A TEN-MAN Rangers B showed character in abundance to seal their place in the third round of the SPFL Trust Trophy with a last gasp 3-2 victory over Clyde at New Douglas Park this evening.
After the League Two side opened the scoring on the stroke of the half-time interval, the young Gers turned the game on its head in the second half through goals from Alex Lowry and 17-year-old Callum Burnside.
The latter was then dismissed moments later for a late challenge, before a late leveller from Clyde’s Robbie Leitch looked destined to usher in a penalty shootout.
However, the ten men of Rangers rose to the challenge and, thanks to Lowry’s second goal of the evening deep into stoppage time, marched into the next round of the competition.
The Gers lined up with a mix of youth and experience, with 16-year-old Josh Gentles leading the line in attack and supplemented in the side by Leon King, Lowry and Clinton Nsiala.
Despite this, the opening exchanges belonged to Clyde who came out of the traps quicker, with Marley Redfearn looking to catch out Mason Munn with an audacious chip which the Northern Irish goalkeeper was equal to.
Rangers had the ball in the net moments later when Calum Adamson, fresh from celebrating his 17th birthday, reacted first when Findlay Curtis’ poked effort was spilled, but the linesman was quick to raise his flag to curb the Gers celebrations.
Munn then had his blushes spared in the Rangers goal by Zander Hutton when he allowed a cross through his hands and the 18-year-old full-back was positioned perfectly on the goalline to clear the ball to safety.
And Clyde’s endeavour in the first half was rewarded shortly before half-time, although there were certainly question marks over the awarding of a penalty when Clinton Nsiala was adjudged to have caught a Clyde attacker in the process of clearing the ball upfield.
Logan Dunachie stepped forward for the Bully Wee and made no mistake from 12 yards, leaving the young Gers with it all to do in the second period.
However, Rangers’ response after the interval was immaculate, drawing level when Lowry produced a sumptuous individual effort by cutting inside off the left-hand side and curling an unstoppable finish into the top corner.
The Light Blues had their tails up as a result, and they duly turned the game on its head with a sweeping move after a quick throw-in from Lowry on the right-hand side.
Indeed, it was Zak Lovelace, marking his return to the pitch following an injury lay-off, who beat the offside trap and squared the ball across for Burnside in acres of space. The teenager composed himself in the penalty area and lashed a cultured finish under the Clyde goalkeeper to spark scenes of jubilation.
And yet the 17-year-old’s adrenaline got the better of him moments later when he was late in the challenge against Jordan Houston on the touchline, reducing Rangers to ten men for the remainder of the contest.
The Light Blues appeared to be hanging on resolutely to their slender advantage, but Clyde found an equaliser with five minutes to spare when Leitch lashed home from point-blank range after the Gers failed to clear their lines from a cross.
The last word, however, belonged to the visitors, who, when a penalty shootout appeared inevitable, broke up the pitch and had Lowry to thank when the midfielder rounded Jay Kennedy on the edge of the penalty area and stroked the ball into an empty net from a tight angle.
CLYDE: Kennedy, Connell (Rennie, 70), Connelly, Docherty, Dunachie (Allan, 70), Howie, Hynes, Lyon, McKay, Redfern (Leitch, 70), Scullion (Houston, 70; Robson, 78)
SUBS: Kinnear, Grant, Murdoch
RANGERS B: Munn, Devine, King (Allan, 75), Nsiala, Hutton, Rice, Nsio (Webster, 80), Adamson (Burnside, 63), Curtis, Lowry, Gentles (Lovelace, 63)
SUBS: Halliwell, Allen, McClure, Robertson, Eadie