Manchester United 2-1 Rangers: Schoolboy defending

Morning all, that was a tough one to take last night wasn't it? Rangers slipped to a late defeat at Old Trafford after a spirited performance punctuated by even more injuries to an already depleted squad.

It felt harsh after the team had hung in there for so long. I'll talk through the game shortly, but there was only surprise in the line-up for me, Jack Butland returning immediately to starting duties. I neglected to mention he was fit again, but I had assumed given our improvements in building from the back since Kelly's forced introduction, he'd keep his place at least initially.

The game got underway slowly, with both teams feeling their way into the game. United displayed a bit of the caution that I hinted at pre match, but they had no problems finding Garnacho on our right hand side. On the left, Jefte had plenty of protection with Ridvan in front of him, Tav was not as lucky. Time and time again in the first half United managed to get on the outside and double up on Tavernier. I think the skipper could have done better one on one, but this was clearly a tactical issue, Barron was struggling to cover the space on that side and also watch his man in midfield. On the other side Raskin, Jefte and Ridvan formed a tight triangle out of possession and were relatively untroubled by the movement on that side. I believe Clement would have felt it was a tactical risk worth taking by leaving Cerny higher up to attack the space in transition.

Of the opening exchanges I'd say we certainly had the better changes. Raskin went through one on one after a great run from deep but couldn't get the ball out his feet. Ridvan met a great Tav pass on the volley but his effort was straight at Bayindir.

The moment of interest in the first half was a De Ligt header from a United corner that found the back of the net but was disallowed for a foul on Balogun by Lenny Yoro. It was a very soft foul and had a Rangers goal been disallowed for the same I'd be fuming. But if the corner had come in and not led to a goal, the foul wouldn't have been questioned. How many times do you see a corner and the ref blow for a foul before it makes it into the box? This is just a natural consequence of the sometimes soft approach that refs take to fouls on corners.

We ended the half under a bit of duress from United and I was glad to hear the half time whistle. But given the gap in quality/cost of the squads we'd held our own well enough. Maintaining that was made harder by the two enforced substitutions at half time.

Both Barron and Balogun had gone down shortly before half time, but had carried on. I was certainly hoping at least one of them would be able to pull through, having seen the sparse options on the bench. Neither of them made it, Bailey Rice and Ross McCausland were introduced and a serious shuffle was necessary.

So the second half got underway with Ridvan moving to right back and Tav to centre back. Every time I see Tavernier playing centre back, all I can think of is when Gio was the manager and we played Dundee United at home. We won 1-0 in the end but it was so bloody wet and miserable. From kick off our backline had Tav at centre back alongside Goldson with Patterson and Bassey as the full backs. We then kicked off, hit one long ball and immediately moved Tav to right back, Patterson to left back and Bassey moving inside one. However, now we are forced to deploy Tav at centre back unironically.

I understand Clement looking to keep the more experienced players on. But our left side had looked like a very strong unit. I know he really hates him, but could Leon King have been a better option? Straight swap, rather than changing 3 positions to replace 1 player. Tavernier, to his credit, had a great second half as a centre back given the circumstances.

Ridvan had less of a great time at right back. He looked incredibly insecure in possession and I think Rice struggled to support him given his lack of first team exposure and the pattern of the game.

Soon that was the least of our problems as another United corner caused us issues. This time the issue was Butland deciding to punch the ball into his own net. 1-0 down and a really really cheap goal to concede.

Our squad would soon be even more stretched as Vaclav Cerny went down holding his hamstring. As one of the few good players in this team, Cerny is a real loss. Fresh off his first team debut at the weekend, Findlay Curtis was introduced to play on the right.

It was a struggle after that, and I don't think there's anyone you can blame(the medical team?). Most of the line-up now contained 3rd/4th choice options so you can only hope for some heart to be shown, and we definitely saw that.

Bajrami had really struggled in the second half, out of possession he'd become a net negative and in possession he wasn't exactly popping off either. Dessers was introduced for him and we went for a slightly more compact 442 shape.

Cyriel Dessers did what Cyriel Dessers does. He showed for the ball constantly, tried to find teammates first time and lost the ball. He followed up great touches with bizarre decision making. And then he scored an absolutely fantastic equaliser.

Tavernier played a long ball into the United box, Harry Maguire misjudged it and Dessers was alive to the chance. He took the ball down, swivelled and found the bottom corner with a smashing strike from his left foot. Thierry Henry esque, and I never thought I'd be saying that about Cyriel Dessers.

We deserved the equaliser for digging in for so long. A point would have been a fantastic result given the circumstances. So it's typical of the way things are going that we sat off and let a cross come into the box under no pressure. Jefte completely switched off, Bruno Fernandes got beyond him and finished easily.

Losing 1-0 would have been far easier. Getting back into the game late on and throwing it away feels so much worse. I'm very proud of the performance of the team though, it's been a horrific season overall, but seeing that there's still players who want to fight for the shirt is very refreshing.

Bailey Rice was one such player. He over reached and rushed his first touch, blasted his next one over the bar and then looked unflustered on every occasion afterwards. If we have lost Connor Barron for a spell, there's no reason that Bailey Rice shouldn't be our midfield deputy. His general composure was impressive, but he also managed to create a great chance for Dessers who was fractionally offside. In a way he actually looked better last night than he did against Fraserburgh, football is a funny old game like that.

This was a really costly defeat given the injuries to the already depleted squad. We're in a great position to qualify well, but top 8 might be a stretch now.

Jack Butland made some great saves last night, there's no doubt that his shot stopping edges out Liam Kelly. But I thought our struggles playing out from the back made it clear that if we move Butland on in summer, a keeper who is skilled with his feet should be the priority.

That's my only point of criticism for now, don't want to be too harsh on the team last night. Hope everyone has a good day and stays safe out there given the weather warning.