Rangers 4-0 Ross County: Passable demolition

Morning all, Rangers stuck 4 past Ross County without reply yesterday. It was an interesting performance from a Rangers point of view.

On one hand the scoreline is a fair reflection of the match. Barring a Butland save from a corner and a dangerous first half set piece that whistled past the box, the Staggies created nothing of note.

Rangers had plenty of the ball and were good value for all 4 goals.

The sources of the goals make for slightly dimmer reading, a rebound from a shot from distance, a deflected free kick, a corner and a penalty.

But I think it's good to credit the team for getting the ball across the line in different ways. There was a clear tactic to get behind Ross County with long diagonal passes from Nsiala and Souttar (one such pass from the former lead to the first goal). County struggled to deal with movement on the outside of their fullbacks and for most of the first half struggled to adjust to meet this threat from Rangers.

Indeed, both wide men had alot of luck 1v1 with their respective defenders. I thought we'd see quite a few more goals from these situations. But really it only brought the first. It's often the most crucial goal in games against a deep block.

Cerny's spilled shot after coming inside had been gobbled up swiftly by Ianis Hagi. The Romanian was in good form all day. His movement inside allowed space for Jefte to attack the outside and Nsiala was keen to oblige with some good passing to find the Brazilian. He continually popped up in the box to meet crosses and cut backs, although often found his efforts blocked. And it was his deflected free kick that found it's way into the back of the County net for our second goal of the afternoon.

From a statistical perspective he had 5 key passes, 32 passes with an 89% accuracy, 5 ground duels won and of course 2 goals.

After the second goal it looked like the scoreline could have been anything by 90 minutes. Souttar finished like a striker at the back post after a Raskin flicked header found it's way to the Scotsman making his 80th Rangers appearance.

I was excited for the second half, we'd had our just rewards from our patient play and focussed tactical approach. It seemed like a great time to rack up the goal difference.

Bailey Rice was introduced for Diomande at half time. This only added to my excitement. I've enjoyed the glimpses we've seen of the youngster and this seemed a great chance to showcase his ability.

We seemed to pick up where we left off in the second half. Rice nearly had his first Rangers goal from a Hagi cut back. Igamane had a shot blocked after some good play on the edge of the area. Souttar added a 4th from a corner that was chalked off for offside.

And that was really all that happened for a long time. It was hard to tell if it was a result of anything the Staggies did, or maybe the loss of Diomande in midfield for Rangers.

We suddenly struggled to create even a half chance. The long balls from Souttar and Nsiala found no one but the County keeper. Any approach towards the opposition area seemed slow and ponderous. Maybe it was the midweek exertions taking effect and Clement probably wasn't too displeased to see the tempo slowed as a result. Last thing we want to see is another injury, especially when the game is already wrapped up.

Souttar's minutes continue to be managed as Propper was introduced for him at the 60th minute. We also saw the return of Tom Lawrence and a Rangers debut for Rafael Fernandes. None of these moves really added to the excitement. Bajrami was introduced for Hagi and created nothing, in keeping with the tone of the second half.

There was time to add a fourth through a well-taken James Tavernier penalty after Dessers was wiped out in the box.

Overall I don't have many complaints about the game. Credit to the players for getting the goals in the first half. It was disappointing to see the tempo drop so much in the second half, but I think given the effort on Thursday it's probably understandable. 3 points and no midweek game for the first time in a while should allow some good rest time for the squad. Hopefully there's time for some more transfer dealings too.

Nothing to report aside from that, have a good week everyone.