Rangers faced off against Hamilton Academical at the HopeCBD Stadium hoping to build on their 2-1 win over Hibernian in midweek. Steven Gerrard’s men dominated from the get-go and took the lead in the 25th minute when Scott Arfield scored the rebound after missing his penalty.
Lewis Smith equalised for Hamilton just 13 minutes later, much to the delight of the home supporters. However, Brian Rice was forced to make all three of his substitutions in the first half after three Hamilton players had to come off the field with injuries.
The Ibrox outfit made a strong start after the half-time break and made the most of their chances as they broke the deadlock again when Joe Aribo scored in the 68th minute. Alfredo Morelos joined the party when he found the back of the net with his header in the 85th minute before Scott Arfield put the icing on the cake with a powerful right-footed finish from outside the box. The contest ended with Gerrard’s Rangers side securing a comfortable 4-1 win on the road and thus, booking a place in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.
Let’s take a look at how each Rangers player performed during the match against Hamilton.
GK: Allan McGregor – 6/10
He will be disappointed after being beaten by Lewis Smith’s low finish into the bottom-left corner. However, McGregor did enough throughout the remainder of the contest to see out the win.
RB: James Tavernier – 6/10
The Gers skipper committed some cheap fouls but was a constant threat down the right flank. However, he squandered a couple of decent opportunities as his attempts weren’t good enough to beat Luke Southwood in the Hamilton goal.
CB: Connor Goldson – 6/10
The Gers centre-back got into some trouble when he handled the ball while trying to block a cross. Fortunately for Goldson, the referee failed to spot his offence, and he ended up helping his side see out the victory.
CB: George Edmundson – 5/10
He lost track of Hamilton’s Ogkmpoe who set up Smith’s goal in the 38th minute. Edmundson needs to work on improving his concentration if he wants to nail down a starting eleven place in Gerrard’s side.
LB: Borna Barisic – 5/10
The Croatian defender got into a real mess when he failed to stop Ogkmpoe from delivering an inviting pass to Smith, who made no mistake with his finish. He had to go off with an injury in the second half.
CM: Scott Arfield – 9/10
The Canadian midfield missed a penalty but kept his calm to give his team the lead when he scored from the rebound. However, his second goal was a thing of beauty as he smashed home with a stunning late long-range strike. There is no denying him the man of the match award today.
CM: Glen Kamara – 8/10
The Rangers midfielder made a terrific interception towards the latter stages of the first half which once again proved his incredible value at the heart of the Gers midfield.
CM: Ianis Hagi – 8/10
After a match-winning performance against Hibernian in midweek, he put in another outstanding display today. Hagi came close to scoring but failed to hit the target with his header. He was later denied by Southwood but did manage to create some decent openings from midfield.
RM: Joe Aribo – 7/10
He kept his cool to help his side retake the lead with a decisive second goal in the 68th minute. Aribo worked hard and did well to join in on the attack, which ultimately was enough to breakdown the Accies defence.
ST: Alfredo Morelos – 8/10
Morelos added another goal to his Ibrox collection with a lethal header in the 85th minute. He did well to keep his confidence levels up even when he was penalised for several fouls in the opposition half.
LM: Ryan Kent – 7.5/10
Kent got a well-deserved assist when he set-up Aribo with an excellent pass in the 68th minute. The former Liverpool winger had a good day as he orchestrated some decent openings in the final third.
Substitutes:
CM: Andy Halliday – 5/10
He committed a couple of bad fouls and got cautioned for his troubles.
CM: Steven Davis – 6/10
His right-footed attempt from outside the box got blocked. He was not as effective as Hagi.
ST: Greg Stewart – 7/10
The Stirling-born forward’s shot got deflected into Morelos’ path who scored with his header.
