Reggae Boy Roofe scores as Rangers hit six past Motherwell
LONDON, ENGLAND (CMC) — Reggae Boy Kemar Roofe, a 72nd-minute substitute, rounded off a thumping win as Rangers thrashed 10-man Motherwell 6-1 at Fir Park yesterday to stretch their Scottish Premiership lead to four points.
UK-born Roofe, 28, the club’s top scorer with 10 goals so far this campaign, capped a fine victory by stabbing home after fellow substitute Jack Simpson flicked on James Tavernier’s corner in injury time after Zambian forward Fashion Sakala had completed a hat-trick.
The victory means Steven Gerrard’s side are four points clear of second-placed Celtic, with Hearts and Dundee United also dropping points this weekend. The bruising defeat keeps Motherwell seventh.
Said Manager Gerrard: “I think that’s been coming, it’s almost been in the post. We’ve been waiting for that performance for some time. It was back to our identity. I thought we were an inch away from being perfect today, all round we were superb.”
Two other Reggae Boys faced each other in England’s Premier League as Leon Bailey’s 10-man Aston Villa crashed to a 4-1 home defeat against Mikhail Antonio’s West Ham United, who pushed their top-four credentials while condemning the 15th-placed hosts to a fourth consecutive league defeat.
Summer signing Bailey, 24, was handed his first start of the season, but neither of the Reggae Boys scored, although 31-year-old Antonio, with six league goals under his belt already this term, had a hand in the Hammers’ fourth.
Villa, already trailing 2-1, were left with a mountain to climb when Ezri Konsa was dismissed in the 50th minute for a foul on Jarrod Bowen, with the Hammers forward through on goal.
Bowen rounded off the scoring for West Ham with a close-range finish into an empty net on 84 minutes after good work from Antonio and Manuel Lanzini.
West Ham’s victory saw them equal an eight-game unbeaten run on their travels in the top flight dating back to November 1986.
National League club Torquay United have signed former Crewe Alexandra, Port Vale, Bristol Rovers, Bury and Plymouth Argyle winger Byron Moore, who is of Jamaican descent.
The 33-year-old joined the Gulls on Friday and came on as a second-half substitute in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at fellow mid-table side Wrexham.
