18-YEAR-OLD Robbie Ure enjoyed a dream debut as he opened the scoring and help Rangers on their way to a 3-1 victory over Queen of the South in the second round of the Premier Sports Cup at Ibrox.
The young striker – who was named man of the match - was on target after just 10 minutes with a confident right-foot finish but the visitors were quickly back on level terms when Lee Connelly chipped the ball brilliantly over Allan McGregor to silence the home support.
With 24 minutes on the clock, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men were back in front with Scott Arfield finishing with aplomb after excellent play from Turkish full-back Ridvan Yilmaz on the left wing.
Arfield then made it 3-1 with just five minutes remaining of the second half as he again showed his class and quality in the final third with a superb strike from 18 yards.
This wrapped up positive night’s work for the Gers and particularly for the club’s academy, with Ure joined in the starting XI by Leon King, also 18, and Adam Devine, 19, who both impressed at right-back and centre-back respectively.
Several talented teens were named on the Gers bench with striker Zak Lovelace, Paul Nsio and Archie Stevens, all 16, making their debuts in the second half. Left-back Robbie Fraser was also drafted into the squad by van Bronckhorst who changed his team entirely from the side that started against Ross County on Saturday.
From the first whistle Rangers enjoyed a lot of possession, with King and Devine looking assured at the back and Ure getting a shot away after only two minutes, but his early effort crept wide.
It was not long, however, before the striker bagged his first senior goal for the Light Blues which came from a mistake from the visitors.
A poor pass allowed Fashion Sakala to sprint in behind the defence and he cut the ball back to Glen Kamara. The midfielder teed up Ure and his shot took a slight deflection before beating Queens goalkeeper Max Currie.
As the ball rippled the net Ure celebrated in front of Broomloan Stand, savouring a moment he will surely never forget.
But having taken the lead and made a strong start to the contest, it took an unexpected twist on 16 minutes when Rangers conceded a poor goal which left van Bronckhorst frustrated in his technical area.
Sakala’s sloppy pass back to King went straight to Doonhamers striker Connelly and, with McGregor off his line, he dinked the ball perfectly over the Gers number one who could only watch as it floated over his head and under the crossbar.
The goal momentarily silenced the Ibrox faithful but they were back out of their seats on 24 minutes when their side got their noses back in front once again.
Sakala, on the left wing, fed a pass to the overlapping Ridvan who produced a sublime piece of skill to get himself into a crossing position.
If that was good his cutback cross wasn’t bad either and Arfield was in the box to drive a low, accurate finish into the bottom corner of the net.
Rangers were now back in the driving seat and with 30 minutes on the clock they were going in search of a third goal.
King, who it is easy to forget is still only 18, found himself in an advanced position and the ball flew past the post after he let fly from fully 25 yards.
Currie in the Queens goal then had to be sharp to make good stops from Devine and Sakala, while Rabbi Matondo used his electric pace to burst past a helpless defender but he could only ripple the side netting at the near post.
With just a goal separating the sides at the break, Wullie Gibson’s men were still very much in the tie and before the hour mark a teasing delivery from Ruari Paton on the right wing was scooped over the crossbar by Devine, who did well to read the danger.
With 75 played and not too much to write about from the second half up to this point, van Bronckhorst decided to make his first substitutions of the night, with former Millwall striker Zak Lovelace handed his debut as he replaced Ure and Charlie McCann also going on for Matondo and making his fifth substitute appearance for the Gers top team.
It was the former Manchester United playmaker who provided the assist for the Light Blues’ third goal with five minutes left – his clever flick perfect for Arfield who again finished impressively to send his side through to the next round.
In the final few minutes both Nsio and Stevens were introduced to the game, which was yet another positive at the end of an entertaining tie at Ibrox.
RANGERS: McGregor, Devine, King, Jack, Ridvan, Davis, Arfield, Kamara (Stevens 88), Matondo (Lovelace 75), Ure (McCann 75), Sakala (Nsio 88)
SUBS NOT USED: McCrorie, Sands, Wright, Barisic, Fraser
GOALS: Ure 10, Arfield 24, 85
BOOKINGS: Kamara
QUEEN OF THE SOUTH: Currie, McKay, Cochrane (Murray 75), Paton, Todd, Reilly (Ruth 66), Connelly (Johnstone 75), McKenna (Quitongo 66), McGrory (McKechnie 88), East, Hendrie
SUBS NOT USED: Ritchie, McKay, Muir, Gibson
GOALS: Connelly 17
BOOKINGS: Paton, McKay
REFEREE: David Dickinson
ATT: 30,569
ㅤ
ㅤ