How much of being in the right place at the right time is down to good fortune and how much of it is an art form?
At Easter Road on Wednesday, Filip Helander’s performance suggested that any debate should sway towards the latter. After Leon Balogun had taken over the reins for five games, the Swedish defender started his second consecutive game alongside Connor Goldson at the heart of the Rangers defence as they beat Hibernian 1-0.
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It was a hard-fought victory, another of those tense affairs that tend to occur when closing out a league title. The door does not appear to be the slightest bit ajar, however, as they maintained their 23-point lead over Celtic — who have three games in hand — with just 12 games remaining.
The patchy playing surface made for a difficult first half in which sloppy turnovers in possession characterised the game. “I knew we weren’t coming to play a technical game. We wanted to really find the space and, when we got into the final third, then show our quality,” said Steven Gerrard.
Their quality shone through in the second half, with much of that due to the way the midfield trio of Steven Davis, Ryan Jack and Glen Kamara dominated the loose balls and moved the ball. “The three midfielders played like international players tonight,” Gerrard added.
Rangers could have been down to 10 men in the first half when Alfredo Morelos stood on Ryan Porteous while he lay on the ground, but he was not punished. It made for a feisty second half in which Porteous went in heavily on Ryan Kent before Darren McGregor was involved in a similar incident to Morelos. The Colombian showed a cool head to escape Porteous minutes after a couple of flashpoints involving the centre-back, though, and finished off a superb passing move.
Getting to that point required Rangers to be solid defensively as Hibs know how to make life tough – they were the first team to breach the Rangers defence this season in the 2-2 draw in September and pushed Gerrard’s men all the way on Boxing Day — and posed a threat by opting for two up top.
Helander is yet to lose a game in 23 league appearances since joining in 2019. His absence after the League Cup final last year was heavily felt but he put in a stellar performance to record the team’s 20th clean sheet in 26 league games.
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“It’s the reason why we kept him in the team,” said Gerrard.
“Positionally he’s outstanding. You can see he’s been around Italian coaches. He gets in important blocks and puts his body on the line. Over the course of the season it is impossible to ask Fil to play every game, sometimes we have pushed him too hard and he’s had a niggle — the same as Leon, so we will manage that situation.
“It’s a bit like horses for courses, whatever we feel we need. He was outstanding tonight. He’s so low-maintenance as a guy and the players love him.”
The only big chances Hibs created were from a Josh Doig cross in the 18th minute when Goldson dropped off ever so slightly and allowed Christian Doidge a free shot. The striker could not get a strong connection on his shot, though.
Apart from that, it was a night where Rangers were always comfortable. Four clearances, three shots blocked and four ball recoveries, according to Opta, tells part of the story but his reading of the game requires more nuance to be fully appreciated.
10th minute
Rangers controlled most of the possession but Hibs did manage to break through the middle of the park after a ricochet on a couple of occasions. This incident in the 10th minute put Goldson and Helander under pressure as Melker Hallberg had an obvious pass down the side for Kevin Nisbet to run on to.
With Goldson duty-bound to go out there and confront him, it left Helander alone with Doidge behind him, not an easy situation for a defender.
As the ball went wide, Doidge began to time his movements but Helander checked over his right shoulder to gauge where his starting position was.
Nisbet was preparing to deliver first time and it was apparent where the space was that Doidge was looking to attack. With that in mind, Helander anticipated that this was the time he would start to dart across him so he checked his blind spot one last time.
It allowed him to get a read on the striker’s movement and, even though he was not able to see his full run, he gave himself enough distance that he could get a foot on the ball as Doidge cut across him.
30th minute
Hibs were not afraid to be direct and they tested his concentration skills on the half-hour mark with a wide delivery. Goldson and Helander were up against the strike duo as normal as the play developed.
As the ball was played back to Porteous, though, Nisbet made a run towards the ball. The camera only captures Helander’s toe on the right side of the screen but it shows that he thought about taking a step to follow him before shifting his body weight backwards.
That was because he had Doidge to deal with behind him. There was a lot of space behind them as Porteous was delivering from deep. The ball was inch-perfect but Helander uses his arm to check the run of Doidge and interrupt his momentum.
It meant he was off-balance as he tried to attack it and could not reach the ball as it sailed through to Allan McGregor.
36th minute
Hibs looked to get down the right flank in an attempt to expose him but he just stood his ground and slowed play down. Helander does not possess great pace but he is capable of squeezing the game.
Alongside Goldson, they play a high line and look to suffocate the space the opponent has to play in, as happened here when Alex Gogic played the ball into Doidge.
Helander does have a tendency to give away needless fouls in these areas but he is also smart at choosing when to cynically nudge over the striker to stop breakaways before it becomes dangerous — and, in doing so, escape a yellow card.
Here, though, he ushered Doidge to his left and back into midfield.
It meant that when the ball was laid off to Hallberg, he had four players around him and his pass was cut out by Kamara.
The next wave of pressure could now begin but Jack and Davis were covering for Helander at the back had the counter-attack developed.
41st minute
His ability to get blocks in at the last minute is a skill that is difficult to explain but, just before half-time, he proved that always being alert and sensing where there’s danger is about decision making and prioritising threats.
When Darren McGregor knocked down a Hibs free kick, it fell to Hallberg who had room at the edge of the box. Helander was five yards from the ball.
But while Joe Aribo and Kamara were there to block, Helander was the only player in the box on the move. He sprinted back into the centre as the shot was struck.
A deflection saw the ball bounce into the path of Doidge but Helander’s momentum took him beyond the ball.
He showed great reactions, however, to change direction and twist his body as he threw himself at the ball to stop what looked like a certain goal.
52nd minute
Helander has a great understanding of when to push up and when to drop. Here, he was anticipating another diagonal but the ball was blocked by Davis.
When it fell to Scott Allan, he immediately burst forward in unison with Borna Barisic and Goldson to take away the option of playing it into Doidge inside the box.
Allan is forced to go back as Doidge is offside.
87th minute
Rangers have conceded several times due to not defending low deliveries across the face of goal this season. However, Helander gets back into his default position quickly if he is pulled out to press the ball.
By the time the ball goes wide, he has already got back to block any ball into that space.
89th minute
Hibs did not manage to build up much momentum towards the end of the game as substitutes Kemar Roofe and Cedric Itten proved effective at gaining territory for the away side and getting in behind as Jack Ross’s men became more open.
They did have a good crossing opportunity in the 89th minute when Drey Wright broke down the right. At this point, Helander was preoccupied with the man to his right and kept an open body position.
But he made sure he dropped at the same rate as the rest of his defence and checked to see how James Tavernier and Goldson were coping.
There was a hugely inviting gap to deliver into but Helander is exceptional at covering spaces, particularly the front post, and he burst to cover that area.
He times it perfectly and was able to stretch, denying Doidge from getting on the end of the cross.
Keeping Helander fit this season has been a big boost for Rangers. He can look uneasy on the eye and cumbersome in the way he turns, but how many times has he been caught for pace? Very rarely, as his intelligence ensures that he always has enough of a head start to make up for whatever athletic disadvantage he may have.
Balogun has done well since coming in and offers a different form of security, but when Helander and Goldson get back together, it seems like the perfect marriage.
(Top photo: Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)
