RANGERS Under-19s fell to a narrow 3-2 defeat at the hands of League Two outfit Stirling Albion in KDM Evolution Trophy action this evening.
Russell McLean opened the scoring for the Forthbank outfit early in the first-half before the young Gers levelled proceedings when Aiden McCallion dispatched confidently from the penalty spot.
Any momentum for the away side was short-lived as Josh Mullin curled home a free-kick prior to the interval, with the Binos adding a third in the final quarter of an hour when Robin Raine finished from close-range.
Rangers restored a modicum of hope in the dying embers when McCallion stroked home from 12 yards for the second time on the evening following a foul on Zebedee Lawson, but it proved too late in the contest as Thomson's side will now shift their attention to a trip to face Clyde in this competition later this month.
Malky Thomson could count upon several of his loan players for the trip up the M80 motorway, six of whom were included in the starting lineup.
The side’s last outing in the competition ended in defeat away to Bonnyrigg Rose, and Stirling Albion set out their stall early when Lucas Fyfe spun in behind virtually from kick-off and squared across goal for McLean, who poked wide at the near post.
After Rydnn McGuire denied Zeke Cameron, the young Gers had a succession of opportunities of their own.
Aiden McCallion, currently on a co-operation loan in the Scottish Championship with Queen’s Park, was at the heart of both.
It was his delicious, lofted pass which released Josh Gentles beyond the Stirling Albion backline – the forward blasting over on the rebound after his initial effort was thwarted – before he slashed wide from the edge of the penalty box moments later when the ball broke to him.
However, the League Two side struck the opener just shy of the 15th minute mark when Rangers played their way into trouble.
A low cross from the right was on the money for McLean, sporting No.9 for the Binos, who stroked under McGuire from point-blank range.
To their credit, Rangers wasted precious little time in licking their wounds as they found a response just under ten minutes later.
The move began down the left when Arran Kerr released Lewis Stewart, whose pull-back into the vicinity of Callum Burnside just inside the penalty area saw the Northern Irishman’s effort denied by the Binos goalkeeper.
The rebound then broke to Gentles, who was bundled over, with the referee pointing to the penalty spot and McCallion making no mistake in dispatching beyond Robert Duffy.
Parity was short-lived for the young Gers, however, as the League Two outfit restored their advantage just beyond the half-hour mark.
Jack Wyllie was guilty of an overzealous challenge 20 yards from goal, offering Stirling Albion the opportunity to test McGuire from a set-piece where Mullin dipped a wicked free-kick over the wall and beyond the Rangers goalkeeper.
A rasping effort from Burnside on the stroke of the interval prompted a low save from Duffy, but clear-cut opportunities were proving difficult to muster for the visitors.
A dinked delivery from Stewart almost presented Kyle Glasgow with a decent opportunity moments into the second period, but the 16-year-old couldn’t sort out his feet to gain control of the ball.
Down the opposite end, an acrobatic effort from McLean inside the penalty area beat McGuire all ends up, but fortunately for the away side, McCallion was covering back to block on the goal line.
Thomson turned to his substitutes bench as Zebedee Lawson and Aiden Crilly entered the fray, with the former jinking inside with 20 minutes to play before lashing an effort wildly off target.
He was somewhat unfortunate minutes later when, again, he jinked inside menacingly and his curling effort was set just too far outside of the far post.
The hosts, however, had the chance to kill the game as a contest when a fizzed delivery from the right was met by Jordan Allan, but the Binos substitute nodded over from inside the penalty area.
It was end-to-end action as, just 60 seconds later, Stewart drove 30 yards upfield and watched his powerful effort drift just wide of the target after space opened up for the winger.
A third did, indeed, arrive for the League Two side with seven minutes remaining when substitute Austin Laird picked out Raine inside the penalty area and he placed a finish into the bottom corner.
Rangers were offered a lifeline with just minutes remaining when Lawson was scythed down inside the penalty area after a tricky run, but despite another confident spot-kick from McCallion, it was too little, too late for the away side to salvage a point.
RANGERS: McGuire, Z. Hutton, Ngwenya, Wyllie, Kerr, McCallion, Rankin (Crilly, 59), Burnside (Smith, 72), Glasgow (Lawson, 59), Stewart (Cameron, 87), Gentles
Subs not used: S. Reid, Owen, J. Reid, Young, B. Hutton
STIRLING ALBION: Duffy, Thomas, Banner, McLean (Allan, 69), Mullin (McNab, 69), Fyfe (Samuel, 81), Raine (Denham, 90), Hutchison, Gould, Dobbie (Laird, 69), Cameron
Subs not used: McNeil, Heaver, Wright, Smith
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