Kenny Miller has told BT Sport that Rangers striker Kemar Roofe answered a lot of critics with his display at Ibrox – as the Gers finally saw off the challenge of Portuguese side Braga to win 3-2 after extra-time.
Roofe, 29, nabbed the winning goal after a night of frustration in front of goal for the ex-Leeds man – having two disallowed for offside and hitting the bar. But Roofe was excellent throughout, a real thorn in Braga’s defence.
James Tavernier immediately cancelled out Braga’s 1-0 first-leg lead inside two minutes, before Roofe raced through and was fouled – Tavernier scoring the penalty, Braga down to 10. But they got a goal in the second 45.
Completely against the run of play, and on we went into extra-time – before Roofe finally got his goal, and Braga went down to nine. Rangers are in the Europa League semi-finals, the first Scottish club to do so since 2008.
Speaking after the game on Roofe, Miller said: “His performance has been excellent. A lot of questions have been thrown at him in the last few weeks, can he lead the line in place of Morelos?
“He needs service, and tonight he has had it. His performance has been very good, and he has lead the line. For his goal, he was where he needed to be,” Miller continued, in his analysis on BT Sport’s coverage of the game.
Miller on Roofe: Rangers star shows there is punch without Morelos
The loss of Alfredo Morelos was a huge blow, to any chances Rangers had of stopping Celtic, their Scottish Cup campaign, and indeed, their Europa League progress. But Roofe has four in two, and is gaining momentum.
Against St. Mirren, he was lethal. Up against Braga, he did the things Morelos does. He lead the line, he dictated two defenders, he dropped deep, he ran the channels – and he scored a goal. He was close to having three.
As Miller says, Roofe has silenced any critics there were – given he has never really got into a groove since joining the club. Now, he has.
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