A defeat to Celtic earlier this afternoon opened up the title race for Rangers who hosted Hamilton Academical at Ibrox in an evening encounter. The Gers had a golden opportunity to get back to winning ways and close the gap at the top of Premiership standings despite Celtic’s sheer dominance. The Accies, struggling to stay up in the top flight tried their best to cause an upset. But the game was decided in early minutes when Daniel Candeias found the net as it ended 1-0 in favour of the hosts.
Below are the Rangers players rated in their narrow win against Hamilton Academical.
Allan McGregor: 7
Was not troubled due to the Accies lack of threats upfront. A comfortable clean sheet for Scotland ‘number 1’ after a difficult set of games in past couple of weeks.
James Tavernier: 7.5
Was instrumental with his excellent crosses from the right flank and kept on contributing in Rangers’ attack. Often made cut insides and created many chances to threaten then opponents’ backline.
Connor Goldson: 7
Did not see much contest from the Accies who barely made openings and found it comfortable alongside veteran McAuley in their deep defensive line.
Gareth McAuley: 7.5
The 39-year-old Northern Irishman is still going strong and has secured a regular role in Gerrard’s defensive set-up. Did well to organise the shape from the back and used his experience well to defend a narrow lead.
Borna Barisic: 7.5
Kept on making overlapping runs and combined well with Eros Grezda down the left.
Ross McCrorie: 7
The youngster slotted in well in a deeper midfield role and kept on breaking down opponents’ moves whenever they were trying to build something up from this difficult tie. Was replaced by Glenn Middleton minutes before the hour mark.
Ryan Jack: 7.5
Did not have much pressure from the Accies midfield which allowed him enough space to operate almost like a ‘number 10’. Pulled strings from behind and kept the ball rolling in the middle of the park with his tireless runs.
Scott Arfield: 7
Was threatening with his movements and also created a number of chances to trouble the visitors. Kept on switching his position and enjoyed his game while orchestrating from a free role.
Daniel Candeias: 8
His early strike restored the Gers top of the table spot for the time being. Was denied by custodian Gary Woods later on who kept the tie alive with a series of breathtaking saves. Got replaced by Andy Halliday late in the game.
Eros Grezda: 7
Was menacing down the left and also played his part in the build-up to Candeias’ early strike. Made the goalkeeper work and often used his pace to beat past the backline.
Kyle Lafferty: 7.5
Was unlucky to hit the woodwork in the early seconds. Had his contribution in Candeias’ goal but got denied by Woods repeatedly who stopped the big Northern Irishman from finding the net.
Substitutes
Glenn Middleton: 6
Added more firepower in Rangers’ attack but failed to stretch the lead in spite of creating a few chances upfront.
Andy Halliday: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
