RANGERS B Team are knocked out the SPFL Trust Trophy after a challenging 3-0 defeat against Hamilton Academical at Dumbarton Stadium this evening.
A first and second-half goal from Dario Zanatta and a penalty strike from Reegan Mimnaugh in tonight’s third-round fixture saw Accies secure their place in the next round of the cup tournament.
It was a new look in midfield for the Light Blues, as Alex Lowry and Bailey Rice came into the side following the weekend’s 2-2 draw with Tranent Juniors in the Lowland League, whilst Kane Ritchie-Hosler was eligible to start after his participation in the previous round.
That meant Lewis Budinauckas retained his place between the sticks, behind a backline of Jack Harkness, Lewis MacKinnon, Connor Allan, and captain Robbie Fraser.
Lowry was joined in midfield by Ritchie-Hosler and Rice, while the frontline comprised of Arron Lyall, Robbie Ure and Zak Lovelace.
Accies looked dangerous from the first blow of the referee’s whistle as they looked to gain the early advantage. Jonny Ngandu was first to threaten as he took the ball into the Rangers box and sent an effort towards Budinauckas between the posts, but MacKinnon was alert to intercept and redirect the flow of play.
Reegan Mimnaugh then swung in a teasing cross from the corner flag where it found Dan O’Reilly patiently waiting at the back post, but the youngster contrived to steer his header over the crossbar.
With eight minutes gone on the clock, Rangers engineered their first genuine opportunity of the game after Alex Lowry curled in a ferocious effort from outside the Accies box, but his shot could only sting the palms of Jamie Smith.
Rangers tried to build some pressure and attacking threat following this as they aimed to quickly capitalise on Lowry’s effort.
Harkness raced down the right flank to whip in a tantalising cross straight in front of the goal to a waiting Robbie Ure, but the attacking front man sent his first touch over the crossbar.
Several short minutes later, this pressure seemed to pay dividends as the referee pointed to the penalty spot after Ure was brought down in the opposition’s box.
Lowry stood up to execute the spot kick, but the ball rattled off the post and was subsequently cleared.
The young Gers looked to bounce back from their missed opportunity and sent numerous strikes towards the Accies keeper, but Jamie Smith made several key saves to deny Rangers the opening goal.
At the other end, the visitors were not without threat to Budinuackas in front of the Rangers goals. As the clock edged away from the 30-minute mark, Accies continued to create some dangerous passages of play into the Gers final third.
And in the 32nd minute, Dario Zanatta found the ball within the box and fired a shot into the Rangers goal to give his side the lead as they headed into the half-time break.
McCallum’s side carried an abundance of energy as they returned for the second 45, with a clear desire to promptly close the deficit and find the equaliser.
However, it was the opposition who were able to further stretch their lead, as the referee pointed to the penalty spot for the second time in the 90 minutes after Lowry brought down Mimnaugh on the edge of the box.
The Accies player placed the ball on the penalty spot and slotted a paced effort across the pitch floor past Budinauckas to double their lead.
In the latter stages of the cup tie, Accies were able to attain their third goal of the match with Zanatta securing his double. The visitor made a clear interception of the ball from Lowry and immediately drove into the box to challenge Budinauckas, where he slotted another effort into the bottom corner of the net.
Rankin’s side continued to create challenging conditions across the pitch for the Light Blues as they looked to maintain the majority of possession.
The Gers did well to break down and navigate their way through the backline where substitute, Ross McCausland, sent a blistering strike towards the goal – but his strike agonisingly bounced off the crossbar.
In the dying embers of the game, the Light Blues continued to push forward with the ball at every opportunity, but the visitors line of defence remained firm to deny the squad a chance to gain anything from the match before the referee blew the full-time whistle and send Accies into the next round of the cup competition.
RANGERS: Budinauckas, Harkness, Fraser, Allan, MacKinnon, Rice (Lindsay, 77), Lovelace (Graham, 77), Ritchie-Hosler, Ure (Young, 77), Lowry, Lyall (McCausland, 58).
UNUSED SUBS: Pazikas, K. Ewen, Cuibotaru, Webster, Strachan.
HAMILTON: Smith, Doyle, Owens, O'Reilly, Shiels, Mimnaugh, Latona, Ngandu (Brown, 60), Zanatta, Smith, One (Black, 86).
UNUSED SUBS: Fulton, Newbury, Lawson, Tiehi, Morgan.
REFEREE: Dan McFarlane
ASSISTANT REFEREE: Graham McNeillie and Stuart Stevenson