RANGERS B exited the SPFL Trust Trophy by the finest of margins as the young Gers fell to a 4-2 defeat to Airdrieonians at Cappielow Park this evening.
Proceedings had started ever so brightly for the Light Blues as 16-year-old Josh Gentles netted his second successive goal for the B Team, before the Diamonds flipped the script to move ahead before the interval.
Rhys McCabe’s men then extended their advantage in the second period, providing the cue for Kieran Dowell to slam home for the Gers to halve the deficit and initiate a period of sustained dominance that ought to have yielded an equaliser when Cole McKinnon’s thunderous strike cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and bounced on the wrong side of the goalline.
McCabe himself then curled home a free-kick to secure his side’s passage to the last eight in agonising fashion.
The young Gers were boosted pre-match by the inclusion of Dowell in the starting lineup as the 26-year-old continues his return to full fitness.
And the home side couldn’t have asked for a better start in the contest as they immediately forced Airdrie into a lapse in concentration that was almost punished by Gentles, given the nod in attack after netting his first B Team goal last time out against Queen’s Park, when he took aim from 20 yards.
Two minutes later, the Light Blues broke the deadlock with a move of supreme quality to cut the visitors open. As the ball advanced into midfield, Dowell swivelled and sent James Graham on his way down the inside left channel, with the pace of the teenager allowing him to knock the ball over the goalkeeper and square the ball across to Gentles who calmly side-footed his finish into the empty Airdrie net.
Breathless would certainly be an apt description of the opening exchanges as the Gers continued to threaten the away side’s backline, although they were pegged back when Rhys McCabe’s side converted from their first real chance of the evening via a fine finish from Calum Gallagher.
Although he was lacking in experience, Gentles was making his aerial presence felt as he leapt to meet a dangerous cross from Dowell that was snuffed out before it reached Rae in the opposition’s goal.
Airdrie’s quality had been evident in the fleeting moments that they managed to wriggle free and break into the Gers’ defensive third, and they completed the turnaround on 21 minutes when Gabriel McGill raced free of the Light Blues backline and fired a composed finish high beyond Mason Munn.
Robbie Fraser was then forced into a tremendous last-ditch challenge as McGill sprung the offside trap for the second time in the half and looked to dispatch into the Rangers goal for the second time in quick succession.
The game began to settle into a more controlled state which favoured the Light Blues, with Arron Lyall testing his luck from range and only narrowly firing his effort wide of the Airdrie goal.
Opportunity knocked for the away side shortly before half-time as Josh O’Connor swept Elliot Dunlop’s pull-back goalwards but only safely into the grateful arms of Munn.
The second period began with Rangers piling on the pressure as Graham showed nimble footwork to evade his marker on the left-hand side of the penalty area before his curling finish was thwarted by Rae.
However, the Diamonds extended their advantage just nine minutes after the interval as McGill notched his second goal of the evening when he lashed a left-footed finish beyond Munn from O’Connor’s lay-off.
Rangers wasted little time in reducing the arrears as two chances in quick succession yielded Dowell’s well-taken strike as the midfielder latched onto a neat Cole McKinnon backheel and unleashed an unstoppable finish into the near bottom corner.
The contest entered the final 20 minutes as Rangers endeavoured for a leveller; Fraser’s dangerous delivery from the left had no takers as Airdrie desperately cleared the ball to safety.
Lyall was then moments away from slamming home the equaliser when he combined with Graham to pierce the Airdrie defence, but he was forced wide in his travels and the danger was eventually quelled as he looked to create space for a shot.
Meanwhile, Dowell’s last involvement in the game with 15 minutes remaining on the clock almost engineered a goal when his curling strike from distance troubled Rae in the Airdrie goal before the goalkeeper was able to collect.
A clever threaded pass from Rice intended for Graham threatened an equaliser for the Light Blues shortly after, but Rae was swift enough off his goalline to smother the pass.
The best opportunity of the contest then arrived for the Light Blues as McKinnon was left with his head in his hands. Space had began to open up for the Light Blues in transition, allowing Connor Allan space to break down the right and slide a pass into the 20-year-old who cannoned a thunderous effort off the underside of the crossbar and onto the goalline.
Rangers couldn’t quite believe that they hadn’t forced home the all-important leveller as the game ticked into the final five minutes, with Fraser’s delivery from the left only narrowly evading substitute Paul Nsio as he looked to stab home.
Airdrie then made sure of the victory against the run of play as McCabe curled home a free-kick from 25 yards.
RANGERS B: Munn, Hutton (Grant, 75), Allan, Yfeko, Fraser, Rice, McKinnon, Lyall, Dowell (Nsio, 75), Graham, Gentles (Curtis, 90)
Subs not used: Halliwell, Allen, Newton, McInally, McClure, Pasnik
AIRDRIEONIANS: Rae, Ballantyne (Cassidy, 67), McCabe, O’Connor (Todorov, 82), McGregor, Gallagher (McStravick, 67), Frizzell (McMaster, 75), Watson, Dunlop, Telfer, McGill
Subs not used: Melrose, Hutton, Taylor-Sinclair, Kavanagh, Spalding
REFEREE: Steven Kirkland