Match Report: Glasgow Rangers 1 Spurs 2 (and a Trophy!)

 

Match Report: Glasgow Rangers 1 Spurs 2 (and a Trophy!)

What a day, what a game, and what excitement… on and off the pitch.

Yes, we won our first Trophy, and it may be just the Walter Tull Memorial Trophy, but hopefully, it will be the start of a beautiful relationship between Conte, the club, and fans… with many trophies thrown into the mix.

The game started with us going behind, but Harry Kane scored twice in the second half to ensure we remain unbeaten on this pre-season summer trip; Kane has scored five goals in three previous pre-season matches; Antonio Colak gave the Rangers a half-time lead with his first goal for the club.

Harry Kane scored a quickfire second-half double to seal a 2-1 comeback pre-season win for Tottenham over Rangers at Ibrox.

Before the game

Four weeks ago, I had an operation on my ankle (arthritis related) and thought I would have to miss the game (miss a game! Don't be stupid!).

Yes, at one point, the trip didn't look like it would go ahead for me (as the doctor said I wasn't allowed to put my foot on the ground, but after revisiting him, I was told I could, but with only 50% pressure… that was enough for me). Where there is a will (and blue and white blood running through one's veins), there is always a smiling Bill Nicholson looking down on you, edging you on.

Because of the 50% rule, I wasn't allowed to rest my left foot on the floor, so all my weight had to be redistributed evenly to my right leg (where I also have an arthritis knee problem) and both hands (holding the crutches). Not an easy trick. Luckily I was accompanied to Ibrox by my friend Mel, who was also my chauffeur, helper and steadier.

We left Janette's home in Cheltenham at 5 am on Saturday and got to our Glasgow hotel at 11amish. After checking in and getting a drink, we called a taxi to take us to the stadium.

Arrived at Ibrox stadium

On arrival – first priority, programme – followed by a walk (hobbled) to the away entrance. Upon getting to the gate, I saw many familiar Spurs supporters' faces, along with the Tottenham Stewards who always accompanied us to away games. I also chatted to a few disabled Spurs supporters who asked what had happened (ankle/ crutches); as I was about to leave and queue up at the turnstiles, one of them asked me where I was going. After explaining that I wanted to get in early and didn't want to get caught in the rush, he said, "no, no… come with us and go into the 'Disabled section'". I had my doubts, but Mel and I followed and waited outside the disabled area.

Doors opened, and we all marched in (hobbled, drove disabled scooters etc., no questions asked) and made our way to the designated area for the disenabled. Not even a bag search… or a request to see our tickets!

Once in, we searched for our seats but couldn't find them… Mel spoke to one of the Rangers Stewards to ask where we were supposed to sit. He pointed upwards and called over his Supervisor. There were no lifts… so Mel explained that there was no way I could climb the stairs, so the kind Rangers Steward let Mel and myself stay in the disabled area. No problems! And there we stayed until the final whistle; occasionally, the Rangers supervisor came over to me and asked if everything was okay. Wowwww! What service!

I must also point out that our Spurs Stewards were also outstanding, helping in any way they could! A cup of tea would be nice (joking!).

The only person I saw from our WhatsApp group was Janet, who was on the upper tier and shouted down to us. I know Rick and Beverley also went to the match, but we didn't see them.

To the game

We needed Kane's goal-scoring abilities after Antonio Colak gave Rangers the lead in the 24th minute.

Second half

Five minutes into the second half, we were level thanks to a great goal from Kane. He squared up the Glasgow defender Connor Goldson inside the box, transferred the ball onto his right foot and then released a commanding curling effort past goalkeeper McGregor.

In the 56th minute, Kane combined with Son to lob the ball past McGregor (again) and ensure we remain unbeaten this summer. Such was Kane's performance that he was applauded off by the Ranger's crowd when substituted in the 71st minute. They were obviously drooling from the mouth of what we had; a challenging Premier League (compared to their two-horse race league structure) and squad-wise.

