Rangers edged out a 2-1 win in their latest Premiership match with Motherwell.
There was questions being asked of manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst and the players after a 7-1 Champions League hammering off Liverpool on Wednesday, and a response was paramount after consecutive 4-0 wins against Hearts and St Mirren domestically. It took until the second half for the first big chance to fall, but in-form Antonio Colak could only header wide of Liam Kelly's goal.
Kevin Van Veen marched up the other end to sting the palms of Allan McGregor and Motherwell paid for that miss, Malik Tillman advancing up the park to put the away team ahead. John Lundstram doubled that advantage with a header but Stuart McKinstry ensured an exciting end to proceedings with a fantastic free-kick for Steven Hammell's men but those in blue got three points over the line. Here are three things we learned from the Rangers performance.
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Stepping up
A huge pre-match blow was landed on the Ibrox club with news that pivotal centre-back Connor Goldson is out for the long haul.
Amid a slate of injuries in that department, 18-year-old academy product Leon King again stepped up with an assured performance to show he can be a regular starter for his boyhood club.
Response?
That was what Rangers were being asked to provide after their mauling at the hands of Liverpool. Did they provide one?
Well, kind of. It was a return to winning ways and that's the main objective, but a slow first half and questionable decision making at times showed some fragilities still lingering from Wednesday's battering.
Attacking influence
There was two sides to the Rangers attack. You had Malik Tillman bursting a gut from near enough his own half to score.
Then you had Ryan Kent, who made one burst to press Liam Kelly but outside that did little. The attack can be a fluid part of a team but it appeared as if some valued their starts more than others.
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