Sons leave Rangers young guns with a dose of blues

Rangers under-20 side followed Celtic, Hibs, Kilmarnock and St Johnstone Colts out of the Irn-bru Cup when they went down 2-1 to Championship hosts Dumbarton.

The damage to the cup hopes of the visiting youngsters had a Light Blue touch to it with a former Rangers player opening the scoring, another setting up the second and a third putting up the shutters to avoid extra-time.

The game got off to an explosive start with Aidan Wilson bringing Calum Gallagher down within the first 60 seconds and the one-time Ibrox frontman dusted himself down before cracking home the resultant penalty.

Rangers tried to hit back and after the overage Jason Holt was brought down, a free-kick by Jamie Barjonas beat the Sons wall but Scott Gallacher got down to save.

After 14 minutes Zak Rudden noticed Gallacher had strayed from his line and tried to chip the shot-stopper however his effort drifted wide.

As the visitors continued to press for an equaliser Barjonas had a shot deflected wide and Andrew Dallas failed to get enough behind a header from a Myles Beerman cross.

Dumbarton almost grabbed a second eight minutes from the break when Kyle Hutton sent a shot screaming towards goal from 20 yards only for it to strike a post.

A second goal for the hosts arrived on 49 minutes when Mark Stewart was picked out by ex-rangers midfielder Tom Walsh and the striker slid in to convert his cross.

Ryan Hardie had an effort deflected wide with just over an hour gone but the striker had better luck 18 minutes from time when he ran on to a Rudden pass and slotted home.

As Rangers pressed for a leveller, Gallacher denied Matty Shiels twice in quick succession

0 Dumbarton midfielder Kyle Hutton gets the better of Rangers U20’s Myles Beerman. before Hardie was also kept out by the keeper who started his career in Govan.

Dundee’syoungstersarealso out after losing 4-2 to Alloa at Dens Park where Craig Malcolm drilled in a low shot after a strong run from Alan Cook on 13 minutes for the opener.

Callum Crane doubled the visitors’ advantage eight minutes later when he fired a 16-yard volley past Calum Ferie and the Wasps added a third just after the half-hour mark when Iain Flannigan sent a fierce drive into the net.

Dundee pulled a goal back five minutes from the break when Matthew Henvey curled in from the edge of the box.

Henvey looked to have set up a nervous ending when he netted from close range with 11 minutes left, however Malcolm ended the night as he began it by scoring.

Motherwell under-20s did make it through after coming from behind to defeat Queen’s Park 2-1 at Stirling Albion’s Forthbank.

The Spiders got their noses in front when ex-steelman Adam Cummins rose highest to head home a corner.

Shea Gordon forced Queen’s Michael White into a fine save five minutes from the break with the keeper tipping Gordon’s drive onto the bar before the ball bounced to safety. An equaliser arrived when overage new recruit Ellis Plummer, pictured, headed in a David Turnbull cross on 62 minutes and the hosts went in front seven minutes later with a fantastic goal. There looked to be little danger when Adam Livingstone picked up the ball 25 yards from goal however the midfielder sent an unstoppable shot past White.

Motherwell’s Jack Hastie hit the bar before substitute Dylan Falconer almost made the winning margin even greater, however White was able to tip his effort over the bar.

Ayr United were too strong for Lowland League hosts East Stirling and enjoyed a 5-1 win.

Leon Murphy marked his first start for Ayr with a goal on 26 minutes when he cut in from the left wing and blasted home. Brian Gilmour came within inches of adding a second four minutes later but his free-kick crashed back off the woodwork.

Gilmour had better luck on 38 minutes when he darted through the home defence and slipped the ball home for Ayr’s second however the Shire hit back instantly with Derek Ure firing home a shot from 30 yards.

Ayr re-established a twogoal cushion eight minutes into the second half through Craig Moore’s fierce shot. Alan Forrest quickly added a fourth with Luke Mccowan wrapping things up at the death. Andy Ryan is convinced he can make it back to the topflight with Dunfermline after deliberately dropping down the leagues to rekindle his career.

The 22-year-old penned a two-year deal with the Pars on Tuesday and marked his debut just hours later with a superb double for Allan Johnston’s men in the Irn-bru Cup win over Arbroath.

The Fifers paid a fee to recruit Ryan from Airdrie, where he scored 29 times in just 47 appearances, and the marksman believes he is ready to step back up the ranks after kicking off his career at Hamilton Accies.

He said: “The move came out of the blue but when I heard Dunfermline were interested it was a great opportunity for me at a big, big club. It’s a great club, with a great fanbase, and it’s just a case of feeling my way into the team.

“The manager here was a big thing for me as well. I think he can develop me as a player and take me to the next level in my career.

“I had the chance to go back to the Championship last year before I signed for Airdrie, but I thought the best move for me was to drop down a couple of leagues and go to Airdrie full-time in League One.

“I just wanted to rekindle my career, if you like, and it proved to be the right decision. I scored 27 goals, which is great for any striker.

“I think I’ve got players in midfield at Dunfermline who can create chances for me, and hopefully I can put them away.”

Ryan took just 23 minutes to find the net for the Pars in spectacular fashion on Tuesday, when he struck a sweet volley from 16 yards out.

After following that up with a header five minutes from the interval, the youngster was thrilled to make a good first impression on his maiden outing for his new club.

He added: “It was the ideal start for me. I wasn’t expecting to play from the start but I was delighted I did. As a centre-forward, the first goal you score is crucial because the longer that drags on the harder you tend to try.”