written by – Rangers Report

Note:  For an explanation of this statistic, please read this introductory post.

CZE:  Controlled Zone Entry, Pos Res:  Positive Result, Success Rate:  percentage of controlled entries turned into a positive result

This data is meant to be an entry point to further understand where Rangers attack is being generated.  It is, however, only a starting point.

These stats would have much greater meaning if passing in the final third was tracked.  The players mentioned above are the catalysts for advanced play in the attacking third, but the ultimate results usually fall upon the feet of their teammates.

• Gedion Zelalem had a perplexing one CZE last week against Livingston, so it was refreshing to see him bounce back & be the main factor driving play into the final third.  His 16 CZE represented 29% of the team’s total.
• This was the best outing for Andy Halliday in quite a while, as he added an assist on the opening goal & was responsible for 20% of Rangers controlled entries into the final third.
• It was a surprisingly quiet outing from Lee Wallace & Barrie McKay when it comes to CZE.  The two combined for only 9% of the team’s entries into the final third.
• The entry points weren’t as balanced as they normally are for Rangers, with 54% of the entries coming from the three central midfielders, 29% coming from Tavernier & Waghorn out right &  then 11% coming from the left (McKay, Wallace, & Shiels).  The fact that many of Martyn Waghorn’s CZE came centrally  would skew the attack even more towards having centralized entry points.
• This was the infamous, ‘tale of two halves.’  In the opening half, Rangers had 87% of the Controlled Zone Entries while in the second they had 72% of the CZE…still dominant but St. Mirren did begin to assert themselves more.

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