By Duncan Wright
As the clock ticked towards ninety minutes at a restless Ibrox on Sunday evening Nico Raskin was announced as the sponsors man of the match. It was a decision warmly received by a Rangers support looking for positives in what was another difficult afternoon. The Ibrox side saw out the final minutes of the game to win one nil but it was a performance littered with errors from Rangers as they struggled to impose themselves on a Hearts team currently second bottom of the league.
On what was a frustrating afternoon for the Rangers support, Raskin’s performance offered a small glimpse of optimism both for the fans, and perhaps also the Ibrox manager Philippe Clement. Following an excellent performance in midweek against Olympiacos, Raskin turned in another excellent performance in the centre of Rangers midfield. The diminutive Belgian looked like the midfield general that Rangers have been searching for. Patrolling the centre circle, demanding the ball from his teammates and working hard to recover the ball from the opposition Raskin gave Rangers a base to build upon. Working in partnership with Connor Barron and Mohamed Diomande in a midfield three, Raskin was at the heart of everything Rangers did well in in the opening exchanges of the game.
Rangers’ goal after six minutes showed the effectiveness of Raskin’s simplistic yet effective play. He received the ball on the halfway line and played a first time pass to Jefte. He also moved the ball quickly to Bajrami who played a low ball across the box to right back James Tavernier. He shot across the front of the goal and Rangers number nine Cyriel Dessers got the last touch to put Rangers one nil ahead. It was evident in the build up to the goal, and throughout the match, Raskin’s position was noticeably higher than when Connor Barron was playing in the number six position. Barron would drop deep between the two centre halves to receive the ball and look to play forward facing the game. Raskin instead positions himself 10 yards further up the pitch and looks to take the ball on the half turn and play forward. This small change has made a noticeable impact to Rangers build up play.
Against Hearts Raskin’s position, along with his movement, created better angles and options for Balogun and Souttar. They could play forward to Raskin, who in turn could look to play wide to Jefte or Tavernier. Raskin also had the option of playing to Diomande in the number ten role. His position also created space for Balogun and Souttar to play through the lines and find Cerny, Bajrami or Diomande directly. This change in position is small, but alongside Raskin’s willingness to play simple forward passes, allows Rangers to build passages of play more successfully.
Raskin’s passing can improve, his accuray today was 85%, and being prepared to run at opponents and create opportunities for his teammates will improve his game further. At the start of the second half we saw he is capable of this with a direct run right from just inside his own half which saw a shot well blocked by the Hearts defence. The real strength of the young Belgian’s game though is the work he does defensively. He won eight out of eleven duels and five out of six tackles in the game against the team from the capital. In addition he recovered the ball seven times, cleared the ball on four occasions and made one block. His tenaciousness was illustrated in the fifty third minute when rather than accept giving away a corner when faced up against the Hearts winger, he battled to keep the ball in play before then winning his team a free kick.
Throughout the entire game Raskin did not commit a single foul yet ensured that he was strong and combative. The partnership Raskin is developing with Connor Barron continued to flourish at Ibrox on Sunday. Both players appear to complement each other and Raskin playing in the number six position as allowed Barron much more freedom, He can now start to build attacks and has the opportunity to run beyond the midfield as exemplified at the goal when Barron made a late run onto the box only just failing to connect before the ball went through to Tavernier.
It was a difficult afternoon for Rangers on Sunday and although they secured the three points the grumbles and moans heard at full time will not have escaped the manager. The cheers heard a few minutes earlier when Nico Raskin was awarded the man of the match award may provide small chink of light in the darkness for both manager and supporters.
