No lack of effort and I even stopped moaning about Madsen & Celar, both of whom 'put themselves about a bit'. We do need some goals from them though. Ilias too.

1

Disappointing not to get the goal that we deserved but there are strong signs of improvement in this performance. Celar and Madsen have been the whipping boys after a number of ineffective performances but they were better today, sharper and more physical although they still have a way to go. Celar's crisp second half shot which whistled past the post was an indication of what he can do, but he missed an easier chance early on.

After the red card Sunderland didn't threaten but Rs couldn't create clear cut chances. Possibly the best was a Jimmy Dunne header at the back post from a Chair cross, but was straight at the keeper.

Before the red card Rangers matched the Black Cats who did hit a post. Nardi has now gone 180 minutes without having to make a real save. Credit to a patched up defence.

Although Chair was probably our most creative player on several angled crosses to a far post runner his range finder wasn't working. Marti could have been braver with late subs. Lloyd or Kolli (welcome back) would have offered somethng different.

For me player of the match was Varane, whose telescopic legs won several challenges, and he also found space for consistent passing. I think the criticism that he doesn't pass forward has been unfair. Today he found some good forward angles. Like the rest of the team he could move the ball more quickly. I hardly remember any early bals over the top, though Sunderland did sit deep in the second half.

1

Good game, I enjoyed it. Not what I had expected, especially when It saw the team sheet. Very good performance from the team, made Sunderland look pretty ordinary. Varane and Morgan stood out, although the latter tired in the latter stages. Hey, he is only 18 and it was his full debut. Madsen and Celar were both much improved and Field did a good steady job in the JCS role. We all really thought Jan had broken his duck with a great shot, that we were right behind and looked in all the way but somehow went the wrong side of the post. After the red card, Sunderland, as most teams would, pretty much parked the bus and hung on to what they had. We just lacked the ability and luck to get that one goal we needed.
We now need to dust ourselves down as we have to go again on Tuesday. Squad seems threadbare at the moment with all the injuries. Even Walsh was missing from the bench and we only used three subs, which was disappointing and could be an error by Marti with the next game in mind. I was thinking Lloyd for Celar and Bennie, who did well when he came on at Burnley, or Aoraha for Morgan. I also would have removed Chair, left Madsen on and put Seito on the left not the right where he initially went. Still Marti knows his players better than me.
Keep wearing that hat and if you've got any old badges you can stick on it, you can upgrade it and it might help us to make that elusive next step.

1

Disappointing not to get the goal that we deserved but there are strong signs of improvement in this performance. Celar and Madsen have been the whipping boys after a number of ineffective performances but they were better today, sharper and more physical although they still have a way to go. Celar's crisp second half shot which whistled past the post was an indication of what he can do, but he missed an easier chance early on.

After the red card Sunderland didn't threaten but Rs couldn't create clear cut chances. Possibly the best was a Jimmy Dunne header at the back post from a Chair cross, but was straight at the keeper.

Before the red card Rangers matched the Black Cats who did hit a post. Nardi has now gone 180 minutes without having to make a real save. Credit to a patched up defence.

Although Chair was probably our most creative player on several angled crosses to a far post runner his range finder wasn't working. Marti could have been braver with late subs. Lloyd or Kolli (welcome back) would have offered somethng different.

For me player of the match was Varane, whose telescopic legs won several challenges, and he also found space for consistent passing. I think the criticism that he doesn't pass forward has been unfair. Today he found some good forward angles. Like the rest of the team he could move the ball more quickly. I hardly remember any early bals over the top, though Sunderland did sit deep in the second half.

0