Glasgow Rangers finally got their first win of the season in the Scottish Premiership to alleviate some of the pressure on head coach Russell Martin.
The Light Blues had failed to win any of their first five matches in the division, their worst start to a league campaign in 47 years, but finally got three points on the board on Sunday.
Max Aarons scored in the 94th minute to win the match for the Ibrox giants after coming off the bench to strike, scoring his first goal for the club since his loan move in the summer.
How Max Aarons won the game for Rangers
The former England U21 international popped up with a crucial goal that was desperately needed, because the Grs were staring down the face of six games without a win to start the season.
As heard in the clip above, Martin needed a goal from that corner and that is exactly what he got when Aarons evaded his marker to smash home a brilliant finish on the spin.
It was a goal that a striker would have been proud of. The way he moved to get away from his marker and then the finish to find the bottom corner was textbook centre-forward play, but it came from a right-back.
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Whilst Aarons was the player who scored the winner, it may have been Nicolas Raskin who just saved Martin’s job at Ibrox with his performance against Livingston.
How Nicolas Raskin may have saved Russell Martin's job
Ironically, after being left out of the matchday squad for games against Celtic and Hearts by the manager, the Belgium international may have saved his job by heavily contributing to the 2-1 win for the Light Blues.
Martin is under a lot of pressure from some supporters, who protested against him before during the recent League Cup win over Hibernian, due to the nature of the results and performances this season.
A sixth game without a league win, after losing 1-0 to Genk on Thursday night, could have put the manager’s position into major doubt, at least from the outside looking in, which is why beating Livingston feels like a big moment for Martin.
It was a win that was largely orchestrated by the quality of Raskin in the middle of the park, because he showcased his ability in and out of possession throughout the game.
Minutes
90
Pass accuracy
88%
Key passes
3
Big chances created
1
Penalties won
1
Duels won
8/14
Dribbled past
0x
As you can see in the table above, the former Standard Liege star won the majority of his defensive duels and was not dribbled past a single time, which shows that he was incredibly reliable and solid defensively.
On top of that, Raskin won the penalty that James Tavernier missed in the first half and created three chances for his teammates in total, the last of which was his excellent delivery from the corner that Aarons scored from.
The 23-year-old star, who earned an 8/10 player rating from IbroxNews, never stopped running from the first whistle to the last, closing down opposition players, making unselfish runs to stretch the game, bursting beyond his man to spark attacks.
It was a terrific performance that was full of energy, grit, determination, and quality. Things that the team’s overall performances this season have been lacking.
If Martin keeps his job and goes on to be a success at Ibrox, he may have Raskin to thank for his match-winning performance in midfield against Livingston in this game.
