RANGERS rounded off their pre-season schedule on a low note at Ibrox as Burnley ran out comfortable 3-1 winners.
Mark Warburton’s side took maximum points from their Betfred Cup fixtures as Motherwell, Annan, East Stirlingshire and Stranraer were beaten in Group F.
But the Gers will head into the Premiership on the back of a comprehensive defeat as the Premier League newcomers eased to victory in front of a crowd of just under 22,000.
Striker Andre Gray, who Warburton worked with at Brentford, hit a hat-trick as Sean Dyche’s side continued their preparations for the big kick-off with a polished performance.
For Rangers, it was an afternoon to forget as they were well beaten and attentions are now firmly fixed on the Premiership opener against Hamilton next weekend.
Warburton sent out a strong line-up to go head-to-head with the Clarets but saw his side fall behind from the spot after just three minutes.
It was Gray who won the penalty as he got the better of Clint Hill and the striker then made no mistake as he slotted home from 12 yards.
After keeping four clean sheets in the Betfred Cup, Rangers now had to come from behind at Ibrox but, after Niko Kranjcar had fired just wide, it would get worse for Warburton’s side after 17 minutes.
Gray was again the man that did the damage as he doubled Burnley’s lead with a clinical finish from the edge of the area and Rangers’ defence was again exposed.
There were chances for the Light Blues before the break as Tom Heaton gathered a Joey Barton drive at the second attempt and Halliday curled an effort over the bar.
Rangers were fortunate they were not 3-0 down by that stage, though, as Gray and Sam Vokes combined and the Welshman rattled Wes Foderingham’s post with a low strike.
The only change Warburton chose to make at the break was in goal as Matt Gilks took over for the second period as he looked for some action to get him up to speed following straightforward cup outings.
The former Burnley keeper didn’t have to wait to pick the ball out of his net, though, as Gray completed his hat-trick with another sweet strike to cap off an impressive performance.
With the game beyond Rangers, Warburton turned to his bench to give more of his players crucial match minutes ahead of the new campaign.
There were changes at the back as Danny Wilson and Lee Hodson took over from Hill and Lee Wallace, in the middle where Jordan Rossiter replaced Joey Barton and Harry Forrester took over from Kranjcar and up front as Joe Dodoo and Michael O’Halloran were given a run-out in place of Martyn Waghorn and Kenny Miller.
It was O’Halloran who would help Rangers give the home crowd something to cheer at last as Warburton’s side pulled a goal back with 16 minutes remaining.
Halliday’s pass found the striker in behind the Burnley defence and Ben Mee could only turn O’Halloran’s cross from the right into his own net.
It wasn’t the moment that sparked a comeback for the Gers, though, as they suffered their first defeat of the summer.
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