Celtic’s triumph over Motherwell this afternoon must have put Rangers under little pressure ahead of hosting Hamilton Academical at Ibrox. They were hoping to restore the nine-point cushion at the top of the Premiership standings but, at the same time, were cautious having suffered a shocking home defeat towards the closure of the previous campaign.
The Gers bottled a commanding lead this midweek against ten-man Benfica but responded exquisitely on Sunday afternoon with a comprehensive 8-0 win over the bottom-placed Accies.
Below are the Rangers players rated from their thumping 8-0 win against Hamilton Accies.
Jon McLaughlin: 7
Was brought in action in place of Allan Mcgregor. The former Hearts custodian enjoyed his time between the sticks as he was rarely tested and had little trouble in keeping yet another clean-sheet.
James Tavernier: 9
The skipper was spot on with his cross which was headed home by Kemar Roofe to earn the hosts a 2-0 lead. Was denied by Ryan Fulton minutes after the break but added to his stunning scoring tally later on when he converted from the spot after Jermain Defoe was brought down by Hakeem Odoffin inside the box. The in-form right fullback added yet another a few minutes later to make it 8-0.
Connor Goldson: 7.5
Was rarely troubled by Marios Ogkmpoe or David Moyo. Missed a scoring opportunity in the early seconds but that did not bother the Bears as they went on to score 8 times and ran riot in the Accies defence.
Leon Balogun: 7.5
Dominated both aerially as well as physically and played his part in building the game up from the deep with his passing and distributing traits. Similar to Goldson and McLaughlin, the Nigerian had a comfortable afternoon.
Borna Barisic: 7
Played his part in the build-ups from the left-hand flank and enjoyed his time on the pitch before making way for Calvin Bassey early in the second half.
Ryan Jack: 7
Never allowed the visitors to control the midfield game. Dominated possession and kept on switching the play down the wide to stretch the Hamilton set-up. Was taken off to be replaced by Bongani Zungu early in the second half.
Joe Aribo: 8.5
Has been in flying form since returning from his injury. Found the net twice inside the first-half, out of which one was deflected but the other one was the outcome of some outstanding build-up play. Was taken off midway through the second half to make way for Ianis Hagi.
Scott Arfield: 8
Was a doubt before the clash but broke the deadlock early on after some outrageous build-up by Jermain Defoe and Ryan Kent. Assisted Aribo’s first and kept on creating chances before being replaced by Cedric Itten around the 74th-minute mark.
Kemar Roofe: 9
Found a place in the starting XI and made his presence known with a smart header to convert Tavernier’s cross. Set it up for Aribo to score his second, also doubled his own tally to make it 5-0 within ten minutes after the break.
Ryan Kent: 7.5
Played his part in Arfield’s opener and was a persistent threat with his pace, power and directness from the left-hand flank. Was taken off to be replaced by Brandon Barker just before the hour mark.
Jermain Defoe: 8
Played build up in the opener, assisted Barker in the second half, also drew a penalty which was calmly slotted home by Tavernier. Hit the woodwork late in the game but surprisingly could not score a goal in the Light Blues 8-0 triumph.
Substitutes
Calvin Bassey: 7
Enjoyed his time in the middle of the park since replacing Jack. Gerrard has got too many options to select from all across the pitch.
Bongani Zungu: 7
Was rarely tested at the back and spent his time combining with Kent and Barker down the left-hand flank.
Brandon Barker: 7.5
Found the net minutes after making way for Ryan Kent. Was composed on the ball, cut inside and whipped in crosses on a number of occasions.
Ianis Hagi: 6.5
Gametime for the Romanian too who is yet to flourish this campaign.
Cedric Itten: 6.5
Gametime for the Swiss professional too who is yet to flourish this campaign.
