“Cruising – 8” – Rangers players rated v Dundee Utd | OneFootball

In its long-awaited return, Ibrox Noise offers our match ratings after a desperately-needed three points in Dundee, at a venue which offered a tricky banana skin.

Here’s our numbers:

Butland:

We won’t dress anything up, he was not great. Utd offered little threat to Rangers’ goal, the biggest threat was our own goalie! Been off colour since March, and his kicking was poor. Looked shaky and in truth hasn’t been the August-March Butland for a very long time. Gets a (very) generous 6 because we won.

Tavernier:

Had a lot in his mind to deal with but with 8 defensive contributions and a few crosses, he will be happy enough with how he played. Got a lot less of the ball than normal, and it seemed to be a continuation of his recent tactical switch by Clement. Which appears to be having a solid effect. 7

Souttar:

Big, dominant and comfortable with the ball, Souttar had a solid match including 9 clearances. Nothing fazed him and he was cruising in this one. 8

Propper:

Doesn’t have everyone convinced, and it’s mainly because he was playing a weirdly deep role behind Souttar which would be playing Utd onside a lot. Got the same amount of the ball as his partner, but did a lot less as a defender. Just like Goldson used to. Didn’t come forward like his predecessor did. 6

Jefte:

To give this lad his due, this was a solid outing, his best as a LB at this club. Plenty of defending, tonnes of advanced crossing, he got more of the ball than Tav and did more overall. He was solid and Utd got nothing on his side. 8

Barron:

Subdued – doesn’t connect well at all with Dio, and we didn’t see the usual energy from him. Lots of pointing at folk and space from him, but he did work hard as a defensive unit and made some interventions. Isn’t sparkling quite as much at the moment as he did in the first few matches. 6

Diomande:

Still fail to see what this guy brings – he has no impact, defensively doesn’t offer a lot and attack-wise he’s quiet. Barely on the ball given his position. Withdrawn. 5

Dowell:

Zero clue what he was doing on the right when Ross McCausland was on the bench, he was there to fill in for Cerny and was no more than ‘adequate’ – got just 36 touches. Was taken off at 72. 5

Lawrence:

The funny part about Lawrence is he continues to have generally no impact on matches yet his excellent goal won the thing! Had a few good shots, but just isn’t a playmaker who creates and dictates. But it has to be an 8 for the winner.

Cortes:

Poor – shouldn’t have started (what is Clement’s issue with this guy) and was below par – kept forgetting to cover Jefte which didn’t help, and his lack of match sharpness was clear. Removed at HT. 5

Dessers:

Worked hard, but a lot of moaning and complaining when he should have just been getting on with his job. But he did score the assist for Lawrence, albeit does that count? Only had 20 touches and was taken off for Igamane. 6

Subs (selected):

Bajrami:

Put out on his weaker LW position so wasn’t able to have his preferred impact on the game, wasn’t in the match enough but hard to judge when a new player makes his debut in his weaker position. Clearly worked hard. 5

Igamane:

Looks a strong boy, looks capable, has a nice touch, saw a good through ball for Lawrence and generally appeared a lot more up with the tempo than Clement had suggested. Some are calling for him to start. Time will tell. 7

Manager:

Clement put out another weird XI which made little sense, and but for a fine individual run from Tom Lawrence, may have struggled to find the net. The lack of urgency after the goal was poor, and the team didn’t seem half as interested at that point. But it saw the match out even if management was maybe a bit questionable. 6