'He is banned from Livingston now that boy!' - Rangers player who is becoming a problem for West Lothian outfit

Livingston manager David Martindale joked that he would have to ban Scott Arfield from the Tony Macaroni Arena after the attacker turned the pair’s cinch Premiership opener on its head with a 73rd-minute equaliser – having only been introduced six minutes earlier.

LIVINGSTON, SCOTLAND - JULY 30: Rangers Scott Arfield makes it 1-1 during a cinch Premiership match between Livingston and Rangers at Tony Macaroni Arena, on July 30, 2022, in Livingston, Scotland. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

It was Arfield’s third goal in as many outings against the West Lothian side, whom he has netted five against four times in Rangers colours, and proved the pivotal moment with his header from a Ryan Kent cross followed a minute later by a free-kick strike from Jame Tavernier. The quickfire double came just as it seemed a fifth minute strike from the outstanding Joel Nouble could prove costly for Rangers hopes of the desired start to the championship campaign.

“I thought for 60 minutes we were well in the game. It was a big moment for Joel in the second half, he has probably got to do a wee bit better. Shamal [George] pulls off a couple of decent saves and then they make the sub with wee Arfield. He is banned from Livingston now that boy!

“As soon as he came on I said it. If they put him on, you need to watch him because his midfield runs are brilliant. Honestly, he has made a career out of it. I think he only does it against Livingston though. I will need to try and get him signed won’t it? Just to put him on the bench or sit him on the stand so he is not playing against us.

“So he goes on and does what he does. I think it is probably the first time [Ryan] Kent puts a ball in with his right foot. The majority of the time we blocked him off and forced him onto his left and Shamal dealt with them quite well or the centre halves. But for the first time he catches Nicky [Devlin] out, turns inside and at that point we are in the transition of changing to a 5-4-1, I think.

“We needed to get an extra centre half on the park because they were peppering our goal and putting a lot of balls into our box. We got lucky on a couple of occasions but then Kent goes on and puts that ball in. Scotty makes the run and then goal. And then Tav does what Tav does …”