Matchday Thread Rangers -V- Inverness CT

[dave26]

Well that was disappointing. We barely ventured forward first half, yawn. Seemed to play a 4-5-1 with Mckay isolated.

Second half was better but we didn't try and score until we went 1-0 down. Warren looked in line when he scored, but we never got a decision all night so wasn't surprised to see a flag.

Looked like we came for a draw, did no one tell JH this was a cup match.

[bishbashbosh]

• BBC Scotland football pundit Willie Miller

  Posted at

  21:41

  "If Inverness play as negatively as they did in the first half it's an easy night for Rangers. I was really disappointed in Caley Thistle in the first half. The centre-halves were playing far too deep. There is no pace there (in Rangers' strikeforce) to bother them. If they had pushed up to the halfway line that pushes their midfield on. You want to come here and impose yourself. They showed that at the end of the game but in the first half they surrendered."

[12th Man]

The worst guy on the pitch was the ref.

[Sneckboy]

Actually feeling optimistic about this tie. I can't find any prices yet, but I'm certain Rangers will start off as slight favourites - but I prefer that!

One slight downside - but shouldn't be too problematic, is that Hughes will have to tinker a bit with the team selection, as Shinnie and Draper (and Foran) are suspended for this game.  

 

 

Team lines show no Shinnie or Draper. Thanks to CTO Preview, the only one that showed these 2 players suspended, up yours BBC, STV, Courier, etc etc

You're absolutely right! They were STILL talking, today, about Draper being 'touch and go'! Just incredibly amateurish journalism.

I'm certainly no journalist, I just take an interest, but even I 'flagged-up' the suspensions, over a fortnight ago!!!

 

This defeat now makes a mockery of the competition as the SPFL have broken their own rules by seeding The Rangers in the last 16 and dumping Kilmarnock into the non-seeds.

No big deal going out of this second-rate competition!

[+DoofersDad]

I put us down to score in the 6th minute as it seemed clear to me that the tactic had to be up and at 'em from the start.  Very disappointing to learn it was so negative.  I'm sure the club could have done with the money and confidence a cup run brings.  Oh well, at least the double is still on.

[MuirtownJaggy]

Very negative cautious performance. We sat to deep, lacked pace and width and really should have tested thier keeper. Disappointing all round.

[wynthank15]

First time I've seen us live this year almost fell asleep in the first half. ICT were clearly concerned with the pace of Rangers wide players so not sure about Millers assessment that the centre halves should have pushed up. That said he is quite right that it would have pushed our midfield further up the park, there was little support for the ball carriers when they did manage to break beyond midfield. Their wide men also forced our full backs to play the ball into wide channels where the only player who could go for them was Mackay against a 6ft plus centre half, he is not suited to that role. On occasions we just knocked the ball into empty space. Rangers also seemed to have a policy of taking out our runners off the ball whenever a break was on. I agree with 12th man the referee was appalling one of the worst homers I've seen. That said we got what we deserved which was nothing.It was clear Rangers had done their homework on our style of play.

Turgid best describes tonight's match, the winners were those that stayed away.No disrespect to those loyal fans who made the journey from Inverness and beyond.

[alternative maryhill]

 

• BBC Scotland football pundit Willie Miller

  Posted at

  21:41

  "If Inverness play as negatively as they did in the first half it's an easy night for Rangers. I was really disappointed in Caley Thistle in the first half. The centre-halves were playing far too deep. There is no pace there (in Rangers' strikeforce) to bother them. If they had pushed up to the halfway line that pushes their midfield on. You want to come here and impose yourself. They showed that at the end of the game but in the first half they surrendered."

 

 

Miller may have a speaking voice that could send a statue to sleep, but he's pretty much spot on with his analysis here. It's all very well being composed in your own half, but unless there's an ability to change pace, make space for passes and take players on in the final third, then you won't create chances and you'll give the opposition confidence. That's what happened tonight. Rangers were far from fluent, but they were able to cause us far more problems than we caused them. It's frustrating, because we were creating real chances and controlling play against the likes of Motherwell and Hamilton, and after we went behind tonight, we did have some really dangerous pressure; just too little, too late. It's not a particularly disastrous result, but hopefully it's one, like the weekend game at Firhill, that the management can use to make us more clinical going forward.

