Bathed in sunshine, and comfortably dominant, it was possible to imagine that this Rangers team was carefree.
Perhaps the players were, since the off-field anxieties embroil the directors and the shareholders. Assignments like this were often chastening for the Ibrox side last season, but in its decisiveness and its assurance, this display told of a growing authority as they made it two wins out of two in SPFL League One.
There were occasional relapses, and goalkeeper Scott Gallacher was livid when the defenders in front of him did not mark as diligently as they were required to. These were momentary aberrations, though, and the lasting impressions were made by the more creative players.
During the first half in particular, when Rangers were in such command that the three goals they scored were an accurate reflection of their superiority, Nicky Law, Ian Black and Lewis Macleod decorated the game with clever, insightful play.
The arrival of Law has freed up others in midfield who might have been burdened by responsibility. All that could irk manager Ally McCoist was the fact that the intensity slipped from his side after the interval.
"We need to be more clinical, to score more goals and kill teams off," he said. "The best way to show the opposition respect is to continue playing in the same manner for the entire 90 minutes, regardless of the score. We didn't do that."
It was a minor quibble, since McCoist could not find many reasons to fault his team. Black was full of intent and confidence when he drove a shot at goal from 25 yards, although there was fortune in the way Andy Little stuck out a foot and diverted the ball past Stranraer goalkeeper David Mitchell. "They're arguing about it," joked McCoist, "but I would have given it to Black. He says it was going in anyway."
The home side could not feel unduly wronged, though, since they had been lucky moments before when Jon Daly's stabbed effort struck the upright.
Stranraer might have felt overwhelmed, since there was a sprightliness and optimism to the visitors' display. Law sliced a Mark Corcoran cross over his own bar, but that was a rare miscue from a player who was both dynamic and composed in midfield He was also astute in his use of the ball and it was the midfielder's corner kick that was emphatically headed into the net by Lee McCulloch for the third goal.
That was a simple effort, at least in comparison to the goal that preceded it. Several players showed deft touches before the ball reached Little, whose cross was headed on by Daly. At the back post, Macleod took one touch before hooking a shot beyond Mitchell from a tight angle. "We asked the midfielders to chip in with a bigger percentage of goals," said McCoist, "and they're doing that."
Gallacher had to save well from Chris Aitken's free-kick, and Mitchell pulled off a smart save from Daly after the interval. Essentially, though, the game was over as a contest. Yet Aitken was still spiky, and he received two yellow cards in the space of seven minutes, one for dissent and another for a trip. "I was disappointed in him," said Stranraer manager Stephen Aitken, who is also the midfielder's older brother. "If we defended like that against Annan we'd get beaten."
It was a satisfactory day for McCoist, who also defended the team's overnight stay at Turnberry before the game. "We were in the lodges, which isn't exactly the same, but it's a fantastic place," he said. "If I told you it was cheaper than it would have been for the hotel in Stranraer ... we continue to attempt to do the right things in terms of the professionalism of the club and by staying overnight for certain games, we believe it shows the opposition the respect they deserve."
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