Motherwell 1 Rangers 2: Bajrami winner grinds out Hampden win for Rangers and gives Clement a little breathing space... for now
Those Rangers supporters demanding the head of Philippe Clement on a spike will have to wait for now.
As unconvincing as this win over Motherwell proved to be, it was about as good as it was ever going to get for the Rangers manager in the current circumstances.
At the end of a week in which his position has come under serious threat after falling nine points adrift of both Celtic and Aberdeen in the league, a diary date for Hampden on December 15 should give the Belgian some degree of comfort.
While the prospect of meeting a high-flying Celtic side will hold limited appeal at this juncture, six weeks is a long time in football. And having won the Premier Sports Cup in the early weeks of his tenure, Clement will feel he deserves the chance to now defend it.
The hope of the light blue legions will be that their favourites are in a far better place by the time they return here. Bluntly, they’ll need to be.
Danilo and Jefte hail match-winner Bajrami at full-time
This, in truth, for long enough, was another hard watch. While Clement’s side probably deserved to advance on balance, their display was a long way from being impressive.
Having fallen behind to Andy Halliday’s strike before half time, they again relied on individual moments to prevail.
The returning Vaclav Cerny was central to a turnaround which was punctuated by goals from Cyriel Dessers and Nedim Bajrami. Without the input of the Czech, Clement was in big trouble.
The Belgian will hope this scrappy win can be the start of something. But with no clean sheets in four domestic games, the defensive foundations are flimsy.
A radical improvement will be required if Thursday’s game with Olympiakos isn’t to be another long night.
Rangers’ current predicament was reflected in a flat atmosphere inside Hampden which belied the significance of the occasion.
The Albanian's effort took a deflection off Kofi Balmer and looped beyond Oxborough in goal
Philippe Clement was a relieved man at full-time, but the pressure won't lift for long
While Motherwell’s support was boisterous, the followers of the Ibrox men were noticeable subdued even before a ball was kicked.
The fact that this was already the second meeting of the teams at this venue told part of the sorry story of Rangers’ season to date.
Unable to play at Ibrox due to building works being delayed, Clement’s side had seen off the Steelmen 2-1 in a league game staged at the national stadium.
The main positive for Clement in this reprisal was the return to the side of the scorer of the winning goal that day, Cerny.
Jefte was also brought back in, with Neraysho Kasanwirjo benched and Ross McCausland not in the squad.
Liam Gordon returned from suspension for the visitors, with former Rangers midfielder Halliday also drafted into the side which won at Tannadice in midweek.
Andy Halliday opens the scoring before opting for a muted celebration
Dessers levelled matters for Rangers four minutes after the half-time interval
The defeat was hard to take for Motherwell, who performed heroically throughout
As with Celtic’s clash with Aberdeen the previous day, this semi-final was delayed due to poor visibility. For as long as fans persist in setting off pyrotechnics inside grounds, this will be the way of it.
Once the smoke cleared, Rangers’ intention of feeding Cerny as often as possible was clear.
Picked out by Tom Lawrence, the Czech skipped away from Steve Seddon and found the target. Aston Oxborough’s fumble would not have helped settle the nerves of the underdogs. But this was to prove another day when Clement’s side simply huffed and puffed.
The tone was set when Jefte found Dessers in space in the left channel. The striker had to work the keeper yet pulled his strike beyond the far post.
When James Tavernier then played the ball straight out of play with Cerny waiting to collect, the frustrations of the majority inside the ground only grew.
Rangers had plenty of the ball yet did nothing with it. When Bajrami rolled in Jefte, the goal was gaping. Somehow the Brazilian fired over.
Motherwell’s plan was simple; Sit in and keep a limited Rangers side at bay then await their moment. That arrived 25 minutes in.
Jack Butland and James Tavernier have a heated conversation after conceding the opener
Tawanda Maswanhise gathered what was no more than a long punt up the park on the left. His initial cross was repelled by John Souttar and fell to Steve Seddon.
Tavernier’s attempt to block the cross was poor, as was Jefte’s concentration at the far post. Halliday kept his concentration and executed a brilliant left-foot volley.
The celebration of the boyhood Rangers fan was subdued. Not so much the rest of those in claret and amber.
The response of Clement’s side came in the form of a Connor Barron shot that was tipped away by the unsighted Oxborough and a Tom Lawrence strike that was straight at the keeper.
Lawrence injured himself in the process and was replaced by Mohamed Diomande.
Tavernier had claimed on Friday that he’s been happy his form this season. It can safely be said that he’s the only one.
He was again beaten all too easily by Seddon down the flank and was only saved by a poor cross by the full-back.
All over the park, the confidence of Rangers’ players threatened to evaporate. Tavernier teed up Nedim Bajrami but the Albanian’s shot was weak.
Diomande’s curler was parried by Oxborough. Dessers had the goal gaping and sent his rebound wide.
Souttar at least hit the target with a header in stoppage time although it was never beating Oxborough.
Rangers were markedly better after the interval. Seddon had a free header to make it two immediately after the break but put it straight at Jack Butland and would immediately regret it.
Cerny’s calmness on the ball saw him pick out the run of Barron in behind the Motherwell back-line. His cut-back was bundled home by Dessers.
After four second half minutes, Clement breathed a huge sigh of relief.
A brilliant save by Oxborough down at his near post prevented Jefte finding his side’s second. Bajrami’s deep cross then fell for Tavernier.
With the ball coming at him with too much pace, he fired over.
The skipper then made way for Dujon Sterling with Danilo on for Dessers in what was the Brazilian’s first appearance since August 24. Rangers’ pressure saw Oxborough beat away two Cerny strikes in quick succession.
Motherwell’s pursuit of a winner in 90 minutes was to prove their undoing. With too many bodies committed forward, they surrendered possession.
Diomande’s switch of play found Cerny. The winger spotted the space Motherwell had emptied on the right side and played back across to Bajrami.
The winger’s strike caught Kofi Balmer and looped over Oxborough.
To give Rangers their due, they were not lacking in spirit. It’s their quality which remains in question.
