Ibrox View: 8/10 Sensational, 2/10 Should Be Ashamed — Rangers Player Ratings vs Jablonec

Rangers edged past Jablonec 1-0 at Ibrox on Thursday night in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League play-off tie, but it was anything but a comfortable evening for Derek McInnes’s side. A goalless, jittery first half brought boos from the home support at the interval, before Ryan Naderi’s close-range finish just after the hour lifted the mood. That relief was short-lived, though, as substitute Cammy Devlin was shown a red card for a reckless high challenge barely five minutes after coming off the bench, leaving Rangers to nurse a slender lead through the closing stages with ten men.

It means Rangers travel to the Czech Republic for next week’s second leg with the advantage, but a narrower one than they’d have liked against a Jablonec side who offered little going forward yet will fancy their chances of turning the tie around on home soil. For a club still smarting from a third-tier European relegation after exiting Europa League qualifying to Jagiellonia Bialystok, and still searching for consistency domestically, this was a night of mixed messages — one outstanding individual display, one moment of infuriating individual madness, and a collective performance that never really settled.

Here’s how the players rated out of 10.

## Ivor Pandur — 6

A quiet night between the posts for the goalkeeper, with precious little to actually save until Rangers were reduced to ten men late on. He did well to hold onto a stinging effort from distance as Jablonec searched for a leveller in the closing stages, but with so little else to judge him on, this was a rating built more on tidiness than drama.

## Dujon Sterling — 7

Sterling put in a solid defensive shift while still offering something going forward, and he was directly involved in the game’s best chance that wasn’t converted — a clever piece of skill on the right sent Naderi through on goal, only for the chance to go begging. A steady, useful night’s work from the full-back.

It was an uneasy start for the centre-back, who picked up an early yellow card for a needlessly rash tackle and looked shaky in possession during a scrappy opening period that had sections of the crowd growing restless. He steadied as the match progressed, but this was some way short of the level he showed in the previous campaign.

Quietly one of the standout performers, the South African looks increasingly at home in Scottish football and was comfortably Rangers’ most composed defender on the night. Assured on the ball and rarely troubled defensively, it continues a promising start to life at Ibrox

This is where the “sensational” tag belongs. Penrice followed up his full debut at the weekend with another eye-catching display, defending diligently while repeatedly bombing forward down the left and forcing a smart save out of the Jablonec goalkeeper. It’s been a rapid rise up the pecking order for the left-back, and on this evidence it’s easy to see why Tuur Rommens may find regaining his place anything but straightforward once he’s back from injury.

Wearing the captain’s armband, Neil was Rangers’ chief creative outlet and delivered the pinpoint cross that ultimately led to the opening goal. A second-half booking for a mistimed challenge took a slight bit of shine off things, but his influence on the game going forward was clear

A disciplined, unfussy performance from the midfielder, who did the unglamorous work of keeping things ticking over and had to dig in defensively more and more as the second half wore on and Jablonec pushed for an

Full of running and always willing to shoot from distance, Dragojevic tested the goalkeeper with a long-range effort before later striking the post with a deflected attempt. He was withdrawn after 69 minutes having given Rangers a genuine attacking outlet for the majority of his time on the

Slow to get going, Yokota grew into the contest and produced the pivotal moment of the match — the low cutback across the six-yard box that Naderi turned home for the opener. There remains a sense that he’s Rangers’ most technically gifted player when he’s on form, and this was another reminder of that quality before he was replaced late

Gassama was arguably the most dangerous attacking threat Rangers had on the night, using his pace and directness to repeatedly cause problems for the Jablonec defence. That makes his glaring miss all the more frustrating — a golden chance from six yards out blazed over the crossbar when a goal looked far more likely than not. He was also required to help out defensively once Rangers went down to ten

The matchwinner, even if the finish itself was a tap-in from close range rather than a moment of real quality. Naderi worked hard throughout, gave Rangers an outlet up front, and looked understandably exhausted by full time. Two goals in his last two outings is a solid platform for him to build some confidence

Devlin’s cameo lasted barely five minutes before referee intervention, following a VAR review, ended his night with a straight red card for a high, poorly timed challenge. It was harsh on Derek McInnes, who had made the change with good intentions, but the decision to send Devlin off was the correct one. With his standing among supporters already fragile following a difficult spell at the club, this will do nothing to help his cause

Introduced alongside Devlin, Curtis produced one promising surge forward but otherwise had too little time to make a lasting impression on the game

Barron came on to add some steel to the midfield once Rangers were down to ten men, Nedeljkovic was given a late introduction to help shore up the defence, and Shankland’s cameo was restricted to stoppage time. None were on long enough to be fairly rated

Rangers now turn their attention to a huge second leg in the Czech Republic next week, knowing that a single slip could see their European campaign end at the first hurdle of the Conference League play-off round — a repeat of the kind of night this was would make that a genuine possibility.