{"id":19246,"date":"2021-01-17T10:16:40","date_gmt":"2021-01-17T14:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=19246"},"modified":"2021-01-18T11:18:17","modified_gmt":"2021-01-18T15:18:17","slug":"cedric-itten-rescues-a-point-for-rangers-at-fir-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=19246","title":{"rendered":"Cedric Itten Rescues A Point For Rangers At Fir Park"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/2.57580563.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"527\" height=\"360\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19247\" srcset=\"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/2.57580563.jpg 527w, https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/2.57580563-300x205.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 527px) 100vw, 527px\" \/>Cedric Itten netted his fourth goal in three games against Motherwell to rescue a point at Fir Park as Rangers missed out on equaling Jock Wallace\u2019s post-war record run.<\/p>\n<p>Steven Gerrard\u2019s squad were looking to match the 16-game winning streak set by Wallace\u2019s team back in 1973 \u2013 but could only muster a 1-1 draw.<\/p>\n<p>Itten netted his first two Gers goals away to Well back in September and grabbed another as the stuffy Steelmen were edged out last month at Ibrox.<\/p>\n<p>He produced another big moment to level up after Devante Cole had given Graham Alexander\u2019s team the lead.<\/p>\n<p>Frustrating as the dropped points are, Gers remain 21 points clear at the top and very much on course for the title.<\/p>\n<p>But the point will mean a lot more to Motherwell.<\/p>\n<p>New Fir Park boss Alexander got his Well reign off to a reasonable start last week with a 1-1 draw away to St Mirren and another point means his side climb off the bottom on goal difference.<\/p>\n<p>Alexander was forced to make two changes to the team he sent out in Paisley, with Robbie Crawford and Sherwin Seedorf coming in for the concussed Mark O\u2019Hara and on-loan Gers winger Jake Hastie, who was barred from facing his parent club.<\/p>\n<p>The visitors went with the same team that triumphed last week at Aberdeen but the sprightly look they had about them at Pittodrie did not last long in Lanarkshire.<\/p>\n<p>Alexander\u2019s predecessor Stephen Robinson found himself on the receiving end of some stinging flak from the Rangers support last month when he sent his team out at Ibrox without a striker in a bizarre 5-5-0 formation.<\/p>\n<p>His replacement went with a more conventional approach this time round and the decision to play with three-up paid off in the 21st minute.<\/p>\n<p>Frontman Tony Watt swapped passes with playmaker Liam Polworth as the former Celtic man drifted into space on the left hand side of the Light Blues\u2019 box.<\/p>\n<p>His low ball made its way past both Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun as Cole was left free to steer home the Steelmen\u2019s first goal at home since their November 28 defeat to St Johnstone.<\/p>\n<p>Rangers reacted by stepping up their tempo. Borna Barisic dug out a cross after Ryan Kent sent the Croat racing to the byline but Alfredo Morelos\u2019 glancing header drifted agonizingly wide.<\/p>\n<p>Gerrard\u2019s team were getting into decent positions but the quality was lacking, summed up when Glen Kamara almost cleared the Davie Cooper Stand with a wild effort on the back of some tidy build-up play.<\/p>\n<p>Morelos was falling back into his recent bad habit of spending too much time in wider areas outside of the box, while Bevis Mugabi was sweeping up expertly the crosses Gers did deliver.<\/p>\n<p>When Goldson was left clear to get his head on a Barisic corner 10 minutes\u2019 into the second half, Cole saved Well with a goal-line clearance before Joe Aribo blazed over with a wild attempt moments later.<\/p>\n<p>It was becoming a familiar pattern to last month\u2019s clash between the teams as Rangers mounted wave after wave of attack in search of an equalizer.<\/p>\n<p>Itten was Gers\u2019 hero that day as he headed them back in front after Kemar Roofe\u2019s equalizer and Gerrard hoped for a repeat as he replaced Ianis Hagi with the former St Gallen hitman.<\/p>\n<p>The Ibrox boss held his head in his hands as Itten failed to react to James Tavernier\u2019s knockdown after the skipper was brilliantly picked out by Kent at the back post.<\/p>\n<p>But Gerrard need not have worried as Itten showed why Motherwell are fast becoming his favorite opponent with 18 minutes left. Left unmarked at the back post, he powered home with his head as the out-of-sorts Barisic at last delivered a quality delivery.<\/p>\n<p>Fellow substitute Jermain Defoe could have snatched the victory in stoppage time but could not find a way past former Gers keeper Liam Kelly.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-19246\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=19246&amp;share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-19246\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=19246&amp;share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-google-plus-1\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" data-shared=\"sharing-google-19246\" class=\"share-google-plus-1 sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=19246&amp;share=google-plus-1\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Google+\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=19246\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to print (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cedric Itten netted his fourth goal in three games against Motherwell to rescue a point at Fir Park as Rangers missed out on equaling Jock Wallace\u2019s post-war record run. Steven Gerrard\u2019s squad were looking to match the 16-game winning streak&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-19246\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=19246&amp;share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-19246\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=19246&amp;share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-google-plus-1\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" data-shared=\"sharing-google-19246\" class=\"share-google-plus-1 sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=19246&amp;share=google-plus-1\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Google+\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=19246\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to print (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19247,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19246"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19246"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19248,"href":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19246\/revisions\/19248"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}