RANGERS Under-19s were victorious in Glasgow Cup group stage action this evening in a resounding 5-0 win over Partick Thistle at the Rangers Training Centre.
It was the perfect return to winning ways for the young Gers after last week’s disappointment against Clyde in their opening match, with the scoring initiated by Max Cameron just shy of the interval.
The Gers then found the clinical edge to match their impressive performance levels in the second period when Cameron added his second of the evening alongside a brace from Chris Eadie and a Zebedee Lawson strike to seal an emphatic three points.
Assistant coach Liam Ross named six changes to his side for the visit of the Jags, with Calum Young making his first Under-19s start at the base of the midfield.
He was immediately involved in the action when he picked out Cameron, also restored to the side, with a lofted pass, but from an acute angle, the winger steered his finish wide of the target.
The 16-year-old then tested Conor Storey down low in the Thistle goal, before Lawson, fresh from his senior Gers debut in Scottish Cup action on Friday evening, skipped inside moments later and forced the goalkeeper into another smart intervention.
Eadie had earlier spurned an opportunity with only Storey to beat, and he was unfortunate again when he sprung the offside trap but could only steer his finish straight down the throat of the goalkeeper on his unfavoured left side.
It was one-way traffic in Milngavie as Cameron’s driven cross was killed instantly by Eadie inside the six-yard area, although the forward was unfortunate on the swivel to steer his finish over the top.
Thistle threatened for the first time when they caught Rangers on their heels from a quick free-kick, and a delivery from the right was met by Ricco Diack but nodded wide from close-range.
The hosts had the ball in the net just beyond the half-hour mark when Lawson weaved his way through a crowded penalty area, and Storey could only palm his effort into the path of Cameron, but the offside flag was raised against the forward as he tapped into an empty net.
Eadie then had an effort cleared off the goalline when he beat Storey to the ball with the Thistle goalkeeper committed out of his six-yard area.
And for all of Rangers’ endeavour, they found the breakthrough two minutes before the interval.
The Gers moved the ball swiftly on the break, with the ball finding its way to Cameron, who moved the ball out of his feet and arrowed an unerring effort into the bottom corner from distance.
The half-time interval threatened to halt Rangers’ momentum, but it did the complete opposite as the hosts emerged for the second half and immediately doubled their advantage.
Rangers moved possession inside, where Cameron Fernie turned powerfully in midfield, sliding in Cameron to his left, who steadied himself and buried a deadly finish into the far corner.
The winger could have had his hat-trick less than ten minutes later when Eadie delivered in search of Cameron, who took a fresh air swipe as he looked to meet the forward’s cut-back first-time.
Zebedee Lawson then chopped inside from a tight spot in the byline and was denied by the crossbar, but his disappointment only lasted a few moments.
Meeting Eadie’s pull-back, the winger swept a delightful finish beyond Storey from the edge of the penalty area.
Three quickly became four from the ensuing kick-off when Eadie pounced on a slip in the Thistle defensive ranks before bearing down on goal and planting a powerful finish beyond Storey.
Thistle were desperate to halt the bleeding, and were relieved when Storey thwarted Jack Wyllie’s strike, but the Gers continued to pepper the goal and found a fifth when Connor Campbell centred for Eadie to volley home after Lyle Wark’s effort deflected into the path of the defender.
The evening ended on a somewhat sour note when Lawson was shown a second yellow card, but it didn't dampen a commanding showing from the side, who will now shift their attention to league action.
RANGERS: McGuire, Hutton, Wyllie (J. Reid, 80), Campbell (Owen, 75), Wark, Young (Hynd, 65), Fernie, Smith, Lawson, Cameron (Condy, 75), Eadie (Patton, 80)
Subs not used: S. Reid, Ramage
PARTICK THISTLE: Storey, Rooney, Martin, Mann, Allan, Horn, Crawford, Diack, Falconer, Watson, Murray
Subs: Fisher, Lockhart, Docherty, Gray, Weir, Erhabor
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