 

On a side note, there was a properly nasty atmosphere among some of the Rangers supporters tonight - first time I've witnessed genuine violence (as opposed to posturing) outside the ground.

[Sneckboy]

"genuine violence"? What happened? Fighting? Bottles being thrown?

[lukemackay]

The worst part about losing to that mob is that all the Inverness based stay at home sevco fans will be giving it big licks tomorrow, in work, and schools everywhere.

In saying that. I watched the game on a stream. (couldn't make it as i was working.) and we were dreadful. Just didn't show up at all. Sat too deep. Didn't keep the ball well enough, and we just didn't penetrate!

[WYNESS101]

what happened to the supporters bus? saw the police talking to a few members of the bus

 

i was walking to my car and i passed two cars with both side windows smashed due to them having YES sticks on the car and the yob put a big no sticker on the bonnets of the cars.

 

HATE THE FECKING OLD FIRM

 

YES OR NO VOTE SHOULD BE TO SEE IF THE OLD FIRM STAY IN SCOTLAND OR GO BACK TO IRELAND OR ENGLAND

[old caley girl]

Disappointing on the pitch and poisonous off it!

Have to agree with what's been said so far. We played too deep and didn't have any penetration up front. There was glimpses of how we can play but they were few and far between.

Thought the ref on Saturday was poor but tonight's officials were on another level. Need to see Warrens chalked off goal again but it must have been pretty tight?

Not long home due to delay of police statements etc. can honestly say that's my final visit to Ibrox ever. Never again!

[tm4tj]

My stream showed us playing some nice stuff for 2/3 of the pitch, then without getting enough players forward quickly enough we ran out of ideas and the moves floundered.

 

I didn't think we looked too bad, negative in first half, maybe containing a better word, but ineffective over the half way line.

[davie]

Fraid that Warren was offside, as were a couple of others. Mind you, the guy who scored for rangers shouldn't have been on the park - his two footed lunge on Williams was a red card all day long. Black's first half studs-up one in the first half was a potential leg breaker so Mr. Allan got several key decisions wrong. It doesn't change the result though. We didn't press enough against a thoroughly average long ball side who, if we had played to potential we would have played off the park. As for their fans, they really are poor. I for one don't want to see them anywhere near the premiership.

[gordieict]

First game I been to this season due to being overseas...shocked at how negative we were against a side that were there for the taking. While the initial results have been excellent I haven't been sold on Yogi's strategy yet, and last nights result didn't sway me either. Its how we do over a long period thats important but for me the jury is still out. 

 

Its ok pointing the finger at the ref, who was poor, but our tactics got us what we deserved last night. 

[Kingsmills]

Disappointing result and, by the sound of it, performance.

 

Even more disappointing that Yogi is talking up the performance and describing the Rangers as a great and massive team. They are in a lower league, we have better players, we are the better team and not that much changed from the side that thumped them 3-0 two years ago.

 

We gave them 'respect' they no longer warrant and we paid the price. A the Premiership team we should have been up and at them from the start rather than treating it as though it was the Rangers team of a decade ago playing the ICT team of the same era.

[gordieict]

Disappointing result and, by the sound of it, performance.

 

Even more disappointing that Yogi is talking up the performance and describing the Rangers as a great and massive team. They are in a lower league, we have better players, we are the better team and not that much changed from the side that thumped them 3-0 two years ago.

 

We gave them 'respect' they no longer warrant and we paid the price. A the Premiership team we should have been up and at them from the start rather than treating it as though it was the Rangers team of a decade ago playing the ICT team of the same era.

 

To be honest we were not as negative against Rangers sides 10 years ago as we were last night, baffling tactics 

Edited September 17, 2014 by gordieict

[ICTRoughi]

Agree with what has already been said, I thought we sat too deep and paid the price for it. I personally thought defensively we were sound last night but just going forward I was really disappointed - Wasn't overly impressed with Doran I must say. I thought last nights game was an example where we needed a second striker - it's not happening for Billy at the moment.

