Cyriel Dessers was on target as Rangers sealed their place in the Scottish League Cup final with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Motherwell at Hampden Park.
It was Nedim Bajrami who provided the crucial moment with ten minutes remaining, with the Albanian adding to Dessers’ leveller shortly into the second period.
Dessers has now scored four goals in the Scottish League Cup this season.
Andy Halliday opened the scoring midway through the first half, but a much improved second 45 minutes stretched the side’s winning run in the competition.
Philippe Clement’s side will return to Mount Florida next month to face Celtic in the final as they look to retain their grip on the trophy.
However, for all of Rangers’ early endeavour it was the Lanarkshire side who broke the deadlock from a familiar name.
Steve Seddon didn’t appear to have many Motherwell options inside the penalty area when the full-back picked up possession on the left-hand side, yet his curling delivery was met by Halliday making a run from deep and the former Gers midfielder stabbed the ball beyond Jack Butland at full stretch.
5 Comments
Im still of the opinion that Desseers deserves to be in the list of those that will be called for the next AFCON qualifiers against benin.Not only him but also Akor, Akorodare and Akpom. This is necessary since Awoniyi,Boniface and Onuachu have failed to take their chances and prove that they can deputise for Osihmen . We cannot continue to baby sit them at the detriment of the team. Moreover .no pls player is more Nigerian than the other . Lets give all of them equal and unbiased chance. If we don’t game we will not discover Osihmen’s deputy. The league one plays is a matter of luck . So pls Coache shine ur eye and do the needful. The fans are behind u
Yes, especially since we have more or less qualified and need only 1 point from the 2 matches (out of a possible 6) to top the group. This is the time to experiment with some players and formations.
Sadly, Dessers comes across as being generally “underwhelming” and uninteresting to watch despite being, by and large, a competent striker.
Nigerians generally embraced him when he forwent the option of representing Belgium. Younger generations of Super Eagles fans gravitate to dual nationality players who demonstrate passion like ants to sugar. But, the same fans have now generally lost interest in Dessers.
In Rangers, the numbers are good in terms of goals scored last season. Yet Rangers fans boo him and are not at all sold on him.
I like Dessers, I thought he was explosive and exciting in the UEFA Conference League some seasons back. But, for Nigeria, he hasn’t burnt my retina to delightful tears. I am not talking about goals scored or chances missed. I am just talking about his performance not striking the right cord with me on an emotional level, which is why I think he struggles to win over Rangers fans in Scotland.
I took time to watch one of his games for Rangers, and, true to his selling-points, he was full of endeavor, drive and doggedness. But something seemed missing, one was expecting a bit of magic, eloquence and panache here which Dessers tried very hard to produce.
I will have zero problems should Eguavoen extend a team-invite to Dessers. He is still keen and he will always put up a painstaking shift which ticks the acceptability box for me.
However, it appears to be the case that many fans have seen what he brings to the table and they don’t find it edible.
Left to me, I would want to consider any of Arokodare, high-flying Josh Maja or overlooked Chuba Akpom. Perhaps any of these sharpshooters will produce the magic Dessers struggled to conjure.
We have them plenty…if we want to forget Awoniyi, Onuachu, Sadiq, Moffi then we have names like Arokodare, Akpom, Maja, Onugka, Adebayo, Dessers and Njinmah, calling for chance. Check out these names out of many, we have 11 i.e number of players you can call on to defend the country at a go and all of them are strikers. There’s no way coaches won’t be stepping on toes in this situation but truth be told, Dessers deserve a look in.
I am so fascinated by the passion, hunger and strength of Dessers. I wonder why he isn’t getting an invite over Iheanacho, Chukwueze and Awoniyi. I will also like for Terem Moffi to be brought back once he is fit. We want to win matches, not sticking to a failed stereotype that doesn’t improve. We are at the verge of lossing out at the world cup finale, if we don’t tighten out belts for the remaining matches. Chukwueze isn’t doing well enough. He is of age to step up like Saka, Salah and the likes.