Test of strength

Rangers 4 Motherwell 0 – Watch the goals as Kent, Hagi and Aribo net in Ibrox friendly

COVID-19 testing forced a two-hour delay to kick-off.

When the action finally got underway it was Motherwell who faced a stern examination.

Ruthless Rangers put them under the microscope from the off - racing into a two goal lead inside the opening ten minutes.

Joe Aribo added a brilliant third right on half-time, a goal which put the result beyond doubt.

A Ricki Lamie own goal rubbed salt into Well’s wounds with both teams making a host of second half substitutions.

Indeed, the only concern for Steven Gerrard on the night was a late injury sustained by Jermain Defoe.

Hobbling off clutching his hamstring, it meant Gers had to play out the final five minutes with only ten men.

Just four days after Hibs’ closed-door match against Ross County was scrapped because the Easter Road club failed to get their Coronavirus screening results back in time, another friendly farce looked on the cards at Ibrox.

The game was scheduled to kick-off at 6pm, but was pushed back until 8pm with both clubs still sweating on the outcome of results.

With the new SPFL season just over two weeks away it must serve as a warning to all clubs to get on top of testing.

Steven Gerrard’s men - buoyed by wins over Lyon and Nice - flew out of the traps.

It had been 132 days exactly since Ibrox last staged a football match.

In a tie that has yet to be played to a conclusion, Rangers had lost 3-1 to Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their last 16 Europa League clash.

The last game against domestic opposition had come against Hamilton on March 4, a 1-0 defeat that left Gerrard’s men 13 points adrift of leaders Celtic.

So much has happened since then.

Football, like everything else, was thrown into cold storage as the country was put into lockdown.

Any hopes Gers had of catching Celtic vanished amid the voting scandal which resulted in the premature end of season 2019/20.

With Neil Lennon’s men crowned champions for the ninth successive season, the focus for Gers immediately shifted to stopping a record-breaking tenth.

Ianis Hagi was signed on a permanent deal while Jon McLaughlin was brought on board as back-up to Allan McGregor.

Calvin Bassey also joined from Leicester City, but his involvement in a youth match earlier in the day meant he started on the bench.

The Steelmen have brought Jake Hastie back on loan from Gers and he lined-up against his parent club.

Of course, no fans were allowed inside for the friendly. This is the “new normal” for the foreseeable future.

Not that it seemed to bother Rangers who really impressed in the first half.

Gerrard’s men scored three, they could have scored more and they undoubtedly should have had a penalty.

Gers took the lead on seven minutes. Allan Campbell’s poor header clear was met on the volley by Ryan Kent who dispatched a shot low past Trevor Carson.

It was two three minutes later when Ianis Hagi rose unchallenged at the back post to head home a superb Borna Barisic cross.

Carson then saved superbly to deny Hagi his second before Aribo squandered another good chance.

With 27 minutes gone Gers were denied a stonewall penalty when Ricki Lamie clearly fouled Hagi.

Ref Don Roberston was right up with play, but incredibly waved away the Romanian’s appeals.

Rangers did get a third and it was the pick of the bunch.

Aribo played one-twos with Morelos and Hagi before curling a fantastic finish beyond Carson.

Gerrard would have been delighted with his side’s first half display.

Gers’ passing was crisp and accurate, moving the ball at pace from left to right.

Morelos and Hagi had linked superbly with Barisic playing effectively as a winger.

They posed a threat every time they got forward.

Both teams, understandably, made changes at the break. And there’s no doubt it upset Rangers’ rhythm.

Scott Arfield and Steven Davis came on for Gers with the latter being caught in possession by one of the Well subs Declan Gallagher just five minutes into the restart.

The Motherwell captain’s shot was weak, however, and easily gathered by McLaughlin.

It had been the first sniff of an opening for the Steelmen.

They got another on the hour mark after Rangers had made four changes.

But McLaughlin saved superbly this time to deny David Turnbull.

The Gers keeper showed tremendous reflexes and great agility to get back on his feet and gather the rebound.

Credit to Motherwell who were posing much more of an attacking threat, asking questions of a Rangers defence that buckled so often under pressure during the second half of last season.

This time, however, they soaked it up before grabbing a fourth on 68 minutes.

Brandon Barker and Arfield linked superbly down the left hand side with Barker’s cut-back being diverted into his own net by the unfortunate Ricki Lamie.

Both bosses continued to empty their benches with Harry Robinson, son of gaffer Stephen, coming on for Well.

Starting XI's

RANGERS: McLaughlin (Firth), Tavernier, Edmundson (Maxwell), Goldson, Barisic (Bassey), Hagi (Barker), Jack (Barjonas), Kamara (Arfield), Kent (Murphy), Aribo (Davis), Morelos (Defoe).

MOTHERWELL: Carson, Grimshaw, McGinley (trialist), Lamie, Donnelly, O’Hara (Maguire), Campbell (Gallagher), Polworth (Turnbull), Hastie (Robinson), Long (Hylton), White (Watt).

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