PEDRO Caixinha watched the closing stages of his Rangers side’s Betfred Cup semi-final defeat to Motherwell yesterday high in the Hampden main stand just behind his errant striker Kenny Miller.
It is unclear today which of them will last longer at Ibrox in the wake of the latest disappointing result of the Portuguese coach’s tumultuous seven month reign.
This was a chance for Caixinha to rack up three wins in a row for the first time since taking charge back in March and he failed to take it.
Caixinha, who was ordered off along with his opposite number Stephen Robinson midway through the second half for complaining about a decision, could certainly be forgiven for being upset with the handling of the semi-final by referee Steven McLean.
The match official failed to discipline Ryan Bowman for a questionable challenge on Fabio Cardoso which led to the centre half suffering a broken nose and being forced to leave the field.
The forward had already been yellow carded for an almost identical incident involving the same player early in the first half and would have been red carded had McLean taken action, as he probably should have.
Earlier, Charles Dunne also escaped punishment after bundling over Alfredo Morelos when the Rangers forward was poised to burst through on the Motherwell goal. If the defender had been ordered off he could have had few complaints.
It will have been galling for Caixinha when Dunne set up Louis Moult for his side’s second goal with a long punt upfield.
Still, Motherwell richly deserved what was a comfortable victory. Rangers were both outthought and outfought by a far better team during the course of 90 incident-packed minutes which were a terrific advertisement for the Scottish game.
Robinson has a side of committed and robust players who are unafraid to embrace the physical aspect of the game. But it is unfair to dismiss them as simply well-organised and hard-working.
Certainly, in Louis Moult, who scored twice in the second half, they have a special talent. His second strike, a lob over Jak Alnwick from over 20 yards out in the 74th minute, was just sublime.
The Fir Park board, who rejected a bid of £350,000 from Aberdeen for Moult in the summer, have been rewarded and then some for their refusal to cash in on their prized asset.
Trevor Carson in the Motherwell goal saved well from Josh Windass in both the first and second halves and also brilliantly held a Morelos header near the end. Morelos, Declan John and Bruno Alves also went close. But at no stage did Carson look like being beaten. He was protected well with Dunne, Peter Hartley and Cedric Kipre in front of him.
The same was not true of his opposite number Alnwick. The Englishman was fortunate that Ryan Jack was positioned behind him on the goal line after he failed to block a Cedric Kipre shot at a Chris Cadden corner shortly before half-time.
Caixinha has been irked by persistent questioning about Miller’s situation and whether the player, who has not been involved since being disciplined and dropped in the wake of the defeat to Celtic last month, will feature under him again going forward.
This game, though, was crying out for a player with the 37-year-old’s intelligence, experience and industry. He certainly would have offered far more than Carlos Pena. The £2.2 million signing was once again utterly anonymous and completely ineffective during the hour which he spent on the park.
Moult foolishly kicked out at Alves after the Rangers centre half had kicked out at him as they both lay on the ground with just a few minutes of regulation time remaining.
Robinson must have been concerned his match winner was going to get himself ruled out of the final against Celtic next month and will have breathed a sigh of relief when he was only booked by McLean for his moment of madness.
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