Picking up red cards is a rarity for CB Leon Balogun and so when he does it’s such a big deal, but we may not know the how well Rangers can cope with his suspension until the Championship playoffs get under way.
Until then though, Rangers managed well with 10 men to breeze pass Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership League.
Balogun clattered into Motherwell midfielder Dean Cornelius before the half hour mark and was given his marching orders – his 5th on record.
Sent off in the 28th minute with Rangers up 1-0, albeit from an own goal, the momentum quickly swung in favor of the opposition and they made it count.
The leveler hit seven minutes later, Jake Carroll provided a fine cross for Ross Tierney who headed home.
However, the visitors weren’t demoralized and after the restart they quickly responded, Scott Wright restored Rangers’ lead.
Just past the hour mark the Gers were handed an opportunity to wrap up, the Referee awarded them a penalty.
It was an invitation to good to resist and Captain James Tavernier stepped up and tucked the ball away to cap the win.
The victory saw the Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side end the regular season second behind Celtic as they head into the Championship play-off.
Meanwhile, the Gers will now be without the 1.9m Nigeria for at least the first game of the playoff, against Rangers.
The player picked up only his fifth red card, twice at Rangers and the other three during his time in Germany with Mainz and Dusseldorf.
