Rangers won at Falkirk on Wednesday night. That is about the kindest thing you can say about the performance.
Lawrence Shankland scored twice, once in the eighth minute and once with eleven left, and those two moments were the difference between three points and a night of proper questions. Final score 2-1. Rain hammering down at Falkirk Stadium. Derek McInnes watching from the stand.
How it happened
The opener was superb. Djeidi Gassama slipped the ball in, Shankland shifted it onto his left and hammered it home after eight minutes. Rangers should have gone on from there. They did not.
Kosta Nedeljkovic then produced the kind of moment defenders have nightmares about, sliding in to clear a Ross cross and putting it past his own goalkeeper Ivor Pandur just before the break. 1-1, and Falkirk had every right to believe.
The second half belonged to the home side for long spells. Jacob Murrell was one-on-one with Pandur after a poor Fernandez pass and could not beat him. He headed another chance over. Aodhan Doherty then missed an open goal after a mix-up between Pandur and Ross McCrorie in the 78th minute.
A minute later Doherty was watching Rangers score. McCrorie found Shankland, one touch, bottom corner, done.
McInnes: 'Too scrappy for my liking'
The Rangers manager was serving the first game of a touchline ban for comments he made last season while at Hearts, so he took it all in from up in the stand.
"Too scrappy for my liking. There were too many opportunities in the game for Falkirk," he told Sky Sports. "Lack of concentration in what you're trying to do really. I just thought we ran up a cul-de-sac and gave away a few stupid little fouls. Just invites pressure and gives them a bit of encouragement."
He was not miserable about it though. "I'm not unhappy because we've won the game and we're on the back of winning at Aberdeen on Sunday. It's great to get another three points."
The captain keeps delivering
Shankland has been under scrutiny since arriving at Ibrox and he knows it.
"The scrutiny is up there at the moment, but I just had to stay confident and another chance would come," he said. "There's been a lot to sort out and take in. When you start winning games, it breeds confidence and everything feels a bit easier. I'll just keep shooting with my left foot."
Scott Arfield, watching on Sky Sports, thinks the setup around him is finally right. "At Hearts, Shankland had runners going in behind and I think you've got that now with this front four. Shankland just touches it and he just knows where the goal is. It's like an easy wee golf shot. That is why you bring him to the club, because he is just a classy finisher."
Kris Boyd was less forgiving about the rest of it. "They've done enough to get over the line, but it's got to be better. It was a slogfest out there for Rangers again. You're only as good as your strikers and that's been the story tonight."
Falkirk still waiting
John McGlynn's side remain without a league win and sit second bottom, above only pointless Kilmarnock. On the evidence of this they will not stay there long.
"Absolutely gutted for the players, they put so much into the game to not get anything from it," McGlynn said. "We don't want to be known as the team who can play some nice football but not come out with points. I'm proud of the players for the performance."
Rangers move to seven points from four matches, fifth in the table, with two home games coming up and a closed transfer window. McInnes called that last part a godsend. You can understand why.
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