AN impressive Rangers display powered the side to a 3-1 Old Firm victory in the Glasgow Cup group phase at Ochilview Park this afternoon.
A pair of first-half goals from Findlay Curtis and 17-year-old Blaine McClure, making his first competitive start for the B Team, had the Light Blues in a comfortable position at the break.
A header from Rhys Dargie cut the deficit for the visitors, but the Gers re-established their superiority five minutes from time when Zak Lovelace struck to ensure all three points headed in the direction of Rangers.
The triumph signalled a second successive Old Firm victory for the B Team after their success in the final of last season’s competition just under a month ago.
It was a younger Gers side which lined up this afternoon than the team which lifted the cup in December, with the match winner in Mount Florida that evening, Lovelace, given the nod to lead the line in attack.
It would be fair to say that Rangers were slow out the traps, with their blushes spared inside the opening few minutes when Daniel Cummings collected a throw-in and swivelled menacingly before cracking the woodwork with a thunderous effort.
The visitors were also counting their misfortune moments later when an outswinging delivery was headed goalwards by Josh Dede but back off the far post.
Rangers, however, managed to wrestle a foothold in the contest and they found themselves ahead on 11 minutes when a controlled period of possession allowed Blaine McClure – the youngest player on the pitch for Rangers – to pick a pass into Curtis who made no mistake in dispatching confidently into the bottom corner.
The tails of the hosts were certainly up and they soon doubled their advantage through a piece of brilliance from 17-year-old McClure.
Alex Lowry’s dangerous delivery from a corner was cleared only as far as the Northern Irishman who arrowed a sumptuous first-time effort into the top corner to leave the Celtic goalkeeper with no chance.
It was end-to-end stuff in Stenhousemuir as Cummings went close to reducing the arrears when he steered a delivery from the left-hand side towards goal, although his finish lacked the required purchase and Jacob Pazikas was able to smother comfortably.
Archie Stevens then looked to have sprung the offside trap when he was picked out by Lowry, but the Englishman’s touch was too heavy and the ball trickled out of touch for a goal-kick.
Indeed, Curtis was cursing his luck as his spectacular effort destined for the top corner before the half-time interval was thwarted, before the 18-year-old was again denied from close-range from the subsequent corner.
A response was expected from Celtic and they almost cut the deficit when Andrew Kyle popped up in acres of space at the far post facing an open goal, yet the wide man contrived to spoon his header over the crossbar.
However, the away side reduced the arrears soon after with a move of a similar kind as substitute Dargie nodded home unmarked at the far post to restore optimism for Celtic.
David McCallum turned to his substitutes bench as he looked to restore Rangers’ two-goal advantage, with the duo of Callum Burnside and Josh Gentles entering the fray.
The offside flag spared Rangers’ blushes when Cummings latched onto a pass beyond the Gers defence, although the Celtic forward’s effort was tame and straight down the throat of Pazikas.
And the hosts soon put the game beyond doubt with five minutes remaining from a familiar source of big goals.
It was Burnside who initially latched onto the ball down the left-hand side, pulling the trigger before a deflection found its way to Curtis who lifted his head and lofted a delightful cross into Lovelace to volley home from close-range.
Stevens was afforded the opportunity to add a fourth to the scoreline moments later, but the teenager was denied by a smart save from the feet of Joe Morrison.
It mattered little, though, as the Light Blues saw out an impressive victory to make it two wins from two in this season’s Glasgow Cup campaign.
RANGERS B: Pazikas, Hutton, Grant, Webster (Wyllie, 45), Devine (Scott, 45), Nsio (Burnside, 69), McClure, Curtis, Stevens, Lowry (Gentles, 78), Lovelace (Eadie, 88)
Subs not used: McGuire, Allen, McCallion
CELTIC B: Morrison, Donovan, Frame, Robertson, Agbaire, Ure, Dede, McArdle, Cummings, Turley, Kyle
Subs: Rice, Davidson, Cannon, Pickford, Haddow, Dargie, Dobbie