Motherwell’s unbeaten run in the William Hill Premiership came to an end at Ibrox on Saturday, with a goal from Ryan Naderi the difference between the sides.
Alfred Johansson made three changes to the side that swept Dundee United aside on Wednesday night. Regan Charles-Cook and Ibrahim Said were restored the frontline, with Jake Girdwood-Reich replacing Jamie Knight-Lebel in defence.
Motherwell have enjoyed success in Govan in the last three years, picking up three wins in that time having not won their since 1997.
And the belief was apparent in the early stages from the Steelmen that they could emulate something similar on this occasion too, as they quickly racked up possession and successful passes. Said broke forward in the early stages, before finding Charles-Cook in the penalty area who headed over the bar.
There was then a lengthy delay as VAR appeared to have some technical issue, with both sets of players and supporters growing more inpatient at the delay. Rangers were then dealt a blow after eight minutes as captain Lawrence Shankland was forced off, with Naderi brought on in his place.
And the substitute made an impact four minutes after coming on. Martin Moormann played a pass back to keeper Alex Paulsen, the New Zealand international was dispossessed by the forward before tapping into the empty net. 12 minutes gone, 1-0 Rangers.
That early setback didn’t seem to negatively impact Motherwell’s approach to proceedings, who immediately looked for a response. There was some patient play on the edge of the Rangers penalty area before Joe Hodge set Tawanda Maswanhise on his left foot for a strike, but the effort was gathered by Ivor Pandur.
Djeidi Gassama then showed his pace and skill to carry the ball forward. The winger cut inside and had a shot at goal but Moormann was on hand to block with his foot.
Paulsen was then called into action as Minsu Kim tried to head into the bottom corner, but the keeper got down well to keep the scoreline at 1-0.
Former Rangers player Alex Lowry almost had his perfect return to Ibrox around the 25th minute, when he combined with Charles-Cook before faking a shot with his left foot, cutting onto his right and shooting straight at Pandur.
Duncan Nicholson pointed to the penalty spot just shy of the half-hour mark when Tom Sparrow was judged to have brought down Gassama just inside the area after the two players came together competing for a cross. Minsu stepped up from 12-yards but fired wide of the target.
Dujon Sterling then put an inviting cross into the Motherwell box, Gassama connected well with his head but Paulsen produced another brilliant save, with Moormann clearing the ball before Gassama had the opportunity for a rebound.
Lukas Fadinger then worked his way into the penalty area as he burst into the box but couldn’t get a strike away before losing possession.
Paulsen was just as sharp in the second-half when, after nine minutes after the interval, Minsu was once again denied by the shot-stopper, with James Penrice striking the post on the follow-up.
Motherwell were able to venture forward on the hour-mark, with half-time substitute Jardell Kanga threading the ball through for Maswanhise, but the shot wasn’t enough to seriously trouble Pandur who was well behind the effort.
Rangers continued to push and kill the game off. Five minutes later, Niko Raskin had to wait for the ball to drop before catching it sweetly on the volley. The Belgian beat Paulsen but Moormann had moved back onto the goal line and was able to block before the ball crossed it.
Fadinger uncharacteristically misplaced a pass in the penalty area from a Motherwell goal-kick, and Daisuke Yokota pounced. But the Rangers summer signing was off-balance as he struck and the ball went high and wide, with the Steelmen breathing a sigh of relief.
It really should have been 2-0 when Kevin Kelsy got on the end of a Penrice cutback, but the striker struck the bar with his effort.
The home crowd began to get nervous as the game edged closer to full-time, but Motherwell were unable to create a clear chance in the closing stages with Derek McInnes’ side able to claim the three points.
Motherwell Team: Paulsen, Sparrow, Girdwood-Reich, Moormann, Longelo, Hodge, Fadinger, Lowry, Said, Charles-Cook, Maswanhise.
Motherwell Subs: Connelly, O’Donnell, Knight-Lebel, Williams, Kanga, Levitt, Vogt, Bjørgolfsson, Palmer-Houlden.
