Philippe Clement endures as Rangers step back from Hampden brink but no respite for unloved duo

The Premier Sports Cup continues to serve Philippe Clement well. Desperate for a positive result to atone for a wretched run of league form that has left their manager on the brink, Rangers came from behind to see off Motherwell and reach the final of this tournament once again.

Waiting for the defending holders on December 15 will be Celtic but this victory at least gives Clement a greater chance of still being around for that one. Defeat here would have been unthinkable but second-half goals from Cyriel Dessers and Nedim Bajrami eventually saw Rangers convert their dominance into something more tangible.

Clement will need to negotiate a few more hurdles before that final – most pressingly a Europa League trip to face Olympiacos this week – but this was a result and, in patches, performance that ought to give him and the Rangers supporters greater hope that they can turn things around.

Vaclav Cerny had a role in both goals and was deservedly named man of the match while Mohamed Diomande, Dujon Sterling and Danilo all gave their team greater dynamism from the bench.

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Motherwell will leave Hampden with regrets at seeing their half-time lead slip away and also the fact that they rarely looked like forcing extra-time once Bajrami had put his side in front.

With Rangers heading into the game in such a parlous state, the last thing they needed was being further wounded by one of their own. And yet, after a period of 24 dominant but ineffective minutes, that’s exactly what happened.

Motherwell had barely been out of their own half but all they needed was one opportunity to forge in front. Tawanda Maswanhise sprung the offside trap to latch on to a long ball and, when his initial cross was blocked, Motherwell tried again through Steve Seddon.

Seddon’s ball to the back post was perfectly weighted and Andy Halliday showed the greatest urgency to meet it, stretching out a boot to steer a shot beyond Jack Butland while Jefte, inexplicably, ran in the opposite direction, like a fire engine rushing to the wrong inferno.

Halliday’s back story as the dyed-in-the-wool Rangers man born in the shadow of Ibrox has been told a thousand times and he marked his goal by raising both hands apologetically towards the Union Bears gathered behind the goal. At the other end of the stadium, the 8,000-strong Motherwell support had no problem celebrating whole-heartedly with their team’s rope-a-dope tactics having delivered the perfect sucker punch.

Cyriel Dessers fires home Rangers’ equaliser against Motherwell at Hampden. | SNS Group

It was starting to look like this was going to be another of those outings for Dessers where nothing he tries seems to come off and he spends much of the game on his backside pleading to the referee for fouls that exist mostly in his imagination. The striker had already missed a glaring chance before Motherwell scored – slipping a shot past the far post – when he compounded that by firing wide of an open goal after Diomande’s shot had been pushed into his path by Aston Oxborough.

That aberration served to augment the volume of boos from the Rangers fans at half-time but Dessers partially atoned for that first-half sloppiness by drawing his team level four minutes into the second half. A lot of the plaudits ought to go to Connor Barron who made a perceptive run to latch onto Cerny’s pass then feed a ball inside. Dessers, for once, couldn’t miss.

He was not the only one in blue to endure a difficult day. It is hard to discern whether James Tavernier’s performances are getting worse or if the Rangers fans have simply lost all patience with him. Every misplaced pass or poor positional play was greeted with a groan from a support who have long grown out of love with their beleaguered captain.

Rangers' Nedim Bajrami celebrates scoring to make it 2-1 over Motherwell during the Premier Sports Cup semi-final win over Motherwell at Hampden. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group

Tavernier’s output was summed up by the chance he stubbed over an empty net, making it only partially surprising when he was hauled off along with Dessers midway through the second half.

Rangers by that point had started to display more of a cutting edge only to find in Oxborough a goalkeeper in sparkling form. Jefte was thwarted after teeing himself up for a fizzed volley, while Cerny was then denied twice in quick succession.

There was nothing the goalkeeper could do about the winning goal nine minutes from time. Cerny spread play wide for Bajrami who elected not to take the shot on first time. That gave Kofi Balmer time to lunge in but only to deflect Bajrami’s effort beyond his own goalkeeper.