Fitz-Jim 27
Lawrence 33
Van Den Boomen 40
Match Information
Manager: Philippe Clement
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Jeroen Manschot
Matchday: Saturday 3pm
Match Trivia
Philippe Clement suffered a dent in his pre-season preparations as Rangers lost to Ajax yesterday. Rangers’ second game was played in the Dutch town of Wezep - and the 2-1 defeat followed their earlier goalless draw against Standard Liege. While the crowd was smaller than it would have been had the game been played in Amsterdam, it included some familiar faces. Ronald de Boer, Michael Mols, Arthur Numan, and Bert Konterman all came along to see their former club. And there were some positives too for manager Clement from the workout despite the scoreline. Chief among them the return of Danilo after seven months out injured, the striker getting 15 minutes at the end. Also positive were the strong performances of the new signings. Jefte, the Brazilian full-back, played from the start while Connor Barron got a half after Nicolas Raskin suffered an injury and had to limp off just before the interval. And Liam Kelly kept a clean sheet in the 45 minutes he played - an achievement clinched with a string of good saves. He replaced first choice number one, Jack Butland, who did not have such a good afternoon. The former England internationalist collided with Kenneth Taylor as the pair went to meet a Jordan Henderson ball over the defence. When the ball broke loose, Ajax’s Kian Fitz-Jim pounced to net from a tight angle. They were soon level, Tom Lawrence equalising with a brilliant set-piece score from just outside the box. It was only a brief respite, though, as they fell further behind to yet another free kick and another tough moment for Butland. He looked to have the effort from Branco van den Boomen under control but allowed the ball to go under his body. Scott Wright, like Kelly, one of the earlier changes, came close to grabbing an equaliser forcing a save from the keeper. But the most welcome change was the introduction of Danilo, a moment long awaited. Clement’s side will be back in action on Saturday in another glamour friendly when they take on Manchester United at Murrayfield. He explained Oscar Cortes had not been risked as the club were having to carefully manage the workloads of all players after what had been a tough training camp.
