Rangers- (Adam 3)
Dundee United - (Conway 2 {39, 70}, Jarvis 40, Kenneth 43, Paterson 55)
The defeat was surely a direct result of fielding such
a fledgling side - due to a combination of factors,
namely the massive injury list, the backlog of
fixtures, the fact that several experienced players
have been released, and others loaned out to other
clubs.
Mind you, it should also be noted that the Ibrox
youngsters had to play for fully fifty minutes a man
short, Charlie Adam having been harshly red-carded.
Once again the Light Blues fielded an entirely
Under-19 side, a decision that may well compromise
their chances of clinching the Youth League title
against Hearts this coming Thursday and the Youth Cup
one week today. Indeed, another question perhaps
should be whether in fact Rangers can adequately
fulfill their fixtures at this level.
Rangers in fact struck early – Charlie Adam netting in
three minutes after Graeme Watson’s free-kick had been
spilled by United goalkeeper Paul Jarvie.
Seven minutes later Adam came close to adding a second
when his header from a Gary Fraser cross was touched
over by Jarvie.
United nevertheless were creating chances – Aaron
Conway twice heading over when in good position. The
centre would not be denied however – equalising in 39
minutes with a twenty-yard free-kick that home
goalkeeper Lee Robinson appeared to think was going
wide.
Sixty seconds later United took the lead when a Jim
Paterson cross was miss-handled by Robinson, allowing
Kenny Jarvis to scramble the ball home.
The roof was falling in on Rangers – one minute later
they were reduced to ten men when Charlie Adam was
red-carded for a late tackle on Conway.
The bad news didn’t end there either – before the
interval it was 3-1 when Robinson again failed to cut
out a Ross Gardiner free-kick, Gary Kenneth chipping
the loose ball into the net.
There was no way back for the Ibrox youngsters -
Graeme Watson was unlucky when his drive came off the
underside of the bar, but further goals from Paterson
in 55 minutes and Conway in 70 made it a day to forget
for the ‘Gers fans present.
RANGERS Robinson; Jacmot, Dick; Coyle, McColl (Ure
67), Watson; Gilmour, Kalenga (Agnew 45) , Johnston,
Fraser (Boyd 60), Adam
UNUSED SUBS Reidford, Lowing
DUNDEE UNITED Jarvie; Abbot, Duff; Anderson, Kenneth,
Gardiner (Callaghan 66); Bell, Holmes, Conway
(McDonald 70), Paterson, Jarvis (Easton 74)
UNUSED SUBS Andrew, McCann