written by – Rangers Report cover photo courtesy of RFC
Rangers had 24 shots & 19 were set-up with key passes (the pass that leads to a shot).
| Player | Key Passes |
| Michael O’Halloran | 3 |
| Barrie McKay | 3 |
| Josh Windass | 3 |
| Martyn Waghorn | 3 |
| Andy Halliday | 2 |
| Lee Wallace | 2 |
| Harry Forrester | 2 |
| Lee Hodson | 1 |
Here are the zones that label each part of the pitch (forgive me for the crude graphics…it’s not a strength):
The zones go from left to right towards the goal that the offense is targeting. Each number is centralized in a zone of two or two & half columns of grass. The edges of the penalty box differentiate between the center of the pitch & the flanks.
42% of the key passes came from Zone 9 – evidence that Rangers were stretching the Annan defence. Were these passes from a little further out creating more tempo in the attack?
24% came from Zone 17 – so far in two matches this is the area of the pitch that has the most key passes. Rangers are working the ball into the box & then moving it into the best available scoring area (Zones 19 & 22), or are getting the ball to an open teammate on the edge of the box (Zone 13).
16% came from Zone 12
11% from Zone 15 – Zones 12 & 15 represent balls in from the wing.
5% from Zone 13 – with Annan so packed in defensively, it proved to be difficult to make that key pass from just outside the penalty box. Passes from Zone 9 seemed to help Rangers free up some space & create more passing lanes…the closer the team got to the box, the more compact the defence could be.
5% from Zone 19 – this was a Michael O’Halloran pass to Lee Hodson who shot from Zone 17.
After two matches: 32% of Rangers key passes have come from Zone 17, 24% from Zone 9, & 12% from Zones 12 & 13.
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