Rangers’ Under-18 side opened the defence of their SPL Youth title with a 1-0 win over Aberdeen at Auchenhowie this afternoon.
It was the Dons who came close to spoiling the championship celebrations in May when they triumphed 1-0 on the day the Ibrox men clinched the title, and again today’s game was tight and tense with few openings throughout.
The visitors had the better of a first-half that ended goalless, yet Rangers struck six minutes after the restart when new Captain Chris McLeod headed home a Daniel Fortunato corner.
The Champions had a greater resolve about them in the second-half but were unable to put the result beyond doubt, with the result that Aberdeen pushed forward in the closing stages in search of an equaliser, only to be foiled by a resolute defence and excellent goalkeeping on the part of 15-year-old Callum Reidford.
Team: Reidford; Hutton, Coyle; Fortunato, McLeod, Walker; McCormack (Martin 78), C. Adam, Duffy (Stevens 45), Davidson (J. Adams 78), Brighton