“At half time I was walking in thinking ‘this is going to be interesting’.”

Michael Beale’s Rangers debut wasn’t going to script as Nick Walsh called an end to the first half last night. His side were defensively vulnerable and palpable anxiety settled over the stadium, with Hibs looking more likely of adding a third than Rangers an equaliser.

“I’m wondering if I fired them up too much. Did I speak with too much emotion?,” Beale added speaking after an eventual, vital 3-2 win was secured in the second half.

“I asked them to stop for a minute, how do we want football to look? Let’s get that right first. We were a bit anxious in the first half. Let’s play football for 45 minutes like we practice every day. I asked them to listen and commit to the style we want to play.

“They started winning duels, they started locking down and they played a bit closer together and a bit quicker. We changed one or two things to get around their block. Get more forward runs off the ball and forward passes. After that, you saw all the confidence coming back.”

Rangers had no fit centre-backs to start yesterday’s match and that was clear before half-time. Lee Johnson’s side could win the transitions and spring into space. Having opened the scoring from a corner through Ryan Porteous, Kevin Nisbet ran in behind to reinstate their lead from the kick-off that proceeded Fashion Sakala’s leveller. No doubt impacted by the scoreline, Rangers struggled to break through Hibs, but why?

The visitors played in a 4-4-2 block. With their front two strikers shutting off passes into the midfield, their wide midfielder blocking passes into the hosts’ full-back and defensive line squeezing up where possible to limit space in the midfield.

The route forward for Rangers was either in behind that line with direct diagonals and passes from out wide or overloads on either wing to go around the shape. Before the break, they struggled to do either.

Here’s a good example. As play moves to the right, look at John Lundstram’s options. Elie Youan (the left midfielder) positions his body to block a direct pass into James Tavernier and although Malik Tillman is free between the lines, the distance and risk of an interception are too great.

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So the ball is worked left where Kyle Magennis (the right midfielder) positions his body to block the direct pass into Adam Devine.

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Glen Kamara and Ryan Kent rotate, getting the attacker in between the lines, pulling Magennis out of position and creating space for Devine, if he can be found as the ‘third-man’.

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Kamara’s pass is slightly loose and Kent can’t keep hold of the ball. If he’d been able to play the red-outlined pass, Rangers could’ve accessed Devine’s run into space.

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Rangers Review:

This is an example of an overload out wide to go around the block that the hosts failed to complete.

READ MORE: How Malik Tillman can unlock potential under Michael Beale

Here’s a similar scenario on the right. Youan is again blocking the direct pass into Tavernier but because Marijan Cabraja, Hibs’ left-back, has to remain narrow and keep the back four compact, Rangers could easily access the right-back by using Tillman as a bounce pass out wide. However, play is again disjointed and slow and the chance goes.

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In a nutshell, this is how Rangers managed to turn the game around. As Beale said in his post-match press conference, “we changed one or two things to get around their block”. Matched with forward runs and passes, they could create space and chances that proved elusive before the interval.

Rangers entered half-time having created 0.48xG and by full-time had managed 2.83xG.

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One such change came in the form of Ryan Jack dropping into the defence, forming a back three when the hosts’ built play. This not only stretched the Hibs block by moving possession wide quicker, but it also allowed either Rangers full-back to push up during the build-up.

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The distances between the hosts’ defence and midfield were smaller. To again quote Beale, “we played closer together” which was another factor in the improved combination.

Two other key alterations were made. On the left, Kamara and Kent moves closer to Devine whereas on the right Tillman was “freed up” by his manager to play higher. You can see these alterations in the below pass network, which compares the positions Rangers’ assumed before and after half-time.

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On the left, the hosts were regularly able to outnumber the visitors with clever combination play. Here, James Sands can drive forward from centre-back given Jack’s deep positioning, helping to create a three-vs-four which releases Kamara in behind.

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Devine attracts Chris Cadden, Sands occupies Magennis and Kent and Kamara rotate, allowing the latter to run untracked in behind.

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Rangers Review:

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Repeating this overload on the left, Rangers created chances, notably Fashion Sakala almost notching a header and the corners that eventually led to the equaliser.

It was the right side that won the game, however, aided by those half-time alterations.

Notice as Lundstram plays the ball around Hibs to Tavernier, Youan is tucked too far infield, unable to block the passing lane as he did in the first half.

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Rangers Review:

Hibs’ high line, Tavernier’s time on the ball and Tillman’s freedom to run from the midfield all combine to see the US forward latch onto a pass and produce a sublime piece of skill before assisting Alfredo Morelos.

The first half was controlled by Hibs and the second dominated by Rangers. Subtle changes allowed Beale's side to get around the Hibs block by “playing the football we practice every day”.