RANGERS Under-18s produced a clinical display to march into the next round of the Scottish Youth Cup with a 4-0 victory over Dundee United this evening.
Cormac Christie stole the headlines with a well-taken brace, wedged between sumptuous strikes from the impressive duo of Max Cameron and Kyle Glasgow.
Smith’s starting line-up included starts for Glasgow and Ashton Scally, both of whom are yet to turn 16.
Cameron got in down the left-hand early on in the contest, but it was the theme of the opening exchanges that it could only drift aimlessly into the goalkeeper’s hands.
Indeed, the home side were resolute in their defensive shape, and it took a rasping Aiden McCallion volley from a deep corner to bring the game to life.
Prior to that, Matthew Mudie glanced a header wide of the target for the hosts as they offered Rangers a taster of their potential threat from set-pieces.
Alex Smith then went close with a curling free-kick before Glasgow shimmied inside and drew a comfortable stop from the goalkeeper.
Down the opposite end, Oliver Hynd had to be at his most alert to thwart Jack Anderson’s first-time flick at the near post from a Mudie low delivery.
Rangers were beginning to ratchet up the intensity as Cameron jinked inside from the left-hand and had Kuba Zerebecki diving at full stretch to tip his effort around the post.
Ben Hutton surged forward six minutes before the interval as the visitors broke quickly, but he was held up in an attacking area and his subsequent effort was deflected tamely into Zerebecki’s hands.
The visitors’ pressure eventually told on the stroke of the half-time interval, with Glasgow the architect.
The winger spun in midfield and engineered a delicious slide rule pass through the heart of the Dundee United defence, where Christie raced clear and slotted a delightful finish under the goalkeeper.
The visitors were in again at the outset of the second half. It was McCallion on this occasion who threaded a gorgeous pass in-behind, but when Smith bore down on goal, the midfielder’s effort was thwarted smartly by Zerebecki.
Emil Franczak shot wide for United minutes later, and although it was no danger for McGuire, it was a reminder the home side were still firmly in the contest.
If it served as a slight warning for the young Gers, then they soon took a huge step to sealing their place in the next round.
It was no more than Cameron deserved for his performance on the evening as he rattled a stunning finish beyond Zerebecki from 25 yards out to double Rangers’ advantage in Tayside.
United responded with an opportunity of their own, which McGuire was equal to with his feet. Seconds later, the contest was out of sight.
Christie was already riding the crest of a wave from his first half opener when he did excellently to work the ball out from under his feet at the edge of the penalty area before unleashing a thunderous effort which whistled beyond the goalkeeper and high into the net.
Rangers certainly had their tails up as substitute Cameron Fernie was unfortunate not to put Christie’s hat-trick on a plate before James Reid, up for a corner, lashed straight down the throat of Zerebecki.
There was a late footnote as United were forced to play the remaining six minutes plus additional time with ten men when Mudie was shown a straight red card for scything down Glasgow on the halfway line as Rangers countered.
And the evening was capped off in emphatic fashion when Glasgow got his rewards for a fantastic individual display when he cut inside and curled an unerring finish into the far corner to add a fourth.
RANGERS: McGuire, Hutton, Hynd (Owen, 76), J. Reid, Scally, McCallion, Smith (Rankin, 73), Crilly (Fernie, 65), Glasgow, Cameron (Fergusson, 73), Christie (Condy, 76)
Subs not used: S. Reid, Young
DUNDEE UNITED: Zerebecki, Mudie, Gilligan, Buchanan, Reynolds, Lee, Franczak, Holt, Anderson, Forrest, Marshall
Subs: Mckimmie, Shields, Smith, McHale, Beverley, Leiper, Hutchison
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