According to Ally McCoist, John Souttar was “really poor” after making a big error in the second half of Rangers’ victory over Hearts and had to be saved by his “excellent” captain.
On Premier Sports commentary (21 April), the Ibrox legend responded to the Scottish defender being easily beaten on the left flank by Kenneth Vargas early in the second half. James Tavernier skillfully hooked away the Jambos attacker’s threatening pass into the box, leaving the score at 1-0.
Cyriel Dessers’ two goals secured a 2-0 win for Philippe Clement’s team, securing a spot in the final against Celtic. However, Souttar had a “mare” and was replaced by Leon Balogun instead of Connor Goldson [Heart & Hand, 21 April].
McCoist stated (4.12pm): “It’s really poor from Souttar, really poor from Souttar, and the reverse from Tavernier, who does extremely well.
“It’s sluggishness, a lack of attention; Vargas is all over him. But Tavernier’s defensive position to cut out the cross was fantastic.
Michael Stewart went on to say: “Vargas has got to do better as well, he’s driving into the box there, he’s trying to lift his head to see who’s available, but you can see that Tavernier’s filled that space perfectly.”
James Tavernier returns to form as Rangers win
Clement may only have one effective center-back this season, since Souttar has outperformed Goldson throughout the club’s better second campaign.
Despite the manager’s decision to drop the Englishman in favour of Balogun, the Nigerian international played a crucial role in keeping the game close in the second half.
Tavernier had a solid all-around game after struggling in recent weeks, but Souttar struggled when forced to play behind Dujon Sterling on the left.
The ex-Hearts player was then defeated in similar circumstances by Alan Forrest, who put forth one of his poorest games of a pretty successful season.
Fortunately for Clement and Rangers, it was not punished as Tavernier, Goldson, and the superb Jack Butland maintained a clean sheet.
The overall performance was significantly superior that the draw at Dundee or the loss at Ross County, but it was still a far cry from the dominant form displayed in the New Year, and Clement will hope his side is at least back on track for the run-in after giving up their margin for error.
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