Rangers 5-0 Fraserburgh: Nice one, Cyriel x 3

Morning everyone, Rangers beat Fraserburgh by 5 goals to nil yesterday. It's a scoreline that looks harsh on the Highland League side given the first half. But Rangers deserve credit for taking the chances that came our way.

The lineup was disappointing in some ways. Lovelace and Mason Munn getting a start was great to see. But Bailey Rice being omitted for Diomande felt a bit pointless. Yes Diomande is suspended for Thursday, but why not just give him an even longer rest?

Aside from that, Dessers returned to the lineup to give Igamane a rest. And the first half was a typical Dessers game. He ought to have put us one up after a McCausland cut back found him inside the 6 yard box with the goal at his mercy. But he tried to get over the bouncing ball and completely miscued the finish, sending it far away from goal.

We'd started the game quite well and moved the ball quickly to get in behind Fraserburgh. But I think that miss killed our momentum a little. What certainly didn't help us get back on track was the attitude and approach of a few players. I don't want to mention too many individuals but I was particularly disappointed in Bajrami, he might have one eye on Thursday's game but I don't think his approach and desire met the minimum levels I'd expect from a Rangers player in any game. It's easy enough to talk about the level of opposition, do we need to be at 100% to beat them? No. Does that mean a few players should be taking it easy so other players have to pick up the slack? Also no.

Despite the poor levels overall in the first half, we got the lead courtesy of a fine Dessers header from a corner. He evaded his marker well and kept the header low. It was a lead we probably deserved given our share of possession. However I don't think we really looked like adding to it as the half went on. Jefte continually found himself in behind with the ball at his feet, but the lack of movement in the middle meant he was aimlessly blasting the ball into the box for it to be cleared.

The scariest thing about the level of performance in the first half, was that we could have been going in level at half time. Mason Munn, our 18 year old debutant, had started well on the ball with a few slick balls into midfield and a willingness to help us build from the back. This confidence led to a sloppy first time ball that could only find Scott Barbour inside our own third. He drove forward and tried to find his teammate at the back post, the ball drifted through Munn's legs and out for a goal kick. This was thanks to a Propper deflection which the referee and officials missed at the time.

It was a scare, and a scare we probably deserved given the approach in the first half. I wonder if that helped inform Clement's team talk, the last thing he would want to see is us letting a lead slip against such lowly opposition, given the pressure he's under.

We started the second half with a bit more enthusiasm, Bajrami in particular. We were at least more serious about getting shots away in and around the box, which was progress on the ponderous play at times in the first half. Our second goal came from one of these shots.

A clever Tavernier back heel found Bajrami in the box, he recognised that he wouldn't get a shot away through a crowded box and slid the ball across nicely for Clinton Nsiala to arrive and get his first goal for Rangers (via a large deflection). 2-0 and the game took on a different pattern with the Fraserburgh heads dropping, they stayed organised but definitely started thinking about the final whistle at that point.

The third goal arrived quickly after with McCausland finding Bajrami between the lines in the box, his touch took him slightly wide and his pass across found Cyriel Dessers. Who took his time after an awkward first touch to sit the defender down before slotting home.

3-0 with about 30 minutes to go signalled the arrival of a few more young guns. Findlay Curtis and Bailey Rice were introduced for Zak Lovelace and Mohammed Diomande. It was great to see Curtis given a chance to impress. What was confusing was the third substitution as Ridvan was introduced for Propper with Tavernier coming inside to play centre half. This seemed absolutely bizarre to me, Leon King was introduced later on, but why not just bring him on then? Clearly, Philippe Clement is no fan of Kings, at this point it wouldn't surprise me if he's taken down the royal portrait in the dressing room just in case there's any relation to the 20 year old.

Curtis and Rice really looked up for the game, as you'd expect from 2 players getting their chance in a game of this nature. Curtis consistently found space on the left by coming inside, he had a few nice efforts that could have ended up in the back of the net on another day. Rice showed his composure on the ball in midfield, unflustered by the admittedly tired press of Fraserburgh. I'd be happy for both to get more minutes given winning the league is essentially a write off at this stage.

Curtis was heavily involved in the fourth goal of the match, his brilliant reverse ball found Dessers in behind. The Nigerian striker played a great low cross for Ross McCausland to arrive and get his third goal of the season. Although I don't think any of us thought McCausland was an unbelievable talent when he became involved in the first team last season, it's still disappointing to see how limited his impact has been this season. I think, like many, he's suffered due to the inconsistent selection and tactical approach from the Manager.

There was still time for Dessers to miss another presentable chance, prompting me to message my friend saying "He will never get his Rangers hat trick". Only for our number 9 to pop up a few minutes with a composed finish after taking the ball round the keeper.

5-0 and it was deserved given the second half performance. It's quite poor that we needed to "lift it" given the standard of opposition. But I'll try not to focus too much on the negatives.

It was great to see some of the young players and I think Bailey Rice should really get some minutes, or at the very least we should loan him out for the second half of the season. He's outgrown youth football and it's easy to see how that can cause a career to stagnate when it's not backed up by senior minutes, you only need to look at Leon King as an example.

The manager was effusive at the performances of the young players and was quick to mention they are the future of the club. I think that's the main takeaway from today, some of these players really could have an impact in future, you can never tell who at this stage though.

So that was that, congratulations to the women's team too, they put Celtic to the sword in the league cup semi-final. Have a good week everyone, back on Thursday against what looks like a truly terrible United team, what could go wrong?