Leon Balogun was ‘all over the place’ vs Motherwell as BBC pundit rinses ‘fragile’ Rangers substitute
Surprised BBC pundit Leanne Crichton called out Rangers defender Leon Balogun after a ‘fragile’ substitute performance against Motherwell.
The Nigerian played a small part in the Light Blues’ 2-1 victory over Motherwell as Philippe Clement’s men kickstarted their temporary Hampden stay with three points in the league.
Cyriel Dessers struck early on to put his side ahead but Hampden was stunned silent when Motherwell, who were hardly in the game at this point, levelled via a Robin Propper own goal.
Thankfully, Rangers responded superbly as loanee winger Vaclav Cerny produced a moment of magic when he curled a tremendous effort into the far corner for 2-1.
No goals were to follow despite Clement using his the options on his bench, one of whom was Balogun who came on after 73 minutes.
It’s fair to say the big defender didn’t quite look himself but Crichton took it one step further by severely reprimanding the 36-year-old for his involvement in the game.
Leanne Crichton blasts Balogun
Former Rangers forward Billy Dodds was on BBC Sportsound co-commentary with Crichton and initially pointed out late in the second-half: “Balogun is just going from one mistake to another.”
Crichton then quickly interjected by adding: “All over the place, you’re right Billy.”
The former Scotland international would later bring up Balogun after the game when she criticised the Rangers substitutes brought on by Philippe Clement.
Crichton said: “I thought the second-half performance from Rangers when you expect them to come out the blocks flying, chasing that third goal, looking to put the game to bed, it lacked any sign of positivity.
“I thought the players that came off the bench contributed very little. Matondo came on, Sterling came into the middle of the pitch as we alluded to earlier in show that Rangers might look at.
“Balogun looked so fragile and so wasteful in possession. He looked nervous for being such an experienced player coming into that type of game!”
Shocking Balogun cameo
Balogun usually delivers an element of calm to the Rangers defence but in fairness to Crichton, that wasn’t quite the case today against Motherwell.
He replaced league debutant Robin Propper but did not do anything to help the nerves that were starting to creep in as the clock ticked down.
Rangers held just a one-goal lead throughout all of the second-half as Motherwell stifled their hosts and chased an equaliser.
Gers held out for three points in the end but questions are still going to be asked over the defensive performances so far this season because they really haven’t been convincing enough.
Leave a Reply