Anyways on a positive note, I thought it was quite refreshing to see Liam Polworth slotting in nicely in Drapers role and he was one of our better players last night. I thought Ryan Christie brightened things up in terms of moving forward but we just didn't have the end product.

Rangers were there for the taking but just have to move on and we've got a massive test this Saturday against St Johnstone.

[ICTRoughi]

Just to add, why isn't Nick Ross getting any game time?

[+HawkeyeTheGnu]

Disappointing result and, by the sound of it, performance.

 

Even more disappointing that Yogi is talking up the performance and describing the Rangers as a great and massive team. They are in a lower league, we have better players, we are the better team and not that much changed from the side that thumped them 3-0 two years ago.

 

We gave them 'respect' they no longer warrant and we paid the price. A the Premiership team we should have been up and at them from the start rather than treating it as though it was the Rangers team of a decade ago playing the ICT team of the same era.

 

This. But Hughes' pre-match comments should have been a clue.

 

Would we have adopted this approach againt Hearts, Hibs, Falkirk or Raith Rovers? Rangers are really an average championship side and should have been treated as such.

[AlexJones]

Does anyone know what Rangers wage bill is in comparison to ours?

[bigman]

What concerns me is it would appear that we using a system which is keeping the ball in our own half by moving it around quickly but only playing in one half of the pitch. I feel sorry for Billy we really don't need a centre forward. When looking at the goals we scored this season they have all been good individual strikes apart from one. It would appear that hughs tactics stop at the halfway line. We need to start playing football in both halves. Football is a simple game defenders defend midfielders create and forwards score. You can jumble it up a bit but its no good playing great football in your own half it must lead to something and as yet I have not witnessed it. Some great goals but usually individuals skill such as Tansy strikes. Bill should take a seat and a newspaper on to the pitch for all the support he gets. I am not convinced Hughs system is right. as i have already said most of the goals apart from one have been great individual efforts. we need to get back to 11 man football or a team game.

[AJS]

Defended too deep in the first half and left Billy totally isolated up top. Despite having Doran and Watkins on the pitch they offered little width and werent working in tandem. Misplaced passes, poorly timed runs etc. 

 

2nd half saw us push forward a bit more but we never created any clear cut chances. Players like Moshni were so poor on the ball but were given all the time in the world to move the ball, we simply didnt press enough or want it enough. Sevco were not much better but came away with win and on the basis of play probably deserved it.

 

Though Crawford Allan was very poor as ref. Some terrible challenges that warranted further punishment went unchecked and a lack of flow to the game wasnt helped by his picky approach towards itty bitty fouls.

 

Only player that really shone for me was Liam Polworth. Im not his biggest fan but I thought bar one moment in the first half he moved the ball about really well throughout the game and was one of few who seemed to have a real go. 

 

Sevco fans were pretty vile as well but nothing new there, nothing better than getting started on the way out of a ground.

 

Need to step our game back up at the weekend. St J's at home and Aberdeen away are games against teams who will competing for top 6 and Europe. Both these games are vital 6 pointers. 

Edited September 17, 2014 by AJS

[12th Man]

what happened to the supporters bus? saw the police talking to a few members of the bus

 

i was walking to my car and i passed two cars with both side windows smashed due to them having YES sticks on the car and the yob put a big no sticker on the bonnets of the cars.

 

HATE THE FECKING OLD FIRM

 

YES OR NO VOTE SHOULD BE TO SEE IF THE OLD FIRM STAY IN SCOTLAND OR GO BACK TO IRELAND OR ENGLAND

I counted 3 cars, you would be doing the drivers a big favour if you told the police what you saw. I bet there's finger prints on the stickers.

[tm4tj]

I heard there were prints of webbed feet on them.

 

Let's not get too despondent, after all we were without Player of the Month Ross Draper and Captain Graeme Shinnie.

And, we have still only lost 1 game in the Premiership. Cuff Perth this weekend and get back on track.