Scottish Cup
Rangers 8 – 0 Queen’s Park FT
James Tavernier delivered an impressive first-half hat-trick as Rangers stormed into the Scottish Cup quarter-finals, overturning last year’s surprising defeat to Queen’s Park.
In a repeat of last year’s encounter, where Calum Ferrie was the hero for Queen’s Park, making crucial saves including a late penalty from Tavernier, this match told a different story.
This time, Tavernier confidently converted a penalty after his corner was inadvertently headed into his own net by the Queen’s Park goalkeeper. He also scored his first goal from close range.
Ryan Naderi celebrated his first goal for Rangers on his debut, while Matty Shiels contributed an own goal before halftime, both resulting from corners.
Naderi scored a second header shortly after halftime, and Bojan Miovski added the seventh goal in the 80th minute.
Tochi Chukwuani sealed the dominant win, finishing off a well-coordinated passing play following a flick from Tavernier’s delivery that led to Shiels’ own goal.
Queen’s Park advanced to this round by default after Stranraer was disqualified for incorrectly registering an on-loan goalkeeper in their previous match.
While this fortunate turn of events may benefit the club financially, the team’s lackluster performance will only add to the disappointment as they languish at the bottom of the second tier.
They did manage to score at 1-0, but Aidan Connolly was ruled offside by a considerable margin, quickly extinguishing a momentary spark of excitement.
Analysis: Naderi shines with aerial prowess
Tavernier’s first career hat-trick marked a ninth consecutive home victory for Rangers, bringing his total goals for the club to 143 alongside 147 assists accumulated over his decade-long tenure.
This comfortable win stands in stark contrast to last year’s distress when Seb Drozd’s goal knocked them out; the atmosphere at Ibrox is significantly more positive these days.
At just 22, Naderi cut a formidable figure, demonstrating his physicality as he impressed in his first outing. He found himself unmarked to head in the opener from a corner, benefiting from a slight deflection.
He was again afforded too much space to score his second, connecting with an Oliver Antman cross, and could have claimed the match ball had he not volleyed a chance over the bar in the first half.
Poor defending on the part of Queen’s Park contributed to their heavy defeat, with Danny Rohl’s squad capitalizing on the visitors’ vulnerabilities during set-pieces.
Ferrie struggled to deal with Tavernier’s curling corner, mispositioning himself for Naderi’s second goal, while the penalty was awarded after an Andreas Skov Olsen shot hit an outstretched hand.
Following a convincing win over Kilmarnock, scoring 13 goals in two matches has further boosted the morale at Rangers, although they face significantly tougher challenges ahead against in-form Motherwell and Premiership leaders Hearts.
What They Said
Rangers Coach Danny Rohl: “In cup matches, anything can happen, so you need to approach them seriously, and we did that today. It was a professional performance. Scoring early was crucial, and we maintained our hunger for more goals. When I came in, my task was to create a winning mentality and restore balance. With each victory, we’re gaining confidence, and the focus is now on our next match, which is a big one.”
Queen’s Park Coach Sean Crighton: “We failed to show up today, which is uncommon for this group. We were far from our best. We made basic errors across the pitch, especially from set pieces. Going into halftime at 5-0 down is incredibly tough. This loss will sting, but the players must channel that pain positively moving forward, without dwelling on it.”