Rangers 5 Arbroath 1 - Lee McCulloch Saves The Day Again

McCulloch gets his second hat-trick in a row as Rangers demolish Arbroath 5 -1 after Paul Sheerin's team took a shock lead in the second half.  

McCoist fielded 6 of his summer signings and the big debate beforehand was whether the hosts could gel together quickly as a team. Judging on the opening 50 mins, the answer would have to be no.

Rangers dominated possession during the early stages without looking like scoring. Stevie Smith, who started due to  Lee Wallace's midweek injury, made several threatening crosses for Daly and Clark which they failed to convert. As the game went on Rangers possession and goal threats dwindled and Arbroath started to gain confidence.

In fact, the longer the first half went on the more disjointed Rangers looked. At one point in the game it looked like McCoist had fielded a team of his favourite misfits, with many players playing out of position to secured their place in the team. Little and Peralta both struggled out on the left and right hand side of midfield when Rangers had a natural winger in Templeton warming the bench.

Darren Smith put Arbroath ahead when he chipped Bell and the ball landed just under his crossbar. It was a special finish and the ball seemed to take an eternity to drop underneath the cross bar.

This goal proved to be Rangers wake up call as the equaliser quickly followed. A Stevie Smith cross was deflected to Mohsni who calmly side footed the ball into the net. Rangers then took the lead when Law's corner was headed past the Arbroath keeper by the surging Lee McCulloch. The Rangers captain quickly added to his tally when the ball broke loose from a Rangers corner. The 30 yard screamer crashed the roof of the net leaving the Arbroath goalkeeper with no chance.

Little made it four when he drilled a shot low into the net before McCulloch completed his hat-trick via a Peralta cross.

The scoreline believe it or not flattered Rangers and McCoist will have to motivate his team better in future matches as they did not come alive until going behind in the match.

Berwick Rangers ...... Not Again

Ibrox was desolate last night. 

I can only imagine the Rangers legions have seen enough of Berwick Rangers over the past year. 

For those who did turn up, you might have mistaken this for a friendly match. Rangers dominated possession in the opening stages. Most of the passing was between Rangers midfield and defence, with the midfield players struggling to turn and play a forward pass. It was in stark contrast to Rangers performance last Friday night, when they annihilated Airdrie 6-0. 

With Rangers unable to field trialists, they had to settle with roughly the same team that produced a host of disappointing results and performances last season. With Daly and Law the only players dropping out, it's frightening the effect this had on the team. Rangers were slow and struggled to create any clear cut chances in the opening half. Rangers tried to play everything through the middle and never had any width to their play. Shiels and Templeton were Rangers experienced players in attack and they failed to threaten the Berwick goal. 

When McKay came on for Shiels in the second half, he instantly made an impact angling the ball over the Berwick keeper when Tempelton sent him through on goal. Five minutes later Rangers were two nil up. This time Crawford crossed an inch perfect ball onto the head of Andy Little. Little rose high in the air and powered the ball into the top right hand corner. Once the second goal went in McAusland was brought on to see out a two nil win. Rangers will have to raise their tempo in the next round against Queens if they want to get their hands on the Ramsdens Cup. 

I was surprised to see Ally McCoist talking about resigning Kenny Miller after the game. Rangers need to put more faith in the young players at Ibrox. Crawford and McLeod combined to break the deadlock against Airdrie on Friday  and it was young McKay who bailed Rangers out last night. 

You only have to look at how the experienced SPL players are playing to wonder why Miller would be a good idea. 

Where is Dean Shiels, SPL's former player of the year?

If we sign Kenny Miller does that mean that 40 goal a season Nicky Clark sits on the bench all year?

We have went out and signed Cammy Bell when we have a perfectly good young keeper in Gallagher. When Cammy Bell is available for selection in September, it will be harsh to drop Gallagher considering his performances in the opening games of the season.

Where will Peralta fit into the team?

We have a lot of players at the club now and any more signings can only be seen as excess.