Former Celtic forward Scott McDonald was drooling over the performance of Ovie Ejaria after Rangers’ 3-1 win against Rapid Vienna at Ibrox on Thursday night.
Ejaria, 20, was unfortunate not to score himself in the second-half as the Gers went top of their Europa League group, however that did not stop some fans for blasting him for his performance on Twitter.
Ex-Australia international McDonald had a completely different view though, and he says that he was thoroughly impressed by the Liverpool loanee in what was the first time he has seen him play.
“I thought he really stood out in the second-half, he was excellent. Poses a lot of threat, played in lovely pockets,” said McDonald on BT Sport 3 in the live post-match analysis on Thursday night.
“I was quite surprised, it’s the first time I’ve seen him live and he’s quite tall, he’s a big boy.”
OPINION
Maybe some of the Rangers fans were too quick to judge Ejaria or simply just cannot see what he brought to the team, because the midfielder was in great form on Thursday night. He got forward well and also posed a problem to the Rapid Vienna midfield. His height means that he is also a very good player at ghosting into the penalty area and trying to get a header in at goal. James Tavernier’s lovely cross almost gave Ejaria that chance in the second-half, but his header was just inches away from hitting the back of the net. McDonald was clearly impressed with what he saw from the England Under-21 international and hopefully this means that he can continue impressing as the season goes on. Ryan Jack will return to full fitness soon and it will be interesting to see if Ejaria gets the axe so that the ex-Aberdeen playmaker can return to the midfield.