By Jenna Thomson
Rangers gave Motherwell a horrible trick or treat surprise in the form of a 6-1 victory at Fir Park on Halloween. Goals from James Tavernier, Fashion Sakala, Glen Kamara and Kemar Roofe secured a much needed three points for Rangers.
Despite Rangers being the dominant side during the opening 15 minutes Motherwell opened the scoring first. A header from Solholm Johansen was narrowly saved by Allan McGregor before arriving at Bevis Mugabi who slotted it in for the ‘Well.
Motherwell’s star keeper Liam Kelly was constantly kept on his toes during the first half as Rangers continued to create close-range chances in the box and on the 43rd minute Rangers pulled one back as James Tavernier sent the ball firing into the bottom left corner making it 1-1. They quickly doubled their lead minutes later as Fashion Sakala linked with Tavernier and Sakala shot the ball past Kelly making it 2-1 to Rangers at halftime.
Rangers continued their attack against the Steelmen throughout the second half, but Motherwell weren’t for backing down as they regained possession and strength in the midfield, forcing McGregor to be called into action.
Rangers went further ahead in the 65th minute of the match as Sakala bagged his second goal of the match. Sakala shot from distance, the ball deflected off Motherwell’s Sean Goss on the way through and flew into the net as Rangers went 3-1 ahead. Rangers further buried the hatchet into Motherwell as Glen Kamara gave Motherwell a horrific Halloween blow as his powerful shot from 25 yards made it 4-1.
The fifth goal for Rangers came at the 87th minute as Fashion Sakala scored his third goal of the match leaving the steelmen in ruin at 5-1, he was then followed by Kemar Roofe who dramatically scored on the 91st minute sending Rangers to a 6-1 victory.
Here are three things we learned as Rangers got a Halloween treat against Motherwell:
Bevis Mugabi and Liam Kelly’s vital impact for Motherwell
The Ugandan internationalist and record holder was key to holding Motherwell’s defence alongside vice-captain Kelly. Bevis first signed for the Steelmen in the 19/20 season as a rotational player since then has become a regular in the starting 11 and his talent and skill has improved massively.
Rangers title challenge hope is still strong
Despite Rangers starting slow in recent games and dropping vital points most recently against Aberdeen on Wednesday, Steven Gerrard’s side proved once again that they are a dangerous side that isn’t meant to be underestimated. The race to the top of the league will be hard but Rangers are ready for the fight.
Top six battle continues
With Motherwell unable to find a win in their last five games things are starting to look bleak at Fir Park. If Motherwell are hoping to improve upon last season’s performances, they will need to be more aggressive up front. Liam Kelly has saved Motherwell’s skin many times but the Steelmen can’t only rely on him to keep them ahead in matches.
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