Rangers

2 |

2

Queens

McKay (54')
McCulloch (71' pen)

Clark (48')
Reilly (90')

Queen of the South were victorious at Ibrox for the first time since 1948 after a dramatic penalty shoot-out win saw them defeat Rangers in the Third Round of the Ramsdens Cup.

The Doonhamers won out 4-3 on penalties after a hard-fought and at times frenetic 2-2 draw. Nicky Clark opened the scoring after half-time and Barrie McKay equalised before Lee McCulloch converted a penalty.

Queens left it late to equalise as Gavin Reilly pounced in injury-time to score his sixth goal in three matches. There were also two dismissals as Rangers? Kevin Kyle and Queens? Willie Gibson saw red.

The match began with the home side dominating possession and Queens pressing hard. The first chance of note fell to Rangers? Barrie McKay stealing onto a short Kevin Holt backpass but Lee Robinson was equal to the tame effort.

After weathering the early storm the away side began to grow in confidence and began to test Neil Alexander in the Rangers goal. First Chris Mitchell had a fierce half-volley from range tipped over and then Dan Carmichael also had his long-range effort touched over the crossbar.

With the half wearing on neither side were able to create any real goalscoring chances and the home support were starting to get restless. Boos rang out as the referee blew for half-time as the fans showed their displeasure at the Rangers performance.

Things went from bad to worse for the home side as Nicky Clark headed the opener just minutes into the second half. Willie Gibson was the architect as he turned inside Anestis Argyriou and delivered a fine cross to allow Clark to find the bottom corner and send the Doonhamers fans crazy with delight.

Nicky Clark opens the scoring

Celebration time for Nicky

The goal seemed to spur on both sets of players as Clark had another effort saved by Neil Alexander and Lee McCulloch had an effort deflected into the side-netting from inside the area.

The equaliser came from the resulting corner as Queens struggled to clear from inside the six-yard- box and Barrie McKay bundled home from under the crossbar.

Rangers began to really test the away defence with Dean Shiels bringing a save out of Lee Robinson before substitute Kevin Kyle powered a header just wide of the post.

The big man from Stranraer was putting his weight about as he gave Higgins and Durnan something else to think about after Francisco Sandaza?s anonymous performance. However, his night only lasted ten minutes as the referee gave him two yellow cards in the space of four minutes to send Rangers down to ten men with twenty-five minutes left on the clock.

Rangers were still posing a threat up-front as Lewis McLeod brought a good stop out of Robinson before Chris Higgins gave away a penalty. Lee McCulloch stepped up and sent Robinson the wrong way to give Rangers the lead.

The ten-men looked to try and hang on to their lead from that point as they setup with two banks of four and McKay up front on his own. Queens started to get a hold of the ball and put the Rangers defence under much more pressure.

The pressure began to tell as Mark Durnan?s header smacked off the top of the post. Chris Mitchell swung in a free-kick from a wide position and Durnan rose above his marker but the woodwork denied him. With time running out it looked like it wasn?t to be Queen of the South?s night as Willie Gibson was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge in stoppage time.

Queens? unbeaten start to the season was coming to an end but there was still a couple of minutes to play and Gavin Reilly had other ideas. The Rangers defence went to sleep as Chris Mitchell played the ball to Nicky Clark who was free inside the Rangers box. Instead of shooting himself he decided to play the ball on a plate for his strike partner Reilly to slide in at the back post. There must only have been seconds left but Allan Johnston?s boys were level and the game headed into extra-time.

Gavin gets on the end of Nicky Clark`s ball and slips it home to equalise

Celebrations in the corner again

Despite the lateness of the goal Rangers came out punching after the restart and Lee Robinson was in action twice within the first few minutes of extra-time. The Queens ?keeper was beaten five minutes later though as Lee McCulloch leapt above everyone else to send a header towards the bottom corner where Derek Young was waiting to save a certain goal.

Dean Shiels then missed a huge chance for the Glasgow side as he pounced onto a rebound following a Lee Wallace shot. Robinson did well to stop the first effort from Wallace but he couldn?t hold it and Shiels had the opportunity to put his side back in front as the goal gaped but he blazed wide from an angle and Queens could breathe again.

The second half of extra time saw both teams visibly tire after over 105 minutes of play and neither side could put much together in an attacking sense. Both teams were settling for penalties although there was still time for a final Queens chance.

