What went wrong in Rangers' Scottish Cup exit?

This is part two of our tactical analysis on Rangers’ cup defeats in season 20/21. Click here to read yesterday’s piece focused on what went wrong in the League cup exit at the hands of St Mirren.

Steven Gerrard’s side arrived at this Scottish Cup quarter-final having sown up the Scottish Premiership title and with the luxury of rotating heavily in the midweek fixture preceding it. Ironically, that game was also against their opponents in the cup, St. Johnstone, as Rangers stumbled to a 1-1 draw where they posted their lowest xG figure of the domestic season, 0.34.

Steven Gerrard restored his side to full strength this time around, with Ianis Hagi given the nod over Kemar Roofe in the forward line.

St. Johnstone, meanwhile, lined up in their customary 3-5-2/5-3-2, with Stevie May partnering Guy Melamed upfront as opposed to 5-2-3 they deployed in their 1-0 league defeat at Ibrox two months previous.

The Saints’ defensive system is predicated on minimising central ball progression, limiting space between the lines and forcing sides to go long and direct against their towering and imposing back three of Jason Kerr, Liam Gordon and Jamie McCart.

Their midfield set-up, with Liam Craig operating as a No.6 behind Wotherspoon and Ali McCann either side as No.8s, allowed the latter two to push up man-for-man against Aribo and Kamara with Craig providing added protection ahead of the defensive line.

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St. Johnstone began the game well as Rangers were forced to wait until the 26th minute to fashion their first attempt on goal through a patient, build-up attack (more on that later). Callum Davidson’s decision to play with two strikers allowed them to attack the space behind both Rangers centre-backs rather that a lone striker attempting to straddle both, and with the passing range and left-sidedness of both Craig and McCart they were able to consistently turn the Gers backline and build attacks in the final third. After 12 minutes the visitors had already won three corners with their ability to breach the Rangers penalty box.

It was no surprise given St. Johnstone’s stubborn defensive shape that Rangers’ first sighting of goal arrived via a counter-attack as Zander Clark saved from Kamara. The Saints were able to limit those transitional opportunities for Rangers with their eagerness to go direct, forgoing short passes into midfield where the likelihood for turnovers and a lack of numbers behind the ball were high.

Hagi or Roofe… or Wright?

One interesting team selection decision from Gerrard was the inclusion of Hagi instead of Roofe, perhaps influenced by the latter’s loss of form (although partly explained by injury). Hagi is really effective in the final third, prising open defence with sharp passes (Hagi led the league in Assists per 90 with 0.4 in 2020/21) and moving into effective areas in the penalty box to score. There was inevitably problems with Hagi’s impact, then, in a game where Rangers struggled to progress the ball into the final third where he comes alive.

St. Johnstone are heavily man-orientated in central areas which can often be exploited with effective dismarking movements. Morelos is very competent at stretching defences both laterally and horizontally, which can create areas for Rangers to attack with third man runs.

In the example below Rangers are building down the right-hand side, with Morelos moving laterally across the forward line to offer a passing option while simultaneously dragging St. Johnstone’s middle centre-back, Gordon, towards the touchline.

This creates separation between Gordon and right centre-back, Kerr, for Rangers to attack. However, Hagi elects to stay closer to Tavernier despite Rangers being outnumbered by St. Johnstone defenders as the move breaks down on the touchline.

Although Liam Craig is well-placed to track movement through the centre from Rangers, a more predatory attacker such as Roofe would likely have played closer to Morelos and been more receptive to attacking the space which Morelos’ movement creates.

Scott Wright replaced the Romanian on 68 minutes and it was instantly apparent that Rangers carried a greater threat going over the top of the St. Johnstone backline. Wright is different from Hagi in that he is more direct in his movement and looks to penetrate with direct dribbles and timed runs as opposed to sharp passes, which makes the composition of Gerrard’s attacking options so effective.

Wright’s impact in that regard was instantaneous, winning a free-kick in the final third with his first action of the game as he collected a long range pass from Goldson.

Having a dynamic threat looking to run into space behind the defensive line in a mid-block can often unsettle teams, as it creates a tendency for the defensive line to drop which can create space between the lines and allow teams to find their attackers in dangerous spaces.

Wright’s impact was notable as he ended the game with two shots and an xG of 0.13 after 52 minutes on the pitch, as opposed to Hagi with a solitary effort and an xG of 0.08.

