And so it was on to Ainslie Park for the SPFL Trust Trophy tie against Spartans. Even taking into account the six changes the home side made after their League Cup defeat at Firhill it was an excellent performance from the young Rangers side dominating from start to finish.
Rangers first chance came on six minutes when Bailey Rice’s superb pass released Alex Lowry deep inside the right side of the box but was denied by Jacques Heraghty who saved at his near post. Four minutes later Zak Lovelace laid the ball back to Bailey Rice whose twenty-five yarder was just wide of the keeper’s left hand post.
Eleven minutes before the break the home side had a great chance to take the lead, a flick on allowed Bradley Whyte to break into the box and Kieran Wright stuck out a foot to block the shot, Danny Denholm looked sure to score from the rebound but he miscued and Kieran Wright saved comfortably. Straight to the other end and Alex Lowry’s thirty yard free kick beat Jacques Heraghty but struck the junction of bar and right hand post.
Rangers took the lead eight minutes before the break with a brilliant Robbie Fraser strike, he won the ball and sent an unstoppable twenty five yarder into the keeper’s top left hand corner.
Half-Time:- Spartans 0 Rangers 1
Rangers increased their lead a couple of minutes after the break, a deft Alex Lowry lob over a defender released Thompson Ishaka deep inside the left side of the box and he blasted past the keeper. Within a couple of minutes Bailey Rice was testing Jacques Heraghty from a free kick on the right hand angle of the box with the keeper holding on at his near post.
Rangers third came from the penalty spot before the half was ten minutes old, Zak Lovelace set off on a solo run past a couple of defenders but was brought down right on the edge of the box by Ayrton Sonkur, the referee adjudged it was inside the box and pointed to the spot which Alex Lowry duly converted. The game then went a bit flat and was only noted for a series of substitutions until the home side had a chance in the final quarter hour, a pass in from the right saw Rhys Armstrong force a save from Kieran Wright with a shot from the edge of the box.
Full-Time:- Spartans 0 Rangers 3
Spartans:- Jacques Heraghty; Kieran Watson, Ayrton Sonkur, Jordan Tapping, Michael Allan (Alan Brown 73 Mins); Gavin Morrison (Rhys Armstrong HT); Sam Jones, Bradley Whyte (James Craigen HT); Danny Denholm, Sean Brown (Given Ndlovu 78 Mins), Cammy Russell (Jamie Dishington 73 Mins).
Not Used:- Blair Carswell (Gk), Kevin Waugh, Blair Henderson
Rangers:- Kieran Wright; Zander Hutton, Kristian Webster (Leyton Grant 81 Mins), Connor Allan, Robbie Fraser; Bailey Rice (Mackenzie Strachan 60 Mins), Ross McCausland (Paul Nsio 81 Mins), Arron Lyall; Alex Lowry, Thompson Ishaka (Josh McPake 60 Mins), Zak Lovelace (James Graham 73 Mins).
Not Used:- Mason Munn (Gk), Jamie Newton, Connor Young.
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