Match Thread [FT] Rangers 2 (Dessers 61; McCausland 90+2) - 0 St Johnstone

[ian1964 10,626]

1 hour ago, CammyF said:

This is true, he works his arse off every match, that can't be denied! and he does score goals.

[CammyF 7,541]

6 minutes ago, ian1964 said:

I'm trying to be honest! I didn't see what Matondo did? flash in the pan is all I see with him! he can run fast, he can score the occasional great goal! but he is crap as a football player!.

For me, he linked up well with Jefte both defensively and offensively. He was always driving forward and created a few chances, including a great ball for Dessers goal. 

[ian1964 10,626]

5 minutes ago, CammyF said:

For me, he linked up well with Jefte both defensively and offensively. He was always driving forward and created a few chances, including a great ball for Dessers goal. 

For his price tag and wages he brings nothing to the team! I just don't think he is a very good player!.

[Gonzo79 14,576]

Matondo is good at running past someone...but then making an arse of it.

 

We need to get him off the wage bill. 

[yuddie 1,455]

I'll be honest, I thought Matondo was poor as well.

 

He can run fast with and without the ball, that's it.

 

And that's all he did tonight really.

[yuddie 1,455]

Just now, Gonzo79 said:

Matondo is good at running past someone...but then making an arse of it.

 

We need to get him off the wage bill. 

He has a bizarre reluctance to do it though - the amount of times you want him to leg someone for him to stop or cut inside is strange for someone that rapid.

 

The Man City education has caused that imo.

[Gonzo79 14,576]

Yeah, don't take a man on when there's an easy sideways pass instead.  Pep Guardiola football.

 

Groan. 

[Sutton_blows_goats 4,782]

8 hours ago, yuddie said:

I'll be honest, I thought Matondo was poor as well.

 

He can run fast with and without the ball, that's it.

 

And that's all he did tonight really.

Sadly it was still one of his best games for us and it was still miles away. What a dreadful signing. Damn you Ross Wilson.

 

[CammyF 7,541]

Butland - nothing much to do but some nervous moments 

 

Tav - mostly terrible

Propper - OK then injured 

Souttar - hot and cold 

Jefte - excellent and MOTM

 

Sterling - struggled and didn't look fit

Diomande - same as Sterling

Dowell - poor 

 

Cerny - poor

Danilo  - poor but just coming back from injury

Matondo - decent

 

Barron - very good again

Dessers - as per Barron

McCausland - good finish for goal but wasteful prior to that

Fraser - tidy in what he done

Davies - didn't do much wrong 

 

Overall a decent result and into the next round but I'd only be confident of beating Spartans. Jeftes, Matondo, Dessers and Barron only players who deserve praise/pass marks.

 

Performance wasn't the best, our right side of Tav and Cerny didn't click at all and at one point Sterling was playing RB and Tav midfield and it still looked weak.

 

Danilo just coming back and good to see him get minutes. Missed a few chances but hopefully his sharpness returns.

 

Someone posted the other day that we are a Dessers injury away from being a mid-table team, it's hard to argue with that assertion at the moment.

 

We are still 5 regular starters short - CB, RB, CM, CF and #10 and have 2 weeks to rectify the situation. 

[JohnMc 2,618]

As we said on the podcast on Friday, this had potential banana skin written all over it. As it was we controlled the match, should have scored more than we did, created a decent number of chances and were only occasionally troubled by a St Johnstone side who are significantly better than last season and in good form. On top of that we were able to get some minutes into the legs of a few players who haven't played much recently. The downside is another couple of injuries, the extent of which is still unknown. We've had worse afternoons at Hampden in recent times. 

 

A regular criticism recently has been the lack of a style of play, I don't think you can make that claim yesterday. It was clear what we were trying to do and for the most part it worked. Jefte and Matondo linked up well, Tav and Cerny had moments but were less effective. Diomande supported Danilo and then Dessers and was as advanced as I recall seeing him. Danilo linked up well, his hold up play and lay offs are better than Dessers, but I'm still unsure if he's as good a finisher, he didn't look it yesterday. In fairness he'll need a month or so of regular games before we'll know just what Danilo offers, but at least having the option again was pleasing. 

 

Sterling played in bursts, then seemed to disappear. I suppose a player whose game is based around power will need a few matches to get back to match sharpness. 

 

Tav still looks a yard slow, I'm not sure if that's a match sharpness thing or simply his body ageing. He was again caught out more than once yesterday. Tav never hides, he's rarely injured and provides experience in a team still finding it's feet. I do wonder if there was another option at right back if he'd be playing as much as he is though. 

 

Baron, Davies, Dessers and McCausland all played well when they came on. Baron is already a first choice in midfield and looks to have been an excellent signing. Dessers scored, again. Whatever his failings, and he demonstrated some of them yesterday, he also never hides, gets into good positions and took his chance well, showing composure where previously other players hadn't when presented with chances. We need other players to contribute more goals, relying on Dessers solely to score is unfair and unrealistic, other players need to contribute, and that's still lacking from this squad. 

 

Overall more positives than negatives. We're a work in progress, but yesterday did at least feel like progress. We've got a week before we play again, Ross County at home, and then another week before the Tims away. I don't think we're as bad as some are making out, but we're still quite a distance from being as good as we'll need to be.