McInnes' Rangers serve up stodgy 12-course banquet of huff and puff
Rangers beat Jablonec in the first leg of their Conference League play-off, but it wasn't a pretty watch, writes Tom English.
At Ibrox, Rangers delivered a monotonous 12-course banquet of huff and puff against Jablonec, despite the presence of experienced manager Derek McInnes. Substitute Cammy Devlin, expected to be a leader, was shown a red card for an unnecessary lunge, potentially jeopardizing Rangers' narrow 1-0 win. Jablonec, organized but unthreatening, lacked goal-scoring prowess.
Rangers, workmanlike and honest, struggled to create creativity and inspiration, lacking the spark of a player like Camilo Duran or the fluidity of Celtic's team. With 15,000 seats empty, the atmosphere was tense, and McInnes, visibly frustrated, walked tirelessly in his technical area, raising questions about the effectiveness of his coaching.
Despite the lackluster performance, the win provided a glimmer of hope for a potential European run, but the club's recent spending spree raised doubts about the value of their recent acquisitions.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Sport's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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