RANGERS are through to the quarter-finals of the League Cup following a comprehensive and very comfortable defeat of Falkirk tonight.
A stunning Jermain Defoe finish, Calvin Bassey’s first for the club and a superb Borna Barisic free-kick had the Light Blues 3-0 up at the break before James Tavernier added a fourth on what was a bitterly cold Sunday night at the Falkirk Stadium.
From the team which earned another excellent result against Benfica in midweek, Allan McGregor, Leon Balogun, Steven Davis, Glen Kamara, Ryan Kent, Kemar Roofe and Alfredo Morelos all came out of the starting team today.
Their places were taken by Jon McLaughlin, Calvin Bassey, Ianis Hagi, Bongani Zungu (for a starting debut), Cedric Itten, Brandon Barker and Jermain Defoe.
As was to be expected, Gers began the game on the front foot, and saw the ball come off the bar inside 30 seconds – Cedric Itten’s cross from the right glancing the frame of the goal before going out for a corner.
There were just six minutes on the clock when Gers did hit the front, however, and it was another finish right out the top drawer from Jermain Defoe to get them one ahead.
Connor Goldson’s super ball out of defence was looking for Defoe, and while defender Mark Durnan may have done a little better to intercept, the striker still had so much to do.
Forced wide left of goal, his touch was outstanding, and that set him up for a beautiful shot across goalkeeper Peter Morrison to perfectly find the only place he could score from that angle, the far bottom corner.
The search for goal number two was underway as soon as the game restarted, and Defoe came close to grabbing it – volleying wide from the edge of the area from a superb Itten knock-down.
There was a blow for the visitors on 26 minutes with Brandon Barker having to go off injured to be replaced by Glen Kamara.
Itten was involved again soon after, slipping in Tavernier to his right, but Morrison made a fine save to deny the skipper a 14th goal of the season.
From the resulting corner, however, Gers did make it 2-0. Itten superbly won a Borna Barisic corner in the air which Morrison again saved well – but following up on the rebound was Calvin Bassey – almost bursting the net from two yards out for his first Rangers goal and indeed, his first professional goal on 29 minutes.
It could have been 3-0 on the restart, Gers quickly turning the ball over and breaking with Ianis Hagi and Itten – the Romanian sliding in the Swiss who was crowded out by retreating Bairns defenders before firing over the bar from just inside the area.
Falkirk then had their first chance of the game – McLaughlin saving a Durnan header at his back post from a deep corner.
Morrison clutched an Itten header out of the air from a Barisic cross, before that man Barisic made it 3-0 three minutes before the interval.
Itten was fouled 25-yards from goal to the right of the ‘D’. Up-stepped Barisic to take, and he curled the ball beautifully over the wall and into the postage stamp, well out of the reach of Morrison for his second of the season.
Jon McLaughlin had to look lively in the opening minute of the second half to prevent Connor Sammon pulling one back as he got on the end of a short back-pass, but the goalkeeper did well to clear just in the nick of time.
That man James Tavernier did grab goal number 14 of the season on 50 minutes, however, to make it 4-0.
A brilliant Barisic cross to the back-post was well-left by Itten, and from full-back to full-back. Tavernier steamed in on it on the half-volley to rifle into the back of the net.
Gers’ advantage allowed boss Gerrard to get Scott Arfield and Borna Barisic off the pitch – and they were replaced by 18 year-old academy midfielder Ciaran Dickson for a debut, and also Glenn Middleton for his first appearance of the season.
They were followed soon after with Greg Stewart replacing Bongani Zungu, while 16 year-old Leon King won his debut, coming on for skipper Tavernier.
4-0 is how it was to stay, with Gers now looking forward to the quarter-final draw.
RANGERS: McLaughin; Tavernier (King, 72), Goldson, Bassey, Barisic (Middleton, 55); Arfield (Dickson, 55), Zungu (Stewart, 72), Hagi; Itten, Barker, Defoe.
SUBS NOT USED: Firth, Kent, Kamara, Morelos, Balogun.
FALKIRK: Morrison, Dixon, Hall, Durnan, Todd (Deveney, 81), Alston, Gomis, Sammon (Dowds, 62), Telfer (Leitch, 74), Kelly, Morrison (Connolly, 62)
SUBS NOT USED: Cantley, Mercer, Francis, Laverty, Miller.