Nicky Clark kept the ball in play and knocked it over the Rangers defence as Dan Orsi chased it down. He beat the defender to the ball and raced clear but Alexander was equal to Orsi?s effort and saved with his feet. Durnan headed the resulting corner wide and the referee blew for full-time and the prospect of a penalty shoot-out.

Rangers? McCulloch was first up and the ex-Scotland international made no mistake as he found the top corner. Derek Lyle was first up for the away side. He decided to go for power and lost some of the direction as the ball rattled the crossbar. Queens would have been up against it if not for Lee Robinson taking his tally of penalty saves this season to three as he stopped Dean Shiels spot-kick.

Robinson makes the crucial save

Nicky Clark proceeded to score his as did Kal Naismith, Derek Young, Ian Black and Gavin Reilly to bring the score to 3-3 after four penalties each. Anestis Argyriou stepped up to take Rangers? fifth spot-kick and the Greek couldn?t keep his composure as the ball rebounded of the post to give Ryan McGuffie the chance to send Queens through. The big defender smashed it home and sent the travelling fans delirious.

Ryan scores the decisive penalty

And the fans celebrate a memorable victory

0
Robinson
0
McGuffie
0
Durnan
0
Higgins
0
Holt
0
Carmichael
(Sub2)
0
Young
0
Mitchell
(Sub1)
0
Gibson
0
Reilly
1
0
Clark
1

