RANGERS B continued their positive momentum with a 4-3 victory over Middlesbrough at the Rangers Training Centre this afternoon.
It was a hard-fought victory for the young Gers who raced out the blocks with two quickfire strikes from Findlay Curtis.
Despite Josh Gentles adding to the advantage, the away side pulled the contest back to 3-3 as the sides trudged in level at the interval.
And it left an Alex Lowry spot-kick to decide the scoreline with less than ten minutes remaining, earned after substitute Chris Eadie was fouled while bearing down on goal.
The Light Blues were bolstered pre-match by the inclusion of Ianis Hagi, who played his first 45 minutes since returning from representing Romania at the European Championships.
It took less than ten minutes for the Romanian to be directly involved in the action, producing a clever flick to free Curtis inside the penalty area who steadied himself and drove a powerful finish into the far corner.
One soon became two for the home side as the Light Blues caught Middlesbrough quickly in transition.
The ball arrived at the feet of Lowry following a swift counter-attack and, after he lifted his head and picked out Curtis in acres of space at the far post, the 18-year-old had the simplest of tasks in rounding the goalkeeper and stroking the ball into an empty net.
Despite the Gers’ superiority, they were caught out with a back-to-front move dispatched in and off the underside of the crossbar.
And yet the hosts never spent any time licking their wounds, with Gentles pouncing on a loose back pass to the goalkeeper and poking the ball beyond the Boro’ No.1 from close range.
The action continued at a rate of knots in the first half as, after Paul Nsio was denied what appeared a clear-cut penalty, Middlesbrough pulled a second goal back from the penalty spot after Alfie Halliwell was adjudged to have impeded the striker.
It was all-square at the interval when the visitors punished Rangers from a set-piece delivery, slammed home from 12 yards.
Middlesbrough certainly shored up their defensive structure after the restart, limiting the Gers to fewer opportunities.
Lowry was unfortunate not to produce a clever dink from inside the penalty area, while Calum Adamson blazed over from distance after breaking into space in midfield.
The all-important winning goal looked like it would never arrive for the Gers, yet some excellent persistence from Eadie put him clear of the Middlesbrough backline who had no choice to bring him down inside the penalty area.
Lowry assumed penalty duties from 12 yards and made no mistake, giving the goalkeeper the eyes before stroking the ball into the bottom corner.
RANGERS B: Halliwell, Devine, Webster, Nsiala, Hutton, Rice, Nsio (Robertson, 70), Hagi (Adamson, 45), Curtis (Burnside, 70), Lowry, Gentles (Eadie, 56)
Subs: Thackray, Allan, Allen, Bell