RANGERS kicked-off their 2021/22 City of Glasgow Cup campaign with a 3-0 victory over Partick Thistle this evening.
Ross McCausland gave Rangers the lead on the 6th minute with a lovely curling finish before Juan Alegria scored a double at Rangers Training Centre as they picked up all three points.
In this stage of the competition, the young Gers, Partick Thistle, Queen’s Park, Clyde and Celtic Colts will all face each other one in a group. Following the round of fixtures, the top four will then progress to the semi-finals.
Rangers lined-up for their opening match of the competition with Lewis Budinauckas in goal and a back four of Kane Ritchie-Hosler, Leon King, Kyle McClelland and Robbie Fraser.
Murray Miller, Cole McKinnon and Charlie McCann were in midfield, while Alex Lowry and Ross McCausland supported striker Juan Alegria.
Rangers loanee Jake Hastie lined-up for Partick Thistle alongside some other experienced SPFL players including ex-Hamilton defender Stephen Hendrie and former Motherwell forward Ross MacIver.
It was the young Gers who had the first chance of the match as the ball broke to Juan Alegria inside the Thistle half and he picked out Alex Lowry in the box but his shot was deflected wide for a corner.
The early pressure paid off for the Light Blues as they had the lead with just six minutes on the clock. Robbie Fraser played the ball into Ross McCausland on the edge of the box and the Northern Ireland youngster took a touch before curling a fantastic left-footed shot into the top corner of the net.
David McCallum’s side had settled well into this match and had another opportunity as they were awarded a free-kick on the left-hand side of the pitch. Alex Lowry swung a dangerous ball into the box which Leon King got a touch on to flick towards goal but it was held by Thistle goalkeeper Harry Stone.
With 26 minutes on the clock, the young Gers doubled their advantage. Ross McCausland was again involved as he showed skill and strength to beat two players on the right to drive towards the byline and deliver a ball into the box. Striker Juan Alegria was on hand as he managed to get a touch to tap the ball beyond Harry Stone.
Partick Thistle had a chance to get a goal back from a set-piece as Stephen Hendrie’s ball met Jake Hastie at the back post but he couldn’t get a strong enough connection on the ball and it was gathered by Budinauckas.
It was an impressive first-half from David Mccallum’s side as they continued to look dangerous on the attack and added a third goal before the interval. Juan Alegria managed to break with pace for Rangers and saw off the attention of a Thistle player as the referee played advantage.
Alegria picked out Charlie McCann in the box and he fed the ball out wide to Lowry who drilled a powerful low shot towards goal. On loan Hearts goalkeeper Harry Stone managed to push away Lowry’s effort but Alegria had continued his run and was alert to fire home the rebound.
Into the second-half, Alegria saw an early shot held by Stone as Rangers looked to continue where they left off.
Thistle, having made two changes at the break, were hoping for a route back into this game and were denied a goal before the hour mark as Lewis Budinauckas pulled off a good save to push wide an effort from distance from Stephen Hendrie.
Shortly after, Ciaran McKenna headed wide from a Thistle corner as they began to put some pressure on the young Gers.
David McCallum made a triple change as Kyle McClelland, Alex Lowry and Juan Alegria were replaced by Lewis MacKinnon, Chris McKee and Arron Lyall for the final 20 minutes of the match.
Despite chances being few and far between in the final stages of the game, the young Gers saw out the match to pick up three points and keep a clean sheet in this opening Glasgow Cup match.
RANGERS: Budinauckas, Ritchie-Hosler, Fraser, King, McClelland (MacKinnon, 72), Miller, Lowry (Lyall, 72), McKinnon (Weston, 79), Alegria (McKee, 72), McCann, McCausland (Lindsay, 62)
Subs not used: Cervantes.
Partick Thistle: Stone, Owens (Ocholi, 46), Hendrie, Bell, McKenna, Lyon, Hastie (Stevenson, 72), Niang, MacIver, Gordon (Laird, 65), Lyons (Stanway, 46).
Subs not used: McCready.
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