Glasgow Rangers loanee Ryan Hardie did something his parent club could not do during the Ibrox side’s latest midweek game.
Heading into January, Rangers boss Steven Gerrard may have some tricky decisions to make regarding some of the Gers loanees who are shining during their time away from Ibrox.
If the club can bring them back, there are certainly a couple of players that are staking a claim to be recalled – and Ryan Hardie is unquestionably proving to be one of them.
After a terrible time with injury, the Gers youngster is back fit and making up for lost time. He made just his third Scottish Premiership start of the season at the weekend, and marked it with his fourth goal in those starts.
It was a superb goal from the 21-year-old as he ran onto a long pass and lifted the ball deliciously over the onrushing goalkeeper to give Livingston a 1-0 lead in a game that would ultimately finish 1-1.
What was particularly significant about the goal is the opponents that it came against. Hibernian had managed to hold on for a goalless draw with Rangers last Wednesday, but were outplayed for large parts of the game by Gerrard’s men.
The Gers simply could not put the ball into the back of the net despite testing Adam Bogdan on a number of occasions. So Hardie scoring against Hibs is a particularly encouraging.
Of course, Hibs would have been a lot more open against Gary Holt’s men than they were against Rangers. But the composure he showed when put through is exciting for the Light Blues.
His form in the top flight should be catching Gerrard’s eye. Hardie has scored as many goals in his last three appearances as Rangers have in their last six games in all competitions.
And with Rangers not having many options up front, perhaps bringing Hardie back in January has to be seriously considered after he scored against the team that his parent club could not see off a few days earlier.
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