Match Ratings – BSC Young Boys 2-1 Rangers

Our first away tie in our very tight Europa League group, and all was looking so well for the Gers at the break after going ahead through an excellent goal from Alfredo Morelos. However, a second half in which we could not take advantage of poor defensively play from the Swiss side, and were denied a couple of breaks from the referee, meant that we would concede twice from desperately annoying defensive errors, leaving the incredible travelling support, as well as everyone watching at home, feeling much more deflated and angry with the team than what, probably, we should be in hindsight of who are opponents were and the stage in which we were competing on.


Allan McGregor – 6
He had one or two stops to make, but at the end of the day he conceded two goals which is always going to be a down mark for any goalkeeper. But, he is of course not to blame for these concessions.

James Tavernier – 4
It’s been said for a wee while now that Tav has not been at the same level as last season, and his start to this campaign up to now has been…slow. This was by far the worst we have seen from him though. He should have the presence of mind to let the ball go out for a throw in rather put his teammates under more pressure, and of course we concede from this basic mistake. He also loses his footing for the late winner, again an example of poor defending. But also, something I would be just as critical about, is the fact that he did not, as the captain, recognise that a draw is a good result and that we did not need to really attack that free kick we had right before the goal. Lack of leadership, lack of defensive ability and very little in the way of attacking flair. However, people who are suggesting that he is simply not good enough for us need to have a good look at themselves. Yes, bad evening at the office, but he has done far more good for us than bad, so rather than throw all of your toys out of the pram, let’s hope he can bounce back against Hamilton.

Connor Goldson – 5
The less convincing of the two centre backs. I think he struggled particularly with the pace of the Young Boys attack, and their two goals do come from his side and we didn’t get a goal saving challenge from him on either occasion, and to be honest he never looked capable of doing it.

Filip Helander – 7
I think we now see that it was not an issue of AstroTurf for Helander against Livingston, he just had an off night, as he looked more assured in Bern. This is clearly a level that he is comfortable with, and he was doing more talking and pointing and leading the back line where possible. He, along with his corresponding full back, made their right hand side pretty anonymous.

Borna Barisic – 8
Two moments of attacking quality really stood out. His pass to Alfredo for the goal was sublime, perfectly weighted, and by the looks of it, unexpected from the Swiss defence. He also put in a magnificent ball in the second half which really should have lead to a penalty for Rangers. That, along with doing his job at the back, made this a night Borna Bear can be proud of.

Ryan Jack – 7
It was going a long way toward another description of a fine display from Ryan Jack, until he goes off injured, and the worry is that he could be absent for our next few games, which would be a massive blow to us as he really has been excellent in that role up to now. I wouldn’t be too disappointed if he was unable to report for Scotland, so that he can recover at Auchenhowie.

Steven Davis – 6
His best point was the tiny touch he had on the ball to Barisic in the build up to the goal, it was vital as the opposition midfielder was going to intercept otherwise. Outwith that, and particularly in the second half, he was disappointingly anonymous.

Glen Kamara – 5
We are simply not seeing anywhere near the same level of attacking, direct play that he seems to show any time he turns out for Finland. Is this a coaching thing? Is he being told to limit his game to being more of a destroyer type player in the middle of the park? Whatever the reason, he had a poor night here. Didn’t do anything that I thought was positive to our cause, he just looked like a passenger here. And more and more lately he is looking like a “50 Grand” signing.

Scott Arfield – 6
This is a game that would suit Arf a lot more, and he should be a threat in those spaces he can create, but sadly there was nothing that he could produce. And, again, his focus seemed to be more about tracking back, which in turn may give us a slight imbalance at times. That works when the other winger does the same, sadly he is alone in this kind of work rate. Wasn’t surprising to see him drop into midfield after our only sub, but didn’t offer the same as Jack did.

Alfredo Morelos – 8 – Man of the Match
On the big stages, players have the opportunity to show how good they can really be and how they can raise their game. Alfredo Morelos loves this kind of arena, and was definitely a stand out. His goal sums up the very best in him. The strength of his…well, let’s just be blunt about, his bum, makes it difficult for any defender to handle him. But he has a speed, which would not normally be present with someone who has that kind of asset, that means he is away before the opponent even knows what’s happening. And his finish. There was a time where you maybe worried that he would find a way to miss, but I, along with the majority watching I would suspect, knew that he was burying it. Looked a class above, and his value is forever rising.

Sheyi Ojo – 5
It feels like we are at the stage of picking on Sheyi a bit, but decision making really isn’t his forte. Nor is actually committing to a challenge, far too often he ducks out of a 1 on 1 way too early. It’s the same old stuff that we are talking about with him, and to be honest we need a Ryan Kent or a Jordan Jones back available soon so that we have more options to choose from, because on this form, he does not merit his place in our starting 11.

Greg Stewart – 6
Comes on and finishes well in the box, sadly he was offside, but outwith that the games shape meant his chances to have an Aberdeen style performance was practically nil.