Beyond The Score

Previous to Wednesday night’s qualifier, optimism was low among the Rangers faithful. A rebuild which saw eleven departures and ten arrivals got off to the direst possible start with an opening-day loss at Rugby Park. It’s only natural that with so many new faces and a different style of football, apprehension will follow. In times of change at any club, it’s important to stick together, but also show signs of genuine progression. With a midweek tie against Swiss side Servette just a matter of days later, Rangers couldn’t afford to dwell though and instead had to dust themselves off and start their continental campaign.

The Shape

In that clash with Killie, Rangers adopted their new 4-3-1-2 system. A winger-less system relies on quick interchanging of positions, vast amounts of midfield energy, and an abundance of attacking intent from your fullbacks as they create all your width. Yet Rangers lacked in all those departments as a lethargic display left them pointless on the opening weekend.
Beale stuck by his guns by employing a similar system on Wednesday night. Dowell and Lundstram were replaced by Cantwell and Jack while Danilo replaced Sima. Instead of playing alongside Dessers as Sima did on Saturday, the Brazilian played slightly to the left of a narrow front three including Lammers. It was reminiscent of the setup of Steven Gerrard’s Rangers a couple of seasons ago.
Although later on when Sima replaced Danilo Rangers reverted back to playing two strikers up top. It’s evident Beale will look to use both assets in different roles. Servette went for a more open 4-4-2 system that would play into Rangers’ hands in dominating possession and carving openings

The left hand side

Much of Beale’s men’s attacking intent came down their left-hand side. Firstly it came down to individuals playing to their strengths. Goldson would play long more than left-sided Souttar. It was the Scot who was more progressive in possession and played a crucial role in Rangers second of the night. Moreso it was Todd Cantwell who made the difference. Jack and Raskin provide discipline however lack the ability of Cantwell in the final third. As his heat map displays (bottom-left), he was making himself available for the ball everywhere on that left-hand side and providing great linkage and energy. It made you wonder if Beale’s decision to leave him out at the weekend was a major mistake, even if the Ibrox side were afforded much more space.

This is where Servette deserve some credit. It was clear that they had done their homework regarding Tavernier. While Barasic made 15 crosses all night, Tavernier was limited to just eight. Even with the Englishman getting a goal, it was a penalty that came from a moment of absolute madness.

A sloppy second half

Going into the second half Rangers two-one lead was made even more comfortable as David Douline’s late challenge on Cantwell got him dismissed from a second yellow. It seemed as though a dominant Rangers side facing a depleted Servette side while it was eleven v eleven would wipe the floor against ten men. Yet that proved to be far from the case. It’s schoolboy knowledge that while having an extra man you play the ball that bit quicker and run your opponents off their feet. Yet, the disappointing reality for Rangers was that the tempo remained unchanged as did the game plan. Lammers fashioned a couple of chances as did Dessers and Sima but in the end, it was a comfortable half for the Swiss Super League runners-up.

It’s not unusual among Servette either. In their previous qualifier they were behind Genk three times and just at the weekend they resurrected from two-nil behind to salvage a point. Defensive resilience and goalkeeping exploits mean the tie now hangs in the balance.

The fact remains though, these are performances that don’t fill you with confidence for this new-look Rangers side. As mentioned Beale may look to bring back a style of football which was present during Gerrard’s tenure, with a severe lack of pace though, you wonder if it’s plausable.

At times yesterday had the resemblance of a pre-season match and a real lack of quality against a side who have eight absences and endured a man less simply doesn’t cut it. If Champions League football has any chance of returning to Ibrox vast improvements must be made ahead of a probable tie against PSV.

Straight after the match, Michael Beale said “We started really well in the game, I thought our energy was good in and out of possesion. The desire form Niko and Todd for the first goal to chase a couple of lost causes down was fantastic. I thought (later on) we were wasteful. WE couldve gone three nil in front. In the second half their keeper makes a lot of fantastic saves. We had other moments which we were wasteful on a night in which we played well in my opinion for long periods of time.”

Next up for Rangers is a home tie against Livingston where picking up their first three points of the campaign is a necessity.