Despite the award being given to Ben Davies at Ibrox this afternoon, the general consensus from fans was that, again, Todd Cantwell was the best player on the pitch at Ibrox. From creating space with sharp turns to picking up almost every loose ball, it seemed like he was everywhere today. An impressive display of his work rate is sure to please fans whom may have thought on his arrival he would be a ‘luxury player’ but over the last few games he has definitely proven that this is not the case.
In a match which Rangers won 3-1, pretty comfortably in the end, he shone throughout, always being in the right place at the right time and always trying to drive the team forward. He also, in the first half especially, seems to have built up a solid connection on the pitch with the rest of the team and this will only get stronger the more he plays. So let’s look at his numbers today;
-Mins Played – 89
-Touches – 98
-Pass Accuracy – 88.5% (69 of 78)
-Passes into the final third - 10
-Successful Dribbles – 100% (5 of 5)
-Tackles Won – 100% (4 of 4)
-Ground Duels Won – 100% (10 of 10)
-Recoveries - 12
-Interceptions - 1
Heat map from SofaScore
Now these are numbers to be impressed by! Incredible effort on the defensive and pressing end, he constantly won the ball back for Rangers today and that is visible in these stats. The heat map also highlights how active he was in this game, perpetually pestering the Kilmarnock players in a bid to get the ball back and start moving forward. Cantwell’s performance today was the epitome of the play style that Michael Beale described when he arrived, pressing high to win the ball back and getting the ball forward and he done that in abundance.
To further emphasise just how good this performance was, he had more than double the amount of successful dribbles compared to anyone else (Kent and Tav were the joint 2nd on the list with two). He also won double the amount of tackles compared to anyone else on the pitch, with two Killie players each winning two tackles.
Considering he was playing as Rangers more attacking option of the midfield three, his defensive effort was genuinely excellent. Something Rangers fan may not have expected to see but will definitely be delighted about leaving Ibrox this evening. That’s not to say he wasn’t a threat going forward, the fact he was dispossessed zero times throughout the game is truly astonishing, especially when you consider how often he was on the ball, 100% dribble completion isn’t something many players come away with after an SPFL match but Cantwell seemed untouchable when driving forward with the ball.
The only thing actually missing from this performance was a goal contribution, three blocked shots and then an effort in the second half, probably the most clear chance, which unfortunately he couldn’t keep down. Again, I reiterate, his performance today was so good that it didn’t matter that he didn’t get a goal or an assist.
He showed the fans something that they’ve been wanting more recently, desire and hunger to play for the jersey. A memorably dogged display from Cantwell today will definitely stick in the fans minds and it’s only a matter of time before things click with his team mates going forward. Once that happens Cantwell has the potential to be a truly special player at Ibrox who will have a huge influence within games and undoubtedly be a potential match-winner when the time comes.
If there were any doubts around the signing, today proved that Michael Beale made the correct decision and all that Todd Cantwell needed was a fresh start and new environment to be able to show every what he is capable of. A player whom, thus far, had failed to reach the potential he promised early in his career, is now looking like a player striving towards hitting the levels that were once expected of him.
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