RANGERS 6 SHIRE 0

The outcome was hardly a surprise but, with 24 minutes on the clock, and the scoresheet still blank, there must have been some in light blue inside Ibrox who were squirming in their seats.

That was Shire's only real aim of the evening, and the only one they could be reasonably expected to achieve, heroic resistance.

Organisation and adreneline got the players in white through that opening period but after Rangers upped the gears there was little to play for other than damage limitation.

And once the dam burst there was no putting it back together. Lee McCulloch's opener for Rangers was followed in the space of five minutes by two more, from Allan Hutton and Kris Boyd.

On the stroke of half-time Boyd made it four and, five minutes after the break, McCulloch's thunderbolt increased the lead to 5-0.

At that point you feared the worst but all Rangers could manage from that moment on was a 62nd minute penalty to complete Boyd's hat-trick.

Before kick-off there was a surprise for Shire back-up keeper Greig Mitchell. Regular starter, Michael Brown, picked up an injury just minutes before the game was due to start.

A quick check from physio Iain McIver was enough to rule the on-loan Raith Rovers keeper out of the match and Mitchell was between the sticks.

Boss Gordon Wylde opted to field a 4-4-2 formation with Marc McKenzie giving Joe Savage some support up front.

Craig Donaldson's ankle injury, sustained in the 2-2 draw at Albion Rovers,meant he dropped to the bench to be replaced by Paul Brownlie.

There was an early let off for Mitchell when Rangers had the ball in the net but referee Crawford came to his recue by chalking the strike off.

After that Shire's well-organised offside trap made the far side linesman the busiest person inside Ibrox as he repatedly flagged for infringments.

Shire were more concerned with keeping Rangers out at that stage, rather than trying to find the scoresheet itself but the one-way traffic still couldn't find its destination.

That changed after 24 minutes when Boyd danced round a challenge from Stephen Oates and supplied what amounted to little more than a tap-in for McCulloch.

Three minutes later the blistering pace of Hutton took him clear of the Shire rearguard and, after an exchange of passes with Alan Gow on the 18 yard line, the full-back continued his run before slotting the ball past Mitchell.

On the half hour mark it was 3-0. This time Gow's trickery down the right set up a cross which Boyd fired past Mitchell.

Shire suffered a further setback on 36 minutes when Gary Kelly, who suffered a heavy ankle knock in the first five minutes, had to be replaced by Craig Donaldson.

With the game now lost Shire moved to their next objective; trying to get a goal. A lovely move down the right saw McKenzie nutmeg Stephen Whittaker before racing into the Rangers box but his cutback, intended for Savage, was intercepted.

A minute later McKenzie was brought down outside the box but Kevin McBride's free-kick was straight at Rangers' keeper Graeme Smith.

With half-time looming Jean-Claude Darcheville's barnstorming run ended with a lovely pass to Boyd who was left with little more than a tap-in to make it 4-0.

Five minutes after the break McCulloch unleashed a superb drive from the edge of the box which flew past Mitchell for Rangers' fifth.

On 53 minutes the Ibrox crowd were given a glimpse of what Savage is capable of. The Shire man beat three Rangers players on a great run and only just failed to released McKenzie for what could have been a scoring opportunity.

Five minutes later Savage played Andrew Brand in, the Shire skipper squared the ball along the edge of the box and Brownlie's shot had to be deflected for a corner.

Rangers completed their night's work on 62 minutes when substitute Thomas Buffel was brought down in the box by Kevin McBride. Boyd completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot.

Rangers : Smith, Hutton, Papac, Whittaker, Hemdani(Fleck 67), Broadfoot, Gow, Adam, Boyd(Naismith 80), McCulloch, Darcheville(Buffel 60).

Shire : Mitchell, Gibb, K. McBride, Oates, Thywissen, Kelly(Donaldson 36), McKenzie(Simpson 68), Brand, Savage(King 83), Brownlie, Ure.

Referee : A. Crawford.

Attendance : 34,024.

 

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