By a Special Correspondent
Rangers were to progress with a much needed but, less than convincing victory over League 1, Alloa Athletic in the Premier Sports Cup this afternoon, running out 4-2 victors. It was a result to (hopefully) ease the already mounting pressure on Rangers manager Russell Martin, who has faced fierce criticism this past fortnight, even after negotiating two very tricky Champions League qualifiers. Despite the victory, Rangers did little to detract from the recent criticism, and with another massive tie on the way in just a couple of days time, there will be no respite.
Alloa arrived at Ibrox with more than a tinge of nostalgia. Being a native of the area I remember fondly, the days of attending Recreation Park to see players of the calibre of Hateley, Mikhailichenko and Bomber Brown, turn out for Rangers Reserves and of course there was 6-0 drubbing in February of 1994, in this very competition, which saw Ally McCoist hit a hat-trick as part of a full strength Rangers team.
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Alloa, to their credit have fared much better of the most recent proceedings, with Rangers only managing 3 wins in the last 9 meetings, one of which being the ill-fated Challenge Cup tie, where Alloa came from 2-0 down to win, in what many Bluenoses regard as the ‘darkest moment’ during the journey back up through the lower divisions. For us locals, it was a lot worse than that!
Russell Martin was true to his pre-match word when he stated Rangers ‘wouldn’t be making 11 changes’. Instead it was just the 10, with only Djiga retaining his place in the backs-to-the-wall defeat but ultimately successful trip to the Czech Republic. Youngster Bailey Rice, after showing much promise last season, was given a chance at left back and there was a rare start for Oscar Cortes. Mikey Moore finally completed the longest clearance process in history, to make his Rangers debut, following his well documented loan move from Spurs. Liam Kelly captained the side, in what would be a proud moment for him.
Rangers kicked off the match to a very healthy attendance of 33959 and it’s fair to say those who had made the journey, were enjoying themselves and with the away end sold out it made for a decent enough atmosphere at kick-off in a game in which Rangers were expected to win and win well.
Rangers were on top immediately and it was the Mikey Moore show initially as the new boy went close no fewer than four times inside 10 minutes. Drawing two decent saves from McFarlane sandwiched in-between a fierce drive that flashed just over, his attempt on 10 minutes, after a lovely give and go with Dowell, where he really should’ve done better, signalled a strong intent from the youngster and gave the home support a glimpse as to why he is so highly rated in the English Premier League.
Undeterred from that miss, Moore continued to demand the ball and it was his one-two with Bajrami that saw Rangers hammer into the lead as the Albanian smashed the ball into the top corner from the angle of the 18 yard box on 13 minutes. Rangers had been methodical, if unspectacular in their approach but, it was a fully deserved lead with Moore at the heart of everything good the home team had done up to that point and whilst it’s very early days, he looks a very exciting prospect.
At this point Rangers are cruising and you fully expect the floodgates to open but, inexplicably Alloa are back in it as, complacency in defence, a common complaint from Rangers fans in these early days of Russell Martin’s reign, once again rears its head. Strikes from distance from Rankin and Alloa’s best player on the day, Roberts gave Rangers an initial scare but, on 23 minutes they are level.
An absolute catastrophe at the back sees Bailey Rice caught out in the left back area which allows Buchanan to break into the box and in a bizarre moment and several ricochets later, his cutback eventually comes off Rothwell and into the net. It was another poor goal to lose and despite Rangers going ahead minutes later through a lovely Fernandez header from a Rothwell freekick there was a slight nervousness around the ground as Alloa started to take a small foothold in the game.
The team from Clackmannanshire and their fans were clearly enjoying themselves and went close with Roberts, who pounced on some slack Rangers passing to try and lob Kelly from distance before getting in behind again where Buchanan drew a point blank save from the Rangers ‘keeper. That effort was to be ruled offside but, it was a stark reminder, that this Rangers team are going to give up gilt edged chances, no matter who the opposition.
In a half that Rangers dominated and one that saw further efforts from Rothwell, Cortes and Bajrami before a rasping Djiga drive, they were to go in only 2-1 ahead at the interval which came minutes after Bailey Rice disappointingly limped out of proceedings, replaced by Club Captain Tavernier, who would take up the vacant left back position. Was this to be another experiment in that position for Tuesday night? Surely not?
The second half kicked off at what can only be described as a ‘pedestrian pace’ and despite going close twice, after good work from Tav and Cortes respectively, there was little to write home about until the 64th minute, when Bajrami’s angled drive, led to a VAR awarded penalty that the skipper gratefully converted to put the game well out of reach for the visitors. Or so we thought.
Almost immediately the Ibrox crowd were treated to a first glimpse of another new boy as Thelo Aasgaard made his Rangers debut, after a frustrating time out injured since arriving from Luton Town, entering the fray alongside Barron and Igamane and with Alloa making a double substitution of their own this seemed to inject some life into the game as Barron, Igamane and Dowell all went close before SPFL veteran, Conor Sammon, famous for once receiving a pizza, man of the match prize, whilst at Partick Thistle, had a half chance at the other end.
Once again, Rangers should’ve been comfortable in seeing the game out and once again they were anything but, as some slack play in the middle, leads to an Alloa corner. The free header at the back post for Devine,came back off the bar initially but, with the Rangers defence like statues, Scott Taggart found himself in acres of space to prod the ball over the line from a yard out. With just ten minutes to go, Ibrox was getting extremely nervy.
Finally, with just a minute to go of the 90, Rangers put the game to bed, with a lovely finish from Finlay Curtis who shot across the keeper and in off the post after being released by Dowell, who to be fair to him, had looked a bit more assured, in his natural position along with man of the match Bajrami.
After the match, Russell Martin seemed relaxed about the performance, citing the aforementioned 10 changes as the reason to temper expectations on a day where many fans were expecting a much more comprehensive victory. Whilst I have some sympathy for him, particularly around this ongoing left back debacle, my biggest concern, along with lots of other Bluenoses is the amount of chances being gifted to the opposition. Sooner or later we are going to come against a team whose strikers will have their shooting boots with them and I do wonder what kind of outcome that scenario brings?
It was alarming the ease at which a league one team could get in behind us today and whilst I’m happy to have progressed, the goals we are conceding are becoming increasingly shambolic. The manager was asked about it post match:
‘The first goal, we’ve let him in on the inside in the first place and we then have 4 or 5 bodies back and it ends up being an own goal. It’s frustrating but, I didn’t expect to look fluid and perfect because there is so many players on the pitch who just haven’t played. It was really important for us as a group to get some rest into some really important players as that will make us stronger.’
Of course, it isn’t all doom and gloom. Hamza Igamane and Finlay Curtis contributions when they came on were extremely positive, as was the first half from Mikey Moore. These are the type of player the Rangers support want to see and Igamane in particular looks a step up from anything the central strikers have managed to offer this season so far.
Rangers now go into a massive tie on Tuesday night against Belgian giants Brugge. It’s a game that everyone should be looking forward to and a huge opportunity to mix it, once again with Europe’s elite.
Give it your all lads.
