“Excellent night – 9” – Rangers players rated v Union Saint

Rangers tonight secured an epic win over a stubborn Union to book a place in the playoffs v Dutch giants PSV.

Ibrox Noise scores our boys out of 10 in the club’s first win in the UCL on any level since 2010.

McLaughlin:

Had absolutely zilcho to do. Union offered little, and McLaughlin’s goal was barely threatened. A quiet night for him. 6

Tavernier:

Led like a captain. Was regularly barking at his team mates, and has truly grown into the role, becoming an entirely fitting leader. Did plenty work, marauding down the right, but again, the lack of Jacko did expose the team a few times down Tav’s side when he was caught upstream. Took his penalty like a veteran, and ultimately deserves a lot of credit for not giving up when others were look a little jaded. 8

Goldson:

A rarity chaps and chapesses, Ibrox Noise giving credit to Goldson, even though he didn’t play very well. Why? Because for the first time he acknowledged his mistakes and apologised to team mates. Despite his performance not being the best it’s the first time he’s shown humility as a Rangers player. Maybe he’s evolving at last. 6

Sands:

Mixed bag. Nearly sent off for a total mistake, only for the ref to show honesty in changing his mind after instruction from his assistant, Sands gave the ball away naively a few times and struggled alongside Goldson a bit but also managed some good positioning and passing. He was the better of the two, but the yellow hamstrung him a lot. 6

Barisic:

While his distribution from the left was mixed, he looked stronger than Yilmaz had v Killie – Borna is determined to prove he’s worth keeping in the slot, and while this wasn’t vintage (albeit he assisted the winner) it was better than he’s been. 7

Lundstram:

A couple of stray passes aside, Lunny was solid. Not brilliant, but solid. He didn’t tubthump the way he can, but he was still strong enough that he mostly controlled midfield. 7

Arfield:

This was probably the most ineffective performance we’ve seen from Scotty in years. His contribution amounted to a couple of shots, one of which did lead to the second goal, so technically that’s an assist, but nevertheless he can have way more influence than he did tonight. 6

Kent:

Fantastic first 20 minutes, was dragging Union all over the place, but they got wise to him and suffocated him. Thereafter he got frustrated and gave the ball away increasingly. He is such a damaging player, that it took effectively 3 men to snuff him out. That’s a compliment. 6

Lawrence:

This was Lawrence’s time to shine, and he announced himself in the shirt brilliantly. Comfortably man of the match, the former Derby man dominated the middle and most plays went through him. He looked like he’s been at this level for years, rather than the rookie he is. Excellent night from him. 9

Tillman:

Bright start but faded and became jaded, drifting in and out. Nearly cost a penalty with a dreadfully naïve challenge, but it was all forgiven when he headed in the winner. He’ll learn a lot, and he’s still young, but the talent is obvious. 7

Colak:

Boy did he earn his goal. He’s been making runs constantly not being picked up, and he never stops working. But this time right place right time and now he has two for the season. 8

Subs:

Matondo:

Looked brighter with this cameo, and will want to keep this up and prove his place in the side again. 6

Davies:

Just brought on to save a red card on Sands. Hard to really judge him at all.

Alfie:

Looked rusty at this kind of level – some good runs but a little lacking in the sharpness to make the right decision with it. He will get that back. 6

Kamara:

Just shoring things up with little time left. 5

Manager:

Gio sprung major surprises here – he had been expected to start McGregor and Davis, but both were on the bench and there was a shock start for Ryan Kent, who wasn’t expected to be fit at all. But unfortunately his side was unable to penetrate in the first half, and for all the possession, there was no cutting edge. A gift of a penalty changed the whole game, and the side looked a bit better in the second, albeit no changes at the turnaround. But the equaliser settled everyone and the subs freshened it up, especially Morelos and Matondo. Overall he had a good night – his mandate was the playoffs and he got that with a clean sheet. Everyone is happy. 8