View: Rohl shows same tactical nous and flaws from Falkirk in Rangers vs Motherwell

Danny Rohl‘s half-time subs against Motherwell helped make a big impact for Rangers on Sunday.

Gers found themselves 2-0 down at half-time at Ibrox, with Jens Berthel Askou’s Motherwell side firmly in the driving seat at that stage.

That prompted Rohl to turn towards his Rangers bench, as he made a triple substitution in an attempt to elicit some major improvements from his team.

And that worked, as just six minutes into the second half, Youssef Chermiti got one back before Nicolas Raskin levelled the scores with 20 minutes to play.

However, Rangers would ultimately lose to Motherwell, as Emmanuel Longelo struck in the 90th minute to hand the visitors all three points, dealing a significant blow to Gers’ Scottish Premiership title hopes.

Danny Rohl’s half-time subs worked vs Falkirk and Motherwell

It’s now two successive games that Rohl has made changes at half-time, as seen in Rangers’ 6-3 win over Falkirk on 12 April.

Rangers switched to a 4-4-2 against Falkirk for the second half in that one, as Rohl took Mikey Moore off and replaced him with Bojan Miovski when trailing 2-1.

Gers went on to score three goals before the hour mark was even reached against the Bairns, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead in absolutely no time.

That showed Rohl has the tactical nous and ability to be able to spot where things aren’t working during a game, and had the guts to roll the dice when he could’ve easily sat on his hands after Tochi Chukwuani’s goal just before half-time.

His decision that day earned Rangers the three points, and history looked to be repeating itself against Motherwell on Sunday, as his side were able to bring the game back to them after his triple substitution.

James Tavernier, Mohamed Diomande and Moore replaced Jayden Meghoma, Chukwuani and Miovski respectively, and it was Diomande who provided the assist for Chermiti’s goal, as well as bringing about considerable more control of proceedings.

Unfortunately, his players weren’t able to complete the comeback before Motherwell stole the three points back in the dying minutes, but it once again proved Rohl’s in-game management ability.

Rohl needs to make better Rangers starting XI calls

However, what it also does is highlight a frustrating flaw in his coaching decisions at the minute, and that is ‘why can’t he just get the starting lineup right?’

Yes, it’s great being able to witness a head coach who has the ability and nerve to be able to make half-time subs that turn games around, but it would be even better if he didn’t have to.

That starts with getting the starting lineup right, which evidently over these last two games with Falkirk and Motherwell, he hasn’t been able to do.

Rohl is young, and he should be allowed to make mistakes as his potential to become a truly top coach is clear, but that comes at the expense of Rangers winning the Scottish Premiership this year, that’s going to be a tough pill to swallow for Gers fans.

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