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TBR View: Giovanni van Bronckhorst is already doing something at Rangers Steven Gerrard very rarely did
Well, it might have been a slog, but Rangers did eventually get the job done(dee) at Kilmac Stadium (or Dens Park to us auld yins) on Sunday, winning 2-1 late on as they sought to keep pace with Celtic in this absorbing title race.
While Rangers were astronomically poor in the first half, Giovanni van Bronckhorst rang the changes at half time, both tactically and in personnel, to make sure Rangers got themselves over the line.
The tactical agility shown by the Dutchman is something that, arguably, Rangers didn’t have under Steven Gerrard. Plan B under the former Liverpool captain seemed to consist of a bit more of Plan A, whereas van Bronckhorst appears a bit more nimble in knowing when to shift to in recent games.
A truly dire first half had seen Dundee hit the front inside six minutes through Christie Elliott and was punctuated by a tennis ball and toilet paper-filled fan protest against the proposed Sydney Super Cup Old Firm tie in Australia. James Tavernier, normally so composed from 12 yards, summed up the team’s performance on the park by absolutely hammering his penalty clean over the bar.
For the champions, dropping points here was not an option and it was Helander and Arfield who made way before the restart, for Joe Aribo and Fashion Sakala. These switches saw John Lundstram act as a ball-playing centre half and put Aribo in the middle, with Fashion Jr heading up front to play off the right. This immediately brought more pace and rigour into their play, got their playmakers on the ball and helped muster up some decent chances. So far, so decent.
On 64 minutes though, Rangers were still toiling. The half-time switches were having an effect, but weren’t yielding the goals. This is where van Bronckhorst really earned his corn. He brought off James Sands for Kemar Roofe and went to an almost 4-2-4 formation – a decision you know earned a giant thumbs up from this particular scribbler (see link below) – and was instantly rewarded when a deep cross from Tavernier found the Jamaican international at the far post and his firm header could only be parried to an unmarked Aaron Ramsey, who could scarcely have believed his luck as he tapped in his first goal for the club.
It was from that moment that Rangers really pushed on and turned the screw, it was chance after chance when Gio went all in and sent Connor Goldson up top in another tactical switch to grab the winner four minutes from the end. The big defender kept his cool to turn the ball past the highly impressive Lawlor in the Dundee goal, much to the relief of the travelling support. It might be a touch generous to give Roofe two assists on the day, given his sclaffed shot was a bit fortunate to reach Goldson, but he was yet again a menace to the opposition and got himself into the right areas in order to wreak havoc.