Rangers ace Connor Goldson is Steven Gerrard’s unsung hero
After starting off the new Scottish Premiership campaign with three wins in a row, Rangers could only manage a draw away at Livingston on Sunday afternoon.
Steven Gerrard’s side looked completely toothless up front as they toiled their way to a hugely disappointing 0-0 draw. The Gers enjoyed 79% possession of the ball, but despite ‘dominating’ the game, they didn’t really test Max Stryjek in the Livingston goal.
Out of the 23 total shots they had, only three of them found the target, and it was the kind of blunt attacking performance that can have a major impact on the title race in the long-run.
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The one man who came away from the game with a decent amount of credit, was Connor Goldson. The centre-back marshaled the back-line alongside Filip Helander, and once again proved why he is arguably Gerrard’s unsung hero in this Rangers team.
Since signing from Premier League side Brighton back in 2018 for a fee in the region of £3m, Goldson has been the picture of consistency, rarely putting a foot wrong and not missing many games either – it’s a telling stat that he has already amassed 110 games for the club.
It was no surprise that earlier last week, Gerrard waxed lyrical about the 6 foot 3 powerhouse, insisting that he simply isn’t appreciated by many.
He said: “I don’t think Connor gets the credit he deserves and that’s not just this season, that’s looking at the big picture. He’s been robust, he’s always available and has rarely missed a training session. He’s in fantastic shape, he’s a leader and so professional. He’s made a couple of individual errors that I think people hold him to. But he’s so important to this team. I can’t express how important he is to us.
“I don’t know why he doesn’t get the credit he deserves but that’s only on the outside. His team-mates value him a lot, as do the staff and the club. That’s the only thing that really matters in terms of Connor’s thinking. We’re right behind him and we know he’s done a fantastic job for us.”
And against Livingston, Goldson proved his manager was absolutely spot-on with his assessment. Whilst the home side hardly posed the stiffest of attacking threats, the defender dealt with everything superbly, ensuring the Gers could pin them back.
As per Sofascore, he won a quite ridiculous 17 of his total 20 duels, whilst he also enjoyed 113 touches of the ball too – only Ryan Jack and Glen Kamara had more. Goldson could perhaps have moved the ball forward a bit more and with a bit more tempo, but there was no questioning that he has been a lynch-pin.
As Gerrard says, he may not get the credit he deserves, but he’s certainly one of the unsung heroes of this Rangers team.