Rangers reaction: Union Bears switch, Johnly Yfeko decision, why Cyriel Dessers was under pressure

The Union Bears were in full voice during the match against Morton.

It was not a vintage performance by any means from the hosts at Ibrox and Mark Atkinson picks out three observations from the match against the men from Greenock:

Change of view for Union Bears

Normally housed in the far left corner of the Broomland Road end, because this match was a cup tie, the Union Bears had a new vantage point in Ibrox for the visit of Morton, behind the goal at the Copland Road stand. Whatever your view on ultras in Scottish football, it is clear they have a bigger impact right behind the goal. Just look at Hearts and Hibs’ respective fan groups, who made quite a din in the same section of their stadium when overcoming Rosenborg and FC Luzern respectively. While the stakes were much lower here, the Union Bears sang throughout and added atmosphere to what was otherwise a fairly subdued stadium.

Yfeko pays his manager back

Michael Beale took a bit of a chance in giving Johnly Yfeko a start a left-back, but to a degree his hands were tied ahead of the PSV match in that department of the team, with Borna Barisic his only senior option. Yfeko, a 20-year-old who signed from Southampton, grew into the match and deserve praise for his last-minute tackle on George Oakley that almost certainly stopped Morton from equalising.

Big moment for Dessers

With James Tavernier given a rare afternoon off, there was an opportunity for someone else to ripple the rigging from the penalty spot. Not since the 2021/22 campaign has someone other than the captain netted a penalty – Kemar Roofe, for the record – and Cyriel Dessers, who only minutes earlier had conceded a penalty, stood up and coolly converted from 12 yards. The Nigerian has come under a bit of heat for his recent performances and Beale admitted it was a big moment for the Nigerian. “Cyriel looks a lot sharper and gets a goal and assist and was unlucky with the one that was disallowed,” he said. “It was going to be an interesting time after that [concession] for him. He stood up to take the penalty. There’s a queue of people who want to take penalties, so he was under pressure.”