Glasgow Rangers endured a brief scare vs Greenock Morton in their League Cup last-16 tie at Ibrox this afternoon before prevailing 2-1.
Michael Beale made numerous changes from the 1-1 draw against Servette in the Champions League qualifier in midweek that secured progression to the next round.
Dujon Sterling, Johnly Yfeko, Leon Balogun, John Lundstram, Kieran Dowell, Rabbi Matondo, Sam Lammers and Cyriel Dessers all started against the Championship outfit in a bid to stake a claim for a regular place.
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How did Rangers perform against Morton?
Lining up in a 4-3-3 setup, Beale deployed a front three of Lammers, Dessers and Matondo, which featured a mixture of pace and creativity that would cause chaos to the Morton defence.
Dessers threatened the opposition goal occasionally during the opening 30 minutes. He came close to opening the scoring after just 15 minutes, however, Jamie MacDonald made a wonderful save to prevent his shot from going in, while he even had a goal disallowed as the Nigerian looked sharp.
The 28-year-old finally got his reward in the 59th minute as he tucked away a penalty, levelling the scores at 1-1 before picking out substitute Danilo, who evaded two defenders and slotted home the winner a few minutes later.
It was a solid outing for the summer arrival, yet it was Matondo who arguably stole the show for the Gers, making sure he laid down a marker in front of Beale.
How good was Rabbi Matondo against Morton?
The £28k-per-week winger hasn’t enjoyed the finest of times at Ibrox following his £2.5m move from Schalke last summer, registering just six assists all season, and it looked as though his time was up.
He was even left out of their Champions League squad and this looked like a killer blow for his chances of proving to Beale that he deserved to stay.
The Welsh trickster did grab an assist against Livingston last weekend having emerged from the bench in a positive cameo, and he shone against Morton today.
The intent was there from the first whistle, looking dangerous down the wing, and he had a shot within the first two minutes.
This drew praise from former Scotland international Leanne Crichton, who stated that this passage of play was “lovely” as he carried on causing mayhem for the Morton backline throughout the duration of the first half.
Matondo even had an effort cleared off the line, while he was lauded by Rangers Review journalist Euan Robertson, who said the 22-year-old was their “bright spark” following the opening 45 minutes.
There were a few more darting runs into the final third during the second half, but he was substituted with ten minutes to go for Adam Devine, yet his performance was that of a man who knew he had to take his chance.
What should have been a straightforward tie ended up being tighter than expected, but Matondo proved to Beale that if given the opportunity in the starting XI, he could be a dangerous threat for the Gers going forward.
