RANGERS will carry a 3-0 lead to Sweden in three weeks following an impressive victory over Hammarby in the UEFA Youth League tonight.
An early opener from Robbie Ure was followed by a super double from Ross McCausland to ensure the Gers have a good cushion to take on their travels.
Jay Hogarth started in goal and in front of him was a back four of Adam Devine, Leon King, captain Kyle McClelland and Robbie Fraser.
Cole McKinnon, Murray Miller and Charlie Lindsay were in the middle of the park, with Ross McCausland, Robbie Ure and Tony Weston up front for the Light Blues.
Among the excellent crowd at Dumbarton tonight were many of the younger Rangers Academy age-groups, Sporting Director Ross Wilson, assistant manager Gary McAllister and former Ger Joachim Bjorklund, now ambassador for Hammarby, and they witnessed a high-energy start to the game with both sides battling for early domination.
Ross McCausland, fresh from signing a new, long-term deal with the club, fashioned the first opening inside five minutes as he skinned his man on the right to charge into the area and eventually see his shot well blocked by goalkeeper William Bjorklund, son of the aforementioned Jocky.
The battle for that domination was won by Gers, and it was they who took the lead on just 11 minutes with a superb move.
Charlie Lindsay picked out the run of Tony Weston into the box, slightly to the right of goal, and before the ball could go over the by-line, he brilliantly cut it back for Robbie Ure in the middle to finish exceptionally well across Bjorklund and into the back of the net.
It was exactly the start McCallum would have been after from his men, and they came close to a second soon after as Weston got is head to a McCausland cross, while McCausland himself was denied by a super block from Stevan Beko.
McCausland came close again, looping an effort just over from the edge of the area, before he shot straight at Bjorklund from 18-yards after being set up by fine play from Weston.
It took a whole 43 minutes for Hammarby to threaten Gers, and goalkeeper Hogarth was up to the task to deny Nobel Gebrezgi when he went one-on-one with the stopper.
Into the second half, and Weston had a decent effort deflected behind early-on, while Bjorklund eventually managed to hold a fierce McCausland drive from 30-yards.
Weston was then incredibly unlucky to see an effort come back off the underside of the crossbar, but the pressure was incessant from the home side, and the second goal duly arrived in 66 minutes – and what a hit it was.
Ross McCausland looked to have little on as he entered the area just to the right of goal, but he slipped brilliantly away from Markus Karlsson and fired brilliantly into the opposite top corner to hand his side the cushion they deserved.
Bjorklund prevented that cushion becoming bigger with a fine stop to deny Ure on the turn, while Fraser fired into the side netting for Gers as the pressure remained turned up to a high level.
Sub Alex Lowry came close next with a 25-yard free-kick before he showed unbelievable close control to dance his way into the area past three tackles before Bjorklund gathered before he could get a shot away.
The third goal did arrive on 81 minutes, and yet again, it was a thing of beauty.
In similar fashion to Joe Aribo’s goal at Dundee on Saturday, Robbie Ure played the role of Alfredo Morelos with a wonderful ball round the corner for McCausland to run onto, and he retained composure to loft the ball over Bjorklund for 3-0.
That’s how it finished, and it was a super performance from David McCallum’s side with the return leg in Sweden three weeks tomorrow.
RANGERS: Hogarth, Devine, Fraser, King, McClelland, Miller, Weston (Lowry, 64), McKinnon, Ure (Lyall, 82) Lindsay (Wilson, 90), McCausland (Strachan, 90).
SUBS NOT USED: McConnell, MacKinnon, Allan.
HAMMARBY: Bjorklund, Engdahl, Beko Hedin, Karlsson, Tuhral, Mohammad, Olgun, Gebrezgi, Rafferty, Axelsson.
SUBS: Georgis, Lindahl, Luvoss, Kallman, Dawlat, Sluug.
REFEREE: Aristotelis Diamantopoulos (Greece).
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