MICHAEL BEALE says he was pleased with the contributions from several fresh faces in the starting lineup as Rangers ran out 1-0 winners over Aberdeen at Ibrox this afternoon.
The Light Blues boss named five changes to his side from last weekend, with Academy graduate Robby McCrorie registering a clean sheet in his first start of the season. Ridvan Yilmaz and Ianis Hagi also impressed, while Fashion Jr. and Rabbi Matondo caused Aberdeen issues aplenty.
Speaking to RangersTV after the victory, Beale commented: "I thought Robby was excellent today. He's a good goalkeeper and he wouldn't like me saying he's still young at 25. He wants to play, and he's been injured for the majority of the time that I've been back. He had a good opportunity today, kept a clean sheet, and on a couple of times he helped the team out as well. His distribution was really good and there was a lot to like about his performance.
"I thought Ridvan Yilmaz also played well, and it was nice to see Rabbi [Matondo] and Fashion Jr. link up. There were two moments in particular where, if we score from those, it's fantastic interplay between those two. I also thought it was nice to see Ianis Hagi. He has been out for a year, and he showed in moments today that there's some promise moving forward."
Todd Cantwell struck the only goal of the game with an exquisite first-time volley from a James Tavernier corner, but Beale believes his side ought to have been more ruthless in converting the numerous chances that they created.
He continued: "I would have liked it to be a little bit more comfortable than it was. We certainly had a lot of chances in the game. In the first half we probably got the balance wrong on two occasions, having too many in front of the ball and giving up long counter-attacks, and Aberdeen had a couple of moments.
"However, in the main we were the stronger team and were in the ascendancy. It's a game where we had a lot more opportunities than the one goal we scored, but it was nice to get a clean sheet. It's nice to win here, we're still unbeaten in the league at Ibrox this season which is important. I thought there were some strong performances from a few of the guys who came into the team.
"We spoke about the balance between attacking and defending being right, and it certainly was in the second half. There were no big counter-attacks of note. In the first 15 minutes of the second half, some of the opportunities we had were unbelievable. The ball then hits the bar from two yards out and you think it's going to be one of those days. Fair play to Todd, it was a really great finish and well controlled."
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