Above is both Hagi and Wright’s action maps. Although the comparison is heavily influenced by game state - in terms of Wright’s actions being closer to the St. Johnstone goal as they dropped deeper to force extra time - what is most notable is how there is a greater volume of actions, both successful and unsuccessful, in central areas as Wright offered more threat vertically behind St. Johnstone’s defensive line.

Kent marshalled by Kerr

The various components within St. Johnstone’s defensive system were also effective at nullifying Rangers, specifically Jason Kerr’s man-marking task on Kent. The Saints right centre-back was very aggressive in his tracking of the winger, often dropping close to the halfway line if required to prevent Kent from receiving.

Kerr is very comfortable defending both high up the pitch and within the parameters of his own six yard box if needed, and St. Johnstone’s aggression in individual duels across the pitch made it difficult for Rangers to pull their backline apart and release Kent into space.

The frustration for Gerrard would have been that Rangers did offer a blueprint of how to create separation between Kent and Kerr in the first half, owing to Kamara’s ability to provoke the opposition with his excellent manipulation of the ball.

In the example above Kamara receives the ball in the left-back area as Barisic moves higher. Kerr (No.5) has tracked Kent deep while Rooney occupies Barisic and McCann (No.18) provides semi-pressure on Kamara.

What Kamara does expertly in possession is retaining the ball with his close control and manipulation of his body which, in this instance, deters McCann from engaging in fear of being bypassed and Rangers breaking into space. Barisic then drops to pull Rooney higher before Kent’s quick change of pace immediately puts Kerr on the backfoot in a sprint.

Kent is then able to deliver a good crossing opportunity to Hagi at the back post which is thwarted by Clark between the sticks.

Gerrard counteracted Kerr’s very effective man-marking task on Kent initially in the second half by instructing both full-backs to stay high and wide to pin St. Johnstone’s wing backs deep, while asking Kamara and Aribo to drop either side of Goldson and Helander. This drew out the ball-near St. Johnstone No.8 (McCann is circled in the below instance) which created space for Hagi and Kent to drop either side of St. Johnstone’s lone pivot, Craig, to create a 2v1 in midfield.

Hagi was soon replaced by Wright as Kent swapped wings over to the right, and it was a move which bore fruit for Rangers as the winger got more change out of McCart at LCB.

McCart is a very impressive defender but he is naturally less aggressive than Kerr, excelling instead in reading space (watch his defending against Odsonne Edouard in a one-on-one situation in St. Johnstone’s 1-1 draw with Celtic in December last year as evidence). And almost instantly after Kent had moved over to the right-hand side was he able to receive in space, turn and run at the St. Johnstone defence, eventually drawing a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area.

In fact, Rangers’ best chance during normal time was engineered by Kent on the right hand side as he got the better of Tanser and delivered a pinpoint cross which Morelos could not convert.

The right side route would prove fruitful for Rangers in extra time as Aribo’s cross was turned home by Tavernier as Rangers thought they had snatched it at the death. However, in a similar vein to the League Cup defeat in Paisley, the Ibrox side’s game man-management reared its head.

In a move that evoked shades of Connolly’s direct running against Bassey against St. Mirren, Michael O’Halloran was allowed to isolate Barisic on the left before winning a corner. Rangers failed to organise efficiently as St. Johnstone threw a Hail Mary with goalkeeper Clark coming forward. He was left unmarked in the six-yard area to header into the path of Chris Kane to equalise in stoppage time of extra time.

Room for improvement?

It may be more frustrating from Gerrard’s perspective that there is no one definitive area in which Rangers need to address to improve in their cup performances this upcoming season.

They certainly didn’t carry any luck during their Betfred Cup exit to St. Mirren in December, conceding three goals from five shots against the Paisley side. Gerrard may bemoan the rotation in key areas, namely in No.6 and left-back role. However, context is important considering the significance of their league campaign to that date and the need to give a 35-year-old Steven Davis a much-needed rest.

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The St. Johnstone clash was different in that full focus was afforded given the context of their season at that juncture. Rangers struggled to build attacking momentum throughout, but it was a game they perhaps deserved to emerge from with victory given they boasted an xG of 2.79 to 1.36.

Given St. Johnstone’s exploits in both cup competition is fair to conclude that Callum Davidson’s side were one of the best cup sides in Scottish football history last season with their defensive ability and capacity to assume attacking control at the correct moments (O’Halloran’s introduction at Ibrox certainly troubled Rangers).

Rather, next season Rangers require the in-game serenity which accompanies good cup sides in knockout football and a slice of good fortune along the way.