Attendance 13,284
Rangers comfortably defeated Linfield 3-0 at Windsor Park, Belfast tonight in a game that saw many of the Ibrox youngsters given the opportunity to take a bow.
Belfast was awash with red, white and blue to welcome Rangers to Windsor Park for the second year in succession, with a near-capacity crowd turning out on a balmy summer evening.
Making a welcome return to the visitors¹ line-up was Barry Ferguson in his first outing following his pelvic operation, whilst lining up for a Linfield side that defeated Hearts 1-0 last weekend was former Ranger Ryan McCann.
The Ibrox Captain was quickly into his stride, playing a one-two with Ronald De Boer before firing over in seven minutes.
Four minutes later Shota Arveladze playing wide on the left fed De Boer who seemed certain to score until his shot was deflected wide.
It was one-way traffic towards the Linfield goal and on the quarter-hour mark there was an incredible scramble following a Chris Burke corner as firstly Michael Mols had three shots blocked, then De Boer saw his effort charged down, and finally Bob Malcolm¹s fifteen-yard drive was cleared off the line.
Two minutes later Rangers had an even better opportunity to take the lead, this time from the penalty spot when Paul McAreavey punched Burke¹s net-bound shot over the bar. Had this been a competitive game then the former Portadown player must have received a red card, but Bangor Referee David
Best contented himself with yellow. Bob Malcolm saw his poor spot-kick saved by Alan Mannus and Ibrox penalty problems continue, this being the second failed spot-kick of the pre-season fixtures.
Rangers appeared to drop down a couple of gears as the half developed, despite the blank score-line, with only the gala atmosphere to keep the crowd entertained.
De Boer came close to breaking the deadlock in 38 minutes with a solo run down the left, his chip missing the target by inches.
Four minutes later it was Arveladze who almost opened the scoring, playing a one-two with De Boer before seeing his goal-bound shot deflected wide.
Finally in 43 minutes Rangers opened the scoring when De Boer took a Christian Nerlinger pass in his stride and found the net with a low 25-yard daisy-cutter that perhaps found Mannus unsighted.
Both Steven McLean and Andy Dowie were introduced for the start of the second-half, replacing Ronald De Boer and Craig Moore.
The Windsor Park men started the stronger after the break, with a Glen Ferguson header testing Allan McGregor to the full in 48 minutes, the Ibrox understudy tipping the ball over the bar, then eight minutes later a 25-yard shot from Aidan O¹Kane flashed just over.
These near misses perhaps served to underline to the Scottish Champions that the game was not yet won twice within as many minutes both Arveladze and Mols saw shots from distance blocked by Mannus.
Barry Ferguson took his leave on the hour, replaced by Billy Gibson, and the Ibrox skipper could feel well satisfied with his night¹s work.
Linfield custodian Alan Mannus was in outstanding form as the Gers went all out for a second goal blocking Burke¹s low drive from an Arveladze slip with his feet midway through the second-half, then sixty seconds later holding Michael Ball¹s twenty-yard drive following a one-two with Steven McLean.
The second goal when it arrived was however simplicity itself a looping header from Andy Dowie finding the net from a Burke corner.
Both Steven Smith and Allan Hutton were introduced to the fray with the game all but over but there was time for a bizarre incident when Linfield¹s Aidan O¹Kane, having been replaced by Pedro Delgado in 81 minutes, found himself back on the field two minutes later when another sub, Darren Murphy, suffered a face knock and needed treatment, the home side having used all other substitutes.
Steven McLean rounded off a satisfactory night¹s work when he made it 3-0 in 89 minutes, rifling home the ball after Nerlinger¹s through-ball had been chested into his path by Peter Lovenkrands.
Manager Alex McLeish afterwards offered his thoughts on the game:
'A great night. We played well. Barry was bursting to play it's good to have him back.
LINFIELD Mannus; McCann (Dickson 66), McShane (King 63); O'Kane (Delgado 81), Murphy, Hunter; Larmour, McAreavey (Murphy 63 {O¹Kane 83}), Ferguson (Thompson 81), Morgan (Picking 58), Bailie
RANGERS McGregor; Ross, Moore (Dowie 45), Malcolm (Muscat 69), Ball; Burke (S. Smith 76), Ferguson (W. Gibson 60), Nerlinger; Arveladze (Hutton 78); De Boer (McLean 45), Mols (Lovenkrands 63)
UNUSED SUBS McCann, G. Smith
REFEREE David Best