Rangers experienced a nightmare first half at Rugby Park against Kilmarnock.
Derek McInnes’ men took a two-goal lead early on with to strikes from Joe Wright and Brad Lyons, leaving the Gers astonished until Vaclav Cerny pulled one back.
The Light Blues struggled defensively in their debut game under Barry Ferguson, with Clinton Nsiala sent off following a startling performance in the first half-hour.
Sutton warns Nsiala before he is hauled away
Chris Sutton, co-commentating live on Sky Sports (26 February), has hammered Rangers at various points in the first half.
Nsiala, along with defensive partner Robin Propper, received a lot of criticism, but Ferguson pulled the rookie centre-back off with less than 30 minutes left in the game in favor of Ridvan Yilmaz.
Former Celtic winger Sutton paid close attention to a conversation the referee had with Nsiala and Killie defender Lewis Mayo, who were involved in a violent fight while preparing for a home corner.
VAR authorities scrutinized Nsiala after he raised his arms at Mayo, and Sutton advised him to be cautious.
“They were fighting in the last corner, Nsiala [and Mayo]. “It’s six of one and half a dozen of the other,” he said.
“He really has got to be careful not to raise his arms here, Nsiala.”
Rangers have time to turn things around.
Rangers couldn’t have began Ferguson’s reign worse than they did at Rugby Park.
This was supposed to be a new chapter and a breath of fresh air for the fans, but many were skeptical of their famous former captain when he chose an unchanged Rangers XI from Philippe Clement’s previous selection at the weekend.
That club collapsed to a 2-0 defeat at Ibrox against St Mirren, which appeared dull until some total kamikaze defense allowed McInnes’ side to take full advantage.
However, once Rangers broke away and Cerny scored 2-1 to cut the gap in half, there was hope that they may comeback after the interval, and not just for a draw.
A tremendously open game looks to have more in store as Rangers aim to bounce back to winning ways – a big cry from their performance in the first part of this match.
Leave a Reply