Rangers F.C., the Scottish heavyweights, had revamped their squad this season in order to restore their lost pride and lock horns with bitter rivals Celtic F.C. who are favourites to grab their seventh successive league title and still unbeaten in domestic competitions since Brendan Rodgers took charge last summer. Pedro Caixinha, the current Gers boss, however, suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat against the Hoops last weekend at Ibrox but was determined to constitute a comeback this gameweek against Hamilton Academical who suffered three consecutive defeats in the league ahead of their home fixture against the Glasgow giants at SuperSeal Stadium.
The Accies started the game brightly as they scored within 60 seconds of the game, but Rangers hit back soon and eventually secured a comfortable 4-1 win despite being a man down for the majority of the second half. With Kenny Miller being dropped from the squad, anything less than 3 points might very well have ended Caixinha’s reign at Rangers.
Below are the Rangers FC players rated from their win against Hamilton Academical.
Wesley Foderingham: 9
The custodian was unlucky as he could have done little to prevent Danny Redmond’s early goal. But he did extremely well to deny the midfielder from scoring his second with a fine diving save late in the first half.
Foderingham’s best was yet to come as he pulled off a sensational diving stop to deny Rakish Bingham’s second-half spot-kick after Botti Bia-Bi was brought down inside the box by Ross McCrorie. He denied Steven Boyd with a point-blank save minutes later and proved to be the match-winner for the visitors despite the flattering scoreline for Rangers.
James Tavernier: 6.5
Participated in attacking movements down the right-hand flank as he combined well with Candeias and whipped in few crosses.
Fabio Cardoso: 8
The Portuguese centre-back shook off early shambles and delivered a steady display despite being a man down for the majority of the second-half.
Ross McCrorie: 7
The youngster was handed another start in the heart of Rangers’ backline alongside Cardoso following his impressive display against Celtic last week and the 19-year-old centre-back impressed once again with a calm, composed and balanced defensive display. However, he was little clumsy in the second half and fouled Botti Bia-Bi inside the box which resulted in a spot-kick. But keeper Foderingham came to rescue as he pulled off a spectacular diving stop to deny Bingham.
Declan John: 9
The Cardiff City loanee missed out the Old Firm derby due to injury concerns but returned with a stellar show tonight as he netted twice in the first half and single-handedly turned the game around in Rangers’ favour. His crossing was impressive along with overlap runs that caused a constant threat in the Accies defence.
Daniel Candeias: 8
Candeias explored the right-hand flank alongside Tavernier and his movements inside the Accies box often caused troubles for the hosts. Candeias netted Rangers’ third of the night by sending the ball into the bottom left corner after the ball broke to him on the edge of the box. Was taken off in closing seconds to be replaced by Dalcio.
Ryan Jack: 5
Jack was decent in the first half but two careless second-half bookings within 7 minutes led him to leave the pitch and brought the Gers down to ten-man. His recklessness could have cost his side big time once again.
Graham Dorrans: 8.5
The veteran Scotsman set up Declan John’s opener and also played his part in Candeias’ goal. He was even more functional following Jack’s departure and took the scoreline beyond the Accies’ reach by calmly slotting home from the spot in the second half after substitute Jason Holt was brought down inside Hamilton’s box.
Josh Windass: 7
Windass darted forward with his pace, tricky runs, and dribble. He set up John’s second of the night and himself came close to finding the back of the net in the early minutes of the game. Was quiet in the second half particularly after Ryan Jack’s departure as he had to cover a lot of ground in the middle of the park to keep control of the game.
Carlos Pena: 5
Pena started behind Morelos tonight but failed to make any noteworthy contribution. Was clumsy while making challenges and was shown a yellow in the early minutes of the game. His goal was ruled out as he was judged to have handled the ball inside the box and Caixinha did not waste any time to replace him with Jason Holt to avoid further damage following Jack’s red card.
Alfredo Morelos: 6
Morelos has been in flying form for his new side but did not offer much tonight upfront. Played a few decent one-twos but looked isolated since the Gers were down to ten-man. Was taken off in the second half and was replaced by Eduardo Herrera.
Substitutes
Jason Holt: 7
Holt came on in place of Pena and earned a spot-kick within minutes of his arrival which was converted by veteran Dorrans. Did well to keep things calm in the middle of the park alongside his fellow countryman.
Eduardo Herrera: 5.5
The Mexican offered physicality upfront to keep the Accies backline engaged.
Dalcio: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
