Red-hot Rangers overcame a downpour to leave Motherwell under a dark cloud and stay on Celtic’s tail with a decisive 2-0 win at Fir Park.
This was no Christmas Eve cracker but Philippe Clement retained his unbeaten streak to leave Stuart Kettlewell’s sorry side without a win in 15 games. Kieran Dowell and Todd Cantwell added the finishing touches to a pair of well-worked moves inside the opening 20 minutes. Motherwell battled bravely but appear unable to escape the paralysis which sees them winless since September.
Turning problems into solutions is the hallmark of a good team and that desired trait was stamped all over the red-hot start Rangers produced. Wet and wild conditions are often an underdog’s best friends but Clement’s side – who aren’t snooty about going direct – squeezed the life out of their hapless opponents with superior pressing and tidy link-up play. The writing was on the wall before the goals arrived and this Motherwell team are displaying all the warning signs of a lost team. The high-risk passing style lasted exactly four minutes until Dowell capitalised on slapstick defending with Cyriel Dessers instrumental with a neat assist to tee up the former Norwich man. Cantwell was thankful to Sima for his goal.
If Motherwell are sinking into the abyss amid their luckless run then they made one final push to surface with a resilient
The natives were emboldened by the high-risk strategy deployed by Kettlewell’s side and the brief sloppiness shown by Clement’s side. Brodie Spencer claimed for a penalty but Ridvan Yilmaz was right wave him away. Yilmaz almost provided an assist for Dessers but the offside flag denied the striker. The same man scored again but was once again rightly denied by the match officials.
Clement almost got out of dodge but the late niggle suffered by Connor Goldson is a worry only days before a visit to Celtic Park. But the three points are returning to Govan.
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