Subs

1
Atkinson

1
Lyle
Sub1-84

1
Orsi
Sub2-96

1
Black

1
Johnston

For Real Time Updates Go To Our Updates Page

	19:25	Hi folks and welcome to Ibrox as Rangers host Queens in the Ramsdens Cup Quarter Final. I`ll hopefully give you plenty to shout about.
	19:26	Here`s tonights teams...
	19:27	Queens: 1 Robinson 2 McGuffie 3 Holt 4 Durnan 5 Higgins 6 Young 7 Gibson 8 Mitchell 9 Reilly 10 Clark 11 Carmichael
	19:28	Subs: 12 Atkinson 14 Lyle 15 Orsi 16 Black 17 Johnston
	19:30	Rangers: 1 Alexander 2 Argyriou 3 Cribari 4 Perry 5 Wallace 6 McCulloch 7 McKay 8 Black 9 Sandaza 10 Shiels 11 McLeod
	19:31	Subs: 16 Gallacher 12 Faure 14 Kyle 15 Naismith 17 Aird
	19:32	And tonight`s whistler is Stevie O`Reilly, helped by flagwavers Andy Tait and Colin McAlpine. Fourth official is Greg Aitken.
	19:37	Both teams go into tonight`s game unbeaten in all competitions and Ally McCoist has described tonight as their "toughest home test so far"
	19:39	So far in the competition Queens have knocked out 1st Div. outfits Dumbarton and Morton. A 3rd division side should be no problem, then...
	19:39	On the other hand Rangers have seen off Brechin City and Falkirk to get to this stage of the Ramsdens Cup.
	19:42	I`m sure you all remember the last time these teams met: the 2008 Scottish Cup Final at Hampden.
	19:44	Rangers won 3-2 after a superb comeback from Queens.Goals from Stevie Tosh and Jim Thomson brought Queens level before Kris Boyd spoiled it.
	19:45	A minutes silence impeccable respected in memory of the 96 who died in the Hillsborough disaster.
	19:46	The teams are out. Queens in white and black with Rangers in their usual blue.
	0 min	THE GAME KICKS OFF
	3 min	Queens have lined up in their usual 4-4-2 formation. Two enforced changes as McKenna is suspended and Burns is cup-tied.
	5 min	Rangers are dominating possession as you would expect with Queens trying to put the home side under pressure.
	8 min	Nearly. Mitchell steals it and plays in Clark who turns his man but Cribari is there to cover and the danger is gone.
	10 min	Seconds later Kevin Holt plays a loose back-pass and McKay is on to it. His weak effort is saved well by Robinson.
	13 min	Dangerous free-kick from wide as Black whips it in but it eludes everyone and goes for a goal-kick.
	14 min	Corner to Queens.
	15 min	Mitchell`s corner finds Durnan at the back post but his header across the box is cleared.
	17 min	Great strike from Mitchell! Good play by Carmichael as he beats Wallace to cross the ball. The rebound falls to Mitchell whose shot is saved
	19 min	Having weathered the early storm Queens are starting to make Rangers do a bit of defending themselves.
	22 min	Save by Alexander. Carmichael nicks the ball and hits a long-range strike which is tipped over by the Rangers `keeper.
	23 min	Dan Carmichael looks like he fancies his chances against Lee Wallace tonight.
	28 min	Queens on the counter attack as Clark plays the ball inside Wallace for Reilly to run on to but the ref gives a foul as Reilly challenges.
	31 min	Holt has a speculative effort after Queens once again steal the ball high up the pitch. No worries for the home `keeper.
	35 min	Gibson loses the ball 30 yards from his own goal but makes up by winning it back with a risky tackle. The ref plays on despite the protests.
	38 min	Neither side is keeping the ball at the moment and the home fans are starting to get a bit restless.
	41 min	AllY McCoist is enraged as the ref doesn`t give Rangers a free-kick but it looked like McKay went down very easily.
	43 min	Rangers attacking well as McKay plays in Shiels whose shot from an angle is blocked for a corner.
	44 min	The Rangers corner is met by centreback Cribari but he heads over.
	Half Time	HALF TIME - Rangers 0:0 QOS
	Half Time	Boos echo around Ibrox as the home fans are obviously unhappy with the first half performance from Rangers.
	Half Time	On the other hand Queens will be very happy with the way the first half has gone. Good pressing and counter-attacking. Can they keep it up?
	Half Time	Good omen for Queens as their boys gave Rangers a bit of a stuffing in the half-time shoot-out competition. Future looking bright.
	Half Time	Queens are out at least a minute before Rangers for the second half. Raring to go!
	45 min	SECOND HALF UNDERWAY
	45 min	Sandaza nearly gets in straight after the restart but Robinson is out sharpish to clear.
	47 min	Very strong and timely tackle from Higgins as McLeod looks to drive into the Queens box.
	48 min	GOAL QUEENS! Clark the scorer
	49 min	YES!Ibrox is silent as Gibson skins the right-back before planting a perfect cross onto the head of Nicky Clark who finds the bottom corner.
	52 min	Great effort from Clark! Nicky Clark gets behind the Rangers defence and hits it from an angle but Alexander saves at full stretch.
	54 min	McCulloch hits the side-netting! The ball falls to McCulloch inside the box but his shot is deflected into the side-net.
	54 min	Goal Rangers. McKay the scorer
	55 min	Poor defending from Queens gifts Rangers an equaliser. A corner into the box isn`t cleared and the ball falls to McKay in the 6-yard-box.
	56 min	Seconds before the goal Rangers made their first change as Sandaza was replaced by Kevin Kyle.
