“Very likeable” — Former Rangers midfielder backs Cyriel Dessers against critics

By Monsurah Olatunji

Former Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield has come to the defense of Cyriel Dessers, likening him to legendary striker Alfredo Morelos following criticism from some fans, despite the Nigerian forward’s impressive hat-trick in Rangers’ 5-0 Scottish Cup win over Fraserburgh.

Dessers, who netted a hat-trick to help Rangers ease into the fifth round of the competition, was not without his critics during the match.

Despite the dominant performance by the Light Blues, Dessers missed a glaring opportunity early in the game, skewing an open goal attempt wide. He also could have completed his hat-trick earlier, but his cross-cum shot in the 74th minute found teammate Ross McCausland, who scored instead.

However, Dessers’ persistence paid off in the 90th minute when he squeezed in a goal from a tight angle to complete his hat-trick, after earlier hitting the post with a header.

Despite the trio of goals and an assist, Dessers still finds himself at the receiving end of some frustration from his supporters.

However, Arfield, who was on punditry duty with BBC, strongly backed the striker and drew comparisons to Morelos, a player he once played alongside at Ibrox.

“I think 25,000 in here love him and 25,000 don’t, but he comes across as very relatable, very likeable, and he looks like a good team-mate,” Arfield said.

He continued, “Any good striker that misses a chance, they don’t care. They’ve got this selfishness. He goes back for more and that’s what you want.”

Arfield also highlighted Dessers’ mental strength, comparing him to Morelos: “I played here with Alfredo Morelos and he genuinely didn’t care how bad he was in games.

“It was his greatest attribute because he just went back for more. I was a player that might have that wee level of, maybe, insecurity, but the best people haven’t got it. They’ve just got this absolute bulletproof mentality. And Dessers has a bit of that.”

Samuel Ahmadu

Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.

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