Rangers 4 Brechin 1

Rangers opened their Scottish League One campaign with an emphatic victory over Brechin. 

Over 44,000 fans turned out to see Sandy Jardine unfurl the championship flag before kick off. It didn't take long before the fans were celebrating again, when Heggarty tapped in the opener after 2 minutes. Nicky Law who continued to impress had his shot blocked which fell into the path of Hegarty. After the shocking result against Forfar, Rangers started the match at a high tempo and dominated the opening stages. Black came close after crashing an indirect free kick at the Brechin keeper Graeme Smith. Black had an impressive first half, spraying passes all over the pitch while playing at a quicker pace than usual. 

Daly had plenty of chances throughout the first half and on another day could have had a hatrick. Going in at half time two up flattered the Brechin team as Rangers squandered countless chances in the first half. Rangers pursuit of a second goal eventually came through man of the match, Nicky Law.  Law went on a driving run beating three Brechin players in the process, before driving a low strike from 25 yards out. It was a special finish and nothing more than Rangers deserved. 

Brechin turned the game on its head in the second half when Jackson scored an overhead kick after Rangers failed to defend a Brechin corner. Rangers heads went down after this and they were under pressure until Andy Little was fouled in the box by McLean. Deemed as a goal scoring opportunity, the penalty was awarded and McLean was dismissed. Ian Black missed his first attempt but made no mistake with the rebound. Dean Shiels came on for Crawford and topped off the afternoon when he scored the pick of the goals. After receiving the ball on the left hand corner of the box, Shiels stepped inside before curling his effort over the Brechin keeper. 

Rangers played an attacking style of football that has not been seen at Ibrox for sometime. The only criticism that McCoist can have is that his team were not ruthless in front of goal and this nearly came back to haunt them, after Brechin scored and gained some momentum. 

DC