Ibrox Noise favourite by a long way, but he’s doing himself extremely proud regardless.

Middleton was lively again and should have had a hat trick – we’ve run out of superlatives for this young star, and on his first full competitive debut he made a strong case for an extended run in the first team.

Meanwhile Ejaria at times looked composed, technically excellent, and extremely efficient with the ball – his close control can frequently look outstanding and when he nearly wriggled through five Ayr defenders, it was evidence that while his game still needs work, he really does have all the tricks.

But then there’s Halliday. One misplaced pass inside two minutes (while everyone else around him was also falling all over themselves to make mistakes) was his only wrong foot, and Halliday, at LB, produced a display to match any we’ve seen from a full back in recent times.

His assist for Middleton showed a rare touch of class the ex-Bradford man doesn’t often display, and his general defending, positioning, workrate and use of the ball was remarkable.

We’re not even going to bother with the ‘it was only Ayr’ stuff because this is an in-form side topping the Championship, and they were a genuine threat coming to Ibrox.

Once goal number one went in, their light faded dramatically.

And Halliday thrived – he put in easily his best display as a Rangers player, showing an assurance and quality he hasn’t been able to till last night.

And Wallace’s place on the bench, disappointing though it was to see him not start this one, was ultimately completely justified by One of Our Own’s display.

A lot of fans are hard on Halliday – last night he put all his doubters away.