Steven Gerrard’s era got off to a great start with the 6-0 win over Bury on Friday night, with goals from Jamie Murphy, Nikola Katic, a Scott Arfield double, one from Alfredo Morelos and one from the academy striker Zak Rudden.
Within that night and fanfare given towards Steven Gerrard and the new signings, it was pleasing to see so many young players from the academy getting some game time in front of a 41,000-strong Ibrox crowd and to give them a taste of what it is like, leaving them, no doubt, wanting some more in the coming weeks.
Of course, Ross McCrorie and Allan McGregor, academy graduates themselves started the match. McCrorie continued to impress in the holding role and was his usual combative self. It’s nice to see him back and raring to go after his disappointing end to the last campaign, especially with him missing the Hibs match. McGregor, on the other hand, looked splendid in his new kit but in terms of his impact on the game, he may as well have had a beer in his hand sitting in a deck chair because he had virtually nothing to do.
The second half saw Robby McCrorie, Kyle Bradley, Serge Atakayi, Aidan Wilson all get some minutes. However, the two that stood out from the group were Glenn Middleton and Zak Rudden.
The other boys looked very comfortable and did well, not one of them put a foot wrong and they can be proud of their contributions. The reason I singled out Middleton and Rudden because they really caught the eye, Middleton in particular.
The thing that I liked about Middleton’s performance is that he loved to take his full-back on. He linked up well with Declan John but his willingness to hit the dead-ball line was very pleasing to witness. Furthermore, his two assists will do his confidence the world of good. It was two very different types of assists as well. The first for Arfield was a cute pass from a good team move down the right. And his assist for Rudden was typical wing play from the left, beat his man and zinged it across the six-yard box. He was unlucky not to claim for that two assists as he put in a few other great balls but nothing was made of them. A really impressive outing from the young man.
Lastly, just a word for Zak Rudden and his goal. A goal made in the academy, as Middleton got the assist. You can see he has the poacher’s instinct and he loved his goal. He was unlucky not to get the bounce of the ball to double his tally but overall, like Middleton, he was impressive.
A word for another academy graduate, Andy Halliday, who wore the armband for some of the second period on what was a gratifying night for the youth players and the youth coaches who have helped them along to this point.
Jamie Currie
RFC Youth Updates 