Rangers deny Motherwell piece of history as Rohl's side end 10-game run to go third with nervy win at Ibrox

Motherwell had entered the clash as the league’s most in-form side and, having never gone four games unbeaten against Rangers, had aimed to create history after an impressive first-half of the season at Fir Park. However, they found themselves undone by Thelo Aasgaard’s close-range strike on 67 minutes.

There was little festive cheer at Ibrox prior to kick-off, with the now commonplace apathy filling the air at Govan. While head coach Rohl had managed to steady the ship since his appointment in October thanks to an eight-game unbeaten league run, last week’s 2-1 defeat at leaders Hearts had brutally exposed the squad’s flaws in defence and attack.

Occupying fourth place at Christmas for the first time in over two decades, the German will be happy enough with his first two months in charge given the circumstances, but has already cast an eye towards the January transfer window as he looks to reshape his squad. The German is aware that new additions are essential if he is to exorcise the ghosts of a draining campaign and make Rangers genuine title contenders again.

Rohl was almost honest in his admission that he hoped £8.5million summer signing Youssef Chermiti’s late goal at Tynecastle last week would give him a much-needed injection of confidence, though the audible groan when the ball became struck underneath his feet while driving down on goal in the opening minutes was perhaps proof that it’ll require more than a consolation strike to resurrect the form of the struggling forward.

In contrast, Motherwell arrived in Glasgow with real belief. Unbeaten in their last 10 league games, Jens Berthel Askou’s side hadn’t conceded a goal in over 540 minutes of football. A point ahead of the hosts in third, the usual fear factor which had previously accompanied a trip to Ibrox had almost entirely dissipated as the Steelman dictated the opening quarter of the game.

Cutting open the Rangers' backline twice, both Lukas Fadinger and Callum Hendry were foiled in one-on-one situations early on as the excellent Jack Butland kept the scores level. However, with frustration building amongst the Ibrox crowd, Rangers offered a momentary retort when the tenacious Connor Barron drew a fine save from Calum Ward from the edge of the area. Gassama was disappointed he didn’t see the net bulge after pouncing on the rebound, though, the Motherwell stopper reacted well to palm away his effort.

A fine piece of individual play from Aasgaard then almost resulted in an opener as the manager’s call for more fight began to turn the tide in Rangers’ favour. After ending the first half in the ascendancy, Nico Raskin looked to have got Rangers off to the perfect start in the second period when he slid home early in the second period.

No sooner had the Belgian alleviated the home support’s frustration, VAR decision to rule the goal offside only increased the growing levels of stress. Substitute Mikey Moore went close to opening the scoring shortly afterwards when he deftly flicked Gassama’s cross towards the bottom corner, but Ward was equal to it again as he clawed away his goal-bound effort.

Rangers pressure did eventually paid off via Aasgaard, with the Norway international reacting quickest when Gassama’s angled shot was palmed back into the area. His first goal since the 2-2 draw with Dundee United in October, it ended Motherwell’s impressive six-game clean sheet streak in the process.

As the final whistle approached, Motherwell were left incensed after not being awarded a penalty for an alleged foul on Fadinger, while Bojan Miovski contrived to somehow fall over the ball when baring down on goal at the opposite end as the home support called for the referee’s full time whistle. A second wasn’t needed in the end though, as Rangers hung on for an unconvincing, but necessary, three points.

Rohl’s side leapfrog Motherwell into third, and close the gap on second placed Celtic to six points, with an Old Firm derby at Parkhead on the horizon. First up is St Mirren this coming Tuesday though, as the Gers look to end the year on a positive against the Premier Sports Cup winners, whereas Motherwell welcome Celtic to Fir Park on the same night.

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