Scottish Premier League
Ibrox, Glasgow
Admission: £24.00
Programme: £2.50
Attendance: 44,609
Match Rating: 3
For today's daytrip to Glasgow, I decided to see if Ibrox's reputation for being one of the best club arenas with one of the most passionate atmospheres in the UK was true. After flying up from London Stansted to Prestwick airport early in the morning, I enjoyed a very pleasant train journey along the Ayrshire coast via Troon and Irvine – with Scotrail providing the excellent offer of half price train travel anywhere in Scotland for any passenger using Prestwick airport that day. Arriving in Glasgow several hours ahead of kick off, I explored the nicer parts of Glasgow before making my way from central Glasgow to Ibrox via the Glasgow subway system, which took about 15 minutes. Helpfully, Ibrox station is just a couple of minutes’ walk from the stadium – although an excessively lengthy queue after the game meant that I used the much quieter station of Cessneck after the game.
Ibrox Stadium certainly is an impressive arena from the outside as well as inside, with the ground having an imposing yet refreshingly traditional feel to it. My ticket was for a seat in the bottom of the three-tiered Bill Struth (Main) Stand, the only stand dating from before the 1980's, originally being constructed in 1928. Facilities are excellent, as are legroom and views of the action, with no obstructing pillars or the like. The other three sides of the stadium are two tiered stands joined together, although the corners at either end of the Govan Stand have large screens (which were not used today) built into the stand, with just a small area of seating underneath - one of these small areas housing the away fans today. At £2.50, the programme was priced lower than many League 2 publications in England, but was a little disappointing in terms of content considering the stature and following of the club.
It comes as no surprise that Rangers have made a very strong start to the season, with a 100% record after 7 straight victories, although they needed two goals in the last ten minutes, including a goal in the fourth minute of injury time at the end of the game, to preserve that record last time out away to Hearts. That perfect record still wasn't enough to earn them top spot - Celtic, also achieving seven wins out of seven at the start of the season, had earnt that right with a one goal superior goal difference. Motherwell, meanwhile, could claim the "best of the rest" tag, in third place, with thirteen points from their opening seven games, so a massive eight points (considering only seven games had been played) behind the old firm.
Although Rangers had some good chances in the first half, they were clearly showing signs of weariness and having difficulties tuning into this game after the international break, during which, just four days previously, six of the Rangers players heroically lost to Spain. As the half wore on, Motherwell looked stronger and stronger and they earned a deserved half time lead when Nick Blackman crashed in a header off the crossbar after an excellent cross whipped in by Jamie Murphy. With the Rangers fans having become increasingly restless at a disjointed first half performance and greeting the half time whistle with a chorus of boos, there looked a real chance of causing a major upset and ruining Rangers' perfect record. To do so, they would certainly need to consolidate and keep things tight early in the second half. They didn't manage it, as within a couple of minutes of the restart, Rangers equalised when Steven Naismith bundled the ball past the keeper. Rangers certainly were looking a much better team compared to the first half, but Motherwell were looking organised. Ultimately, Rangers blew Motherwell aside in a breathtaking five minute period just after the hour. Steven Davis gave Rangers the lead with a fantastic powerful strike from 18 yards into the top corner, Kenny Miller increased the lead with an unmarked far post header after a perfect cross by Naismith,
and a three goal lead was established when Vladimir Weiss played a good one-two with Kyle Lafferty to round the keeper to score. Unsurprisingly, the atmosphere by now was electric, allowing me to sample what I had hoped.Unfortunately, the fourth goal killed the game, as for the remainder, Rangers took their foot off the gas and blooded some youngsters, whilst Motherwell were strictly on damage limitation duties. And so the game ended in a convincing 4-1 home win, a scoreline which was very harsh on Motherwell, who more than played their part, but the electrifying burst of Rangers perhaps demonstrated the vastly superior class and quality that they (and Celtic) have compared to the other clubs in the Scottish Premier League
Video highlights of this match can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRqpE-lt7Gs
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