Rangers 2 Queen's Park 0: Old pro to rescue

Sports Journalist

Sunday 21 October 2012

VICTORY in a Glasgow derby match for Rangers has always been the cue for much rejoicing, not to mention no little gloating, by their supporters over the years.

Lee McCulloch celebrates scoring against Queen's Park Photograph: SNS

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Matthew Lindsay

Yet fans of the Ibrox club will take limited satisfaction from this slender and, at times, downright nervous triumph over their famous old amateur opponents from across the city.

Had Queen's Park forward Andrew Robertson not hesitated inexplicably when he was clean through on goal with just Rangers goalkeeper Neil Alexander to beat on the hour mark, the final outcome could well have been quite different.

Lee McCulloch's second goal of the 90 minutes, right at the death, after Barrie McKay's long-range attempt had rebounded back off the crossbar, put a gloss on what was another far-from-convincing display by Rangers. However, with Elgin City drawing and Peterhead losing, the three points took Rangers to the top of the Irn-Bru Third Division for the first time, something that may, psychologically, prove important in this team's progress.Regardlesss, this performance did not please Ally McCoist much. If anything, it highlighted Rangers are just as susceptible at home as well as away at this level. "We are not creating enough chances," said McCoist. "We lost our way in the second half. For five or 10 minutes, I felt we lost our discipline and started defending too deep. But it was a deserved result in a difficult game. We are hoping that, having gone top, we have overcome a mental barrier and can kick on. Time will tell."The continuing fine form of McCulloch up front – the captain took his tally to 13 for the season with his second-half brace – and the return from injury of the prolific Andy Little were perhaps the only highlights of what was another difficult afternoon for Rangers. Queen's Park, on the other hand, were excellent. With just Jamie Longworth up front, their game plan was entirely understandable and effective. Right-back Paul Gallagher, in particular, was outstanding.Sebastian Faure started in the same position for Rangers and was not taxed greatly defensively – so there was absolutely no excuse for a slack pass that gifted the visitors a scoring chance in 52 minutes. Lawrence Shankland intercepted the ball easily and attempted to chip the ball from an acute angle over the exposed Alexander, but his execution was poor. Gardner Speirs' players rued that missed opportunity shortly afterwards when McCulloch tapped in from just a couple of yards out after a mazy run by Shiels into their six- yard box.Bizarrely, Rangers did not push on after that and survived a serious scare when Robertson broke through. "The ball got away from him after his first touch unfortunately. When he lifted his head all he could see was a big yellow goalkeeper," said Speirs.There were a several other edgy moments for many of those in a remarkable 49,463 crowd before McCulloch scored his second.

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Rangers 2 Queen's Park 0: Old pro to rescue

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