Rangers 2-2 Middlesbrough: 3 talking points as Gers battle back from two goals down to earn share of the spoils

Rangers fought back from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw in their final pre-season friendly of the summer against EFL Championship side Middlesbrough at Ibrox.

Goals from Neto Borges and Dael Fry had the visitors in control, before Russell Martin’s side stages a terrific second half display with Danilo’s header and a Findlay Curtis strike securing an unlikely share of the spoils.

Backed by a sizable 7,000 travelling support housed in the Broomloan Road stand, Boro took full command in the opening 45 minutes and passed up several chances to extend their lead further against a youthful and experimental Light Blues starting XI, featuring the likes of Zander Hutton and Josh Gentles.

Middlesbrough opened the scoring inside 10 minutes when Brazilian defender Borges bundled the ball over the line from a corner after some woeful defending from the home side.

Rob Edwards’ men then had a second goal controversially disallowed for offside, before the hosts were left furious at referee John Beaton’s failure to award a penalty for a blatant handball from Luke Ayling.

The Teesiders double their advanced after the break when captain Fry capitalised on yet more questionable defending at a set-piece.

However, Martin introduced wholesale changes on the hour mark with a number of first-team regulars entering the fray. And those experienced campaigners helped swing the momentum in their favour.

A rejuvenated Danilo pulled one back with a glancing header into the bottom corner after connecting with Max Aaron’s clipped delivery to make it four goals in pre-season for the Brazilian, while teenager Curtis capped off a hugely memorable week with the equaliser in the 79th minute.

The 18-year-old was in the right place at the right time to prod home from close range in a congested penalty area after Nicolas Raskin’s header from a Kieran Dowell corner was well saved initially by Tom Glover in the Middlesbrough goal.

Attention now shifts to the second leg of Rangers’ Champions League second round qualifier against Panathinaikos in Greece next week.

Here, GlasgowWorld breaks down three main talking points from the game and how the Rangers players fared:

Time to trim the fat

Following the announcement of Robin Propper’s departure to FC Twente on a permanent basis earlier in the day, Martin will look to trim down his bloated squad even further and he’ll now have a much clearer idea of the players he wants to keep and move on before the end of the transfer window.

A mammoth 37 first-team players were listed on the matchday programme, in comparison to Middlesbrough’s far more manageable 23. Martin will know operating with a squad of that size is not sustainable if he wants to bring in further additions.

It’s time for big earners such as Jose Cifuentes, Ben Davies, Ridvan Yilmaz and Rabbi Matondo to be taken off the wage bill if a suitable solution can be found, with the quartet once again absent from the squad.

Fringe men handed chance to impress

Martin promised to make changes after Tuesday’s Champions league first leg win over Panathinaikos and he opted to rotate his entire starting eleven, with a host of fringe men given a chance to stake a claim moving forward.

Teenage prospect Hutton started at centre-back alongside summer signing Emmanuel Fernandez, while Oscar Cortes slotted in to an unfamiliar position at right-back. 17-year-old Gentles was part of a front three alongside Gassama and exit-linked Dessers, who looked miles short of match sharpness.

Gassama was the one player to catch the eye, displaying in flashes what he’s capable of, while the imposing Fernandez brought looked composed on the ball and strong in the air.

Martin sees red for his protests

Eyebrows were raised when Russell Martin chose to take up a seat in the gantry for the second half rather than return to the dugout. And it has since emerged that the Englishman was, in fact, SENT OFF by referee Beaton for protesting heavily after his team were denied a first-half spot-kick.

The ball made contact with Ayling’s outstretched arm at a corner, prompting an angry response from Martin as he shot out from his technical area to voice his frustrations with the officials.

How Rangers lined up vs Middlesbrough

Liam Kelly, Zander Hutton (Kieran Dowell; 59), Emmanuel Fernandez, Bailey Rice (Nicolas Raskin; 59), Jefte (Max Aarons; 59), Connor Barron, Nedim Bajrami (James Tavernier; 59), Djeidi Gassama (Danilo; 59), Oscar Cortes (Nasser Djiga; 59), Josh Gentles (Findlay Curtis; 59), Cyriel Dessers (Lyall Cameron; 45)