Rangers substitute James Sands missed their best chance to equalise late on as he headed straight at our keeper, Fraser Forster, who was booed by the home crowd on his Spurs debut when he came on (he had previously played for Celtic).

It was Ranger's only pre-season defeat as they now prepare for next Saturday's Scottish Premiership opener at Livingston. Fighting in a league where there can only be two possible outcomes… either Celtic or Rangers lifting the league title at the end of the season. The equivalent of Spurs being relegated to the lower leagues and winning everything in sight. But then again, it is an outcome that Rangers and Celtic prefer (competition would cramp their style).

As all football fans know, Tottenham have been busy this summer, making six new signings with the arrivals of Ivan Perisic, Forster, Yves Bissouma, Richarlison, Clement Lenglet and Djed Spence. Before the game, only Richarlison had featured on the pre-season tour of South Korea, where we beat Team K League 6-3 and then drew 1-1 against Sevilla.

Our game against Rangers saw all six signings come on as substitutes, with Bissouma the first to appear at the start of the second half. Perisic and Richarlison were next to come on in the 60th minute as the pair combined nicely in added time, with the Croatian crossing from the left only for the Richarlison to head over the bar. Perisic had also seen an acrobatic effort go over the crossbar a few minutes earlier.

Forster, Lenglet and Spence were all given 20 minutes, with the latter making an immediate impact defensively as he made a crucial tackle to cut out a dangerous Glasgow Rangers move.

Final whistle:

After the whistle blew, our players came to the way end to applaud us. Then off to be presented with the Walter Tull Memorial trophy by Jermain Defoe, who played for Tottenham and had made a cameo appearance (well, many cameo appearances) for Rangers as his final swan song.

After that, we were held back 15 minutes to allow the troublesome Rangers fans to exit in an orderly manner. Once our fans started to leave – 20 minutes later – the disabled section made a move, as I did, so that we didn't encounter a crushing situation (don't forget my leg!).

After that, we had a slow and painful walk to the main road, encountering joking police officers on the way (all good-humoured) and then a further walk to the traffic lights to catch a Uber.

Back at the hotel, Mel and I had a good meal, a bottle of wine then to an early night (not together, just in different rooms 😊).

The next day we left at 9ish and returned to Janette's house at 3.30 pm, where Mel popped in for a cup of tea. A long and exhausting weekend, but at least everything turned out okay (ankle-wise and result-wise).

Conclusion

We had a great trip to Scotland/ Ibrox (even though it rained on and off). It all turned out better than I could have hoped, ankle-wise. We left with pleasant memories of how we were treated by the Scots, their Stewards and even the Police.

I did hear of some trouble; sadly, that is unavoidable as certain types of fans go looking for punch ups… People like Mel and myself hardly see it, as we don't go looking for it. However, I have been caught up in past violent confrontations because I've been in the wrong place at the wrong time. And not just because of some fans, but police and Stewards' over-enthusiasm.

As for the team; very impressed, and I believe we can win something this season and challenge for the Premier League title. I thought all the new players were promising and combined well with our regular team players. Of course, this was a friendly, the real test will be at our first game of the season. That first game will be interesting – also – in who Conte picks to start and who will be on the bench. Remember, five subs will be allowed from season 2022/23.

Critics talk about how outstanding City and Liverpool were and will be this season. Last season we did the double of City and drew twice with Liverpool. Even though that season was a transitional season for us, from Nuno's haphazard management to Conte's more stabilising approach, if it wasn't for us losing stupid games (to the likes of Southampton, Brighton etc.), we could have easily finished a lot higher (in my humble opinion).

We have or will be getting rid of those players that aren't up to Conte's standard and replacing them with better and fresher quality (there should be more players coming in).

What's next for us?

We have one more pre-season game before our campaign in the Premier League starts, as we go to Israel on July 30 to face Roma, who are managed by our former boss Jose Mourinho. After that, we begin our Premier League season on August 6 at home against Southampton.

COYS!

Glenn