RANGERS extended their winning run to seven games with a 2-1 victory over Ross County at Ibrox on Saturday afternoon.
The triumph made it 12 matches unbeaten from Michael Beale’s opening stretch of fixtures in charge, building on the side’s convincing 3-0 victory over Hearts last midweek.
It was Malik Tillman’s name that rung around Ibrox on the stroke of the interval, with the 20-year-old midfielder notching his sixth goal contribution under Beale to put the Light Blues ahead. Indeed, it was the USA international’s fourth goal in his last seven appearances.
Using his neck muscles to power his header beyond Ross Laidlaw in the County goal, the headed strike in front of the Broomloan Road end marked a third headed goal for Tillman since he joined the club, with his previous two coming against Union Saint-Gilloise and St. Johnstone back in August.
The midfielder may not have turned provider on the afternoon, but his go-ahead goal in the first half moved him onto eight goals in a Rangers jersey this term. Statistically, Tillman is averaging a goal or an assist every other game as the manager conveyed his delight after the match.
"I'm delighted with Malik,” Beale told RangersTV after the game. “At 20-years-old, every game he's having an impact and that's two goals in two games now. He done some fantastic things and he was very close to adding another goal.”
It was a goal of fine quality from Tillman, who spoke about his goalscoring instincts as a former centre forward after the game: “I'm not really sure how we managed to work the goal, but Todd [Cantwell] had the chance to cross it and, as an attacker, I have to be in the penalty box and score as many goals as I can and that's what I did. I'm happy to help the team.”
The midfielder is closing in on double digits in his goals column for the campaign, and he will be keen to equal James Tavernier’s stat sheet from last season after the Gers captain registered double figures in both goals and assists.
Central to the victory on Saturday afternoon was also the performance of Cantwell, who delivered the assist for Tillman to get Rangers up and running.
Beale reserved special praise for the 24-year-old after the game, telling RangersTV: "Todd has come in and the way that he's played has been absolutely fantastic. I thought he was very, very good again today.”
The combination from the two attacking midfielders is bound to have encouraged the manager after he was forced into an early reshuffling of his midfield pack when Tillman replaced the injured John Lundstram in the 10th minute.
The assist, meanwhile, was Cantwell’s first since he arrived in Glasgow as he ended his wait this season for a goal involvement. The game marked a second successive start at Ibrox for the Englishman as he continues to build his match sharpness.
In addition, it was another game where Rangers were able to manage to score either side of the interval. Since failing to net in the first half in back-to-back matches at the start of January, the Light Blues have now registered goals in the opening 45 minutes of their last five games.
Although Beale admitted after the match that his side were “fussy” when it came to their final shot, the Gers were still able to pepper the Staggies goal with 26 attempts. That followed their dominant midweek victory over Hearts where, despite controlling a smaller percentage of possession, they were still able to generate a high volume of shots.
Rangers have certainly found their winning groove under Beale so far, with January arrival Nicolas Raskin making his debut for the Light Blues in a brief cameo towards the end of the victory on Saturday.
Winning breeds confidence among squads and the Gers will hope to continue their momentum when Partick Thistle visit Ibrox in the Fifth Round of the Scottish Cup on Sunday afternoon.