“Outstanding – 9”, “Mediocre display – 4” Player ratings for Rangers v East Fife

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“Outstanding – 9”, “Mediocre display – 4” Player ratings for Rangers v East Fife


Rangers comfortably disposed of plucky East Fife in appalling conditions at Methil. Ibrox Noise rates for you the players who represented the club as well as they could in the high winds at Bayview. And we do take into account the weather.

Foderingham:

Had one half decent save to make, and did well with a ludicrously strong back pass to feet, otherwise a quiet afternoon. 6

Polster:

Just could not get into this match at all. Had no understanding at all with Stewart, and his crossing was painful. Not helped by a number of diabolical passes which went behind him. Didn’t do his chances of breaking through any good with this mediocre display though. 4

Edmundson:

Didn’t really have any understanding with his partner, but was able to get some good balls forward and worked hard to try to make an impression. 6

Helander:

Weird one – a (sort of) goal and a genuinely wonderful assist but otherwise a few passes here and there was the sum total of his involvement. Looked like a man who’s played very little football lately. 6

Halliday:

Had a wretched start to the game – three mistimed jumps, then got absolutely emptied twice into the bargain – but just got up and got on with it. Steadied the ship better by stopping trying to do everything himself and managed a wonderful through pass or two for Jones. Had something akin to a bit of a link up with him. 6

Kamara:

He did lose the ball a few too many times, but he was heavily involved and had a lot of possession – some good footwork but also guilty of slowing the game down a bit. 6

Docherty:

Tried to make an impression, and had a fair bit of energy, but one attempted assist was really all he mustered and he would have wished to have a better outing than today’s. 5

Aribo:

By contrast, while Aribo did dip a little in the middle third of the match (we’ve noticed he does this), the quality of the recent Nigeria call-up was unmistakable. Some of his touches, runs, and uses of the ball overall were of the highest order, and despite the horror conditions, opposition and the plastic pitch he stood out like a sore thumb. 9

Jones:

Another great outing from Jones who should have had a penalty, the NI international was a total menace and the home side couldn’t deal with his trickery or pace. What a player this lad is becoming. 8

Stewart:

Getting pelters for his display from fans, who probably aren’t far wrong this time. He did really struggle to impact this match, and his horrible pulled shot was a forward low on sharpness. He couldn’t be accused of hiding, but his touch and quality were painfully short. 4

Defoe:

Another wonderful outing from Defoe who got a bottle of champagne for his trouble – the veteran striker makes the game look easy at times, and should even have scored a lot more than one. His touch and movement were quite simply world class, especially doing them on this pitch, against this stodgy opposition and in this weather. Outstanding. 9

Subs:

Barker:

Didn’t really impact.

King:

Didn’t really impact.

Hastie:

For the 13 minutes he got, he was lively – and but for one mistimed run would probably have managed an assist for Defoe. He’s on the right tracks and he’s definitely pushing to feature more. 6

Manager:

Stevie rang the changes we suggested – 10 in all, and he’ll be delighted that key men like Defoe, Aribo and Jones all thrived. He will also be delighted at no injuries, and that the side was ultimately comfortable against a banana skin. He’ll be less pleased that how all the fringe players were unable to take their chances, and gave him no selection dilemmas at all, aside maybe a touch of Jake Hastie. He aside, there was an absence of standouts. And that’s a bit concerning. We can’t even blame the conditions because all our players suffered them, and we can’t blame the cobbled and unfamiliar XI because some players still thrived even alongside unfamiliar team mates. 7

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Not great. I thought given Gerrards comments about "show me what you've got" that we would've been flying today and showed more desire and hunger. I appreciate it's only East Fife but this was there opportunity and they failed to deliver. Very disappointing.

  2. Helander is obviously quality. Messi would have looked s*** in those conditions today. Hollander strolled it.

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