Kye Rowles Rangers Q&A: Game plan, frustration, bravery

A James Tavernier penalty early on in the second half handed the Ibrox outfit the lead, which Scott Wright then doubled five minutes later. A Tavernier free-kick on 64 minutes left Hearts with a mountain to climb before a Lawrence Shankland grabbed a consolation strike with 10 minutes to go.

Kye Rowles spoke to the media after the game and the Australian discussed the team's game plan, being brave on the ball and the focus this week ahead of Saturday's trip to Fir Park.

Here's everything the centre-back had to say:

That must have been a sore one?

It’s a bit disappointing to have got so far. I thought we defended resolutely in the first half but unfortunately we caught one early in the second half and they just got on top of us from there.

Is the biggest frustration that you conceded the first two goals in quick succession?

Yeah, then you need to start opening up as it’s a knockout game. I feel like we became a bit open. If you keep it at 1-0 and try and get back into the game then you give yourself a chance. But once the second goes in it’s a long way back.

READ MORE: How League Cup agony further diminished Hearts fans' belief of making the next step

Do you wish the team had attacked more in the first half?

It’s always easier to say that after everything happens, but I thought we defended well in the first half and we gave ourselves a platform to go out in the second half. They maybe pushed a bit harder and we didn’t catch them on the break, but then we conceded fairly early. That kind of ruined the plan.

Do you think the first half was quite similar to the first half at Ibrox?

I think so. We did well until the last five minutes or so at Ibrox and we definitely wanted to replicate that performance defensively while trying to be better on the ball. I think we didn’t really get there on the ball on Sunday but defensively we were good again – until we started getting opened up a bit more.

What did you make of Zander Clark’s performance?

It could have been even more without him. He made some really good saves.

Is he as good a goalie as you’ve played with?

Pretty much, yeah. He is loud and he is a leader. He always picks you up when things are getting tough and he is a composed figure to have at the back. You know he is always going to have your back.

What did you think of your first trip to Hampden?

It was a great atmosphere and it was a good occasion. It was my first time playing at Hampden and it was good fun until we started losing. Hopefully it’s not my last trip here.

What can you learn from this match?

When you face teams like Rangers and Celtic you just can’t give them chances. You see the second goal – we turn it over and they just flood forward. Teams like that, they are licking their lips with chances like that. You just have to try and restrict them as much as possible and not give them a sniff as best you can. But now we are focusing on next week. We are just disappointed.

Was the second goal particularly frustrating?

It just happened so quick, didn’t it? Not even just in terms of how close it was to the first, it was a quick counter. Teams like that can really punish you.

READ MORE: Disappointment, VAR intervention and a missed opportunity: Stephen Kingsley Q&A

The manager has spoken about being brave on the ball, is that hard to do as a wide centre-back?

I’m comfortable with it and I like it. It helps us defensively too. In the first half and maybe a bit in the second half, it was in the middle of the pitch a bit more. First half, if we can put our foot on the ball and keep it for a bit then we don’t have to defend as much. You can defend to the best of your ability all day but if you are defending 30-odd crosses a game, one of them is eventually going to land on someone’s head. If we can get that confidence to keep the ball a little more and make other teams defend, then I think we can turn the tables.

What’s the focus this week ahead of the trip to Motherwell?

We need to be positive on the ball and comfortable with keeping it for a bit longer. You don’t have to score on every attack and you don’t have to just punt it up the field either. Being confident in our ability is something that Naisy is constantly drilling into us. We need to believe in ourselves and have the confidence to play because we are a good side. We need to believe in ourselves a bit more and we will be drilling that in this week.

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