	58 min	Nice play from Shiels as he cuts into the box but his shot is mishit and Robinson gathers.
	59 min	Kevin Kyle heads wide! Very close from Rangers as Kyle meets a corner with a diving header but heads wide of the upright.
	60 min	Rangers are starting to look much more dangerous now.
	62 min	Yellow Card : Willie Gibson pulls back Argyriou and earns a caution.
	62 min	Yellow Card : Rangers` Kevin Kyle slides through the back of Derek Young.
	66 min	Red Card : Kevin Kyle
	67 min	Kyle slides through the back of Chris Mitchell to earn his marching orders just 10 minutes after coming on.
	70 min	Good save from Robinson! McLeod moves the ball quickly and strikes on target but the Queens `keeper pushes it out.
	70 min	Penalty to Rangers.
	71 min	Goal Rangers. McCulloch the scorer
	72 min	Lee McCulloch sends Robinson the wrong way to give Rangers the lead. Still plenty of time left.
	72 min	Reilly was nearly in there but his control let him down after Durnan`s long ball over the top.
	77 min	Rangers are sitting in a bit now as they look to hold onto their lead.
	78 min	Rangers make two subs as Faure and Naismith take the places of McKay and McLeod.
	80 min	Gibson has a nice turn and goes for the top corner from range but can only find the stand.
	84 min	Durnan hits the post! A Mitchell free-kick from wide is met by the head of Mark Durnan who hits the top of the post.
	84 min	Substitution : Lyle on for Mitchell
	85 min	Good defending from Durnan as he snuffs out a dangerous Rangers attack.
	87 min	Yellow Card : Kevin Holt wipes out Argyriou and finds himself in the book.
	89 min	Shiels attacking the Queens box but his cross is into the side-netting.
	90 min	Yellow Card : Rangers Faure comes through the back of Gibson.
	90+1 min	Rangers are hanging on here. 3 minutes added.
	90+1 min	Red Card : Willie Gibson gets a second yellow for a late tackle.
	90+3 min	GOAL QUEENS! Reilly the scorer
	90+4 min	Wow! Nicky Clark gets in down the right and squares it for Reilly to slide it in. The game looked over but now we`ll have extra time!
	90+4 min	End of 90 minutes.
	90+8 min	We`re back underway
	90+8 min	Rangers free kick... scrambled wide
	90+9 min	Robinson punches the corner clear and then catches the shot off the rebound
	90+9 min	Another great stop from Robinson early in extra time
	90+10 min	At the other end, Clark headsover at full stretch
	90+11 min	Great cross from Carmichael as plays it across the Rangers box but Clark can`t get on the end of it.
	90+12 min	Rangers attack and Argyriou has his shot deflected wide. Corner to Rangers.
	90+13 min	Off the line! McCulloch wins the header but its cleared by the Queens man on the post.
	90+14 min	Save by Robinson. Dean Shiels is played into the box but Robinson gets down to push it behind.
	90+14 min	Substitution : Orsi on for Carmichael
	90+21 min	Yellow Card : Derek Young mistimes a slide tackle.
	90+22 min	Huge chance for Rangers! The ball falls to Wallace in the box and Robinson saves his effort but can only push it to Shiels and he misses.
	90+23 min	Half-time in extra-time.
	90+24 min	And the action is underway again.
	90+25 min	That was a massive miss from Shiels before the restart. Can Queens make them rue it?
	90+26 min	Yellow Card : Ryan McGuffie
	90+29 min	Naismith has an effort from the edge of the box. It`s deflected wide for a corner. Robinson claims it well.
	90+30 min	Fantastic chasing from Reilly wins a throw in off Wallace high up the pitch.
	90+32 min	A great run from Kevin Holt into the box wins a corner much to the disgust of the home fans.
	90+32 min	The corner is cleared.
	90+35 min	Both teams are looking tired and there`s not a huge amount of goalmouth action at the moment.
	90+35 min	Five minutes to go
	90+36 min	Dean Shiels strikes from the edge of the area. Lee Robinson watches it wide.
	90+37 min	Rangers have a free-kick in a dangerous position out wide.
	90+38 min	Mark Durnan meets the delivery with a firm header clear.
	90+39 min	What a chance for Orsi! Orsi beats the defender to the ball and he`s in one-on-one but ALexander saves with his feet.
	90+40 min	Durnan meets the corner well but heads wide. Into stoppage time now.
	90+40 min	End of extra-time penalties to come.
	90+43 min	No matter what happens in the shoot-out Allan Johnston must be delighted with tonight`s performance.
	90+43 min	Lee McCulloch is first up...
	90+44 min	Scores. High into the net. 1-0
	90+44 min	Derek Lyle for Queens...
	90+44 min	Hits the bar! 1-0
	90+45 min	Dean Shiels...
	90+45 min	SAVED! Robinson dives to his left and stops it. Still 1-0.
	90+46 min	Nicky Clark is next...
	90+46 min	SCORES! Strokes it low into the corner. 1-1
	90+46 min	Naismith...
	90+47 min	Scores. Robinson goes the right way but its too good.
	90+47 min	Derek Young...
	90+47 min	SCORES! Straight down the middle. 2-2
	90+47 min	Ian Black next...
	90+48 min	Scores. 3-2 to Rangers
	90+48 min	Reilly steps up...
	90+48 min	Scores! In off the bar. 3-3 now
	90+48 min	Argyriou hits the post! 3-3
	90+49 min	McGuffie to win it...
	90+49 min	SCORES!
	90+50 min	Final Score: Rangers 2-2 Queen of the South. Queen of the South win 4-3 on penalties.
	22:24	FULL TIME - Rangers 2:2 QOS
	22:25	What a win for Queens! A fantastic performance from the Doonhamers sees them dump out Rangers at Ibrox.