Super Eagles and Rangers centre-forward Cyriel Dessers has urged his side to step up in their UCL clash against Viktoria Plzen after their draw against Dundee FC, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 30-year-old started his first league game for Russell Martin against Dundee at the Ibrox Stadium yesterday evening.
However, the Gers didn’t impress in front of their home fans yesterday as they were rescued by an additional time penalty by their captain, James Tavernier.
Dessers thought he’d scored the winner in the 97th minute, only for the goal to be ruled offside by the VAR, but the Nigerian forward mentioned his side didn’t have to struggle as they did.
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“I think we didn’t play a bad first half. It was good without being top, we needed to create more open chances, and then second half, in the first 15 minutes, we made it very difficult for ourselves,” the ex-Cremonese forward told Rangers TV after the game.
“After that, we showed a very good reaction, kept going until the end, but we needed to start the game as we played the last 30 minutes.
“You know how it works at Rangers, they always have the next games, and they are all important games.
“You can expect that with a league game against Dundee at home, we have to be better prepared for that.
“We were prepared, but in the first few minutes of the second half, we switched off a little bit, and that cost us.”
Rangers’ Burkinabe defender, Djiang Nasser, was sent off in the 59th minute, and Dessers praised his side for getting a point despite playing with ten men for 40 minutes.
“The fact that we showed a reaction, that even with 10 against 11, we pushed them back, we had the chance at the end. We kept pushing, not giving up — that can be the only positive from this.
“For the next games, you have to stick to your plan, keep doing the things that are asked, and if you can combine that with a top mentality, then I am sure the wins will come soon because we showed it already this week, but we have to be more consistent, and show it on Tuesday or Wednesday, and Saturday or Sunday again.
“It’s clear, we don’t want to start the league with two results like this. So we need to start winning, there is no other way to phrase it,” the ex-Feyenoord man continued.
Rangers secured a 3-0 win over Czech side, Viktoria Plzen, in the UEFA Champions League qualifier last week. The return leg will be played on Tuesday at the Doosan Arena, and Dessers wants his side to finish what they started.
“No, of course. In Europe, it’s always dangerous, especially in away games, so we just need to go there with the mentality to score a goal. If we score a goal, I think we will be very close.
“We need to be aggressive, front foot, go at them, and hopefully score soon,” the 2025 Unity Cup hero concluded.
Rangers have now drawn their opening two league games, scoring two goals and conceding two as well.