BEARS WITH A DRAW HEAD
Gers get job done against plucky Rovers as they go into the semis hat but it’s far from pretty at an eerie Ibrox amid fan group unrest
FOR most of it you could have heard a pin drop.
But Rangers can still dream of popping Celtic’s Treble bubble after another day of discord in Govan.
There’s been plenty of needle between the Union Bears and the Ibrox board in recent weeks but relations reached a new low after yesterday’s banner stooshie.
Refused permission to display what Gers chiefs insist was a “highly offensive” dig at police bosses, the fan group opted to stay clear from the game altogether.
But without the ultras making their usual noise, the Ibrox roar was reduced to a whimper and the result was a Gers display as flat as the atmosphere.
In the end, even the silence of the fans couldn’t stop Ian Murray’s Raith from feeling the sharp end as the hosts took their place in the hat for tonight’s semi-final draw.
Connor Goldson’s opener was followed up after the break by a Ryan Nolan own goal and a late strike from Scott Arfield as Michael Beale’s team ensured their hunt for silverware goes on.
But the Ibrox gaffer will be concerned his team fell short of the standards set in Wednesday’s Easter Road hammering of Hibs just one game after he’d told them that was the minimum he’s now willing to accept.
Slick and quick in the capital, this was a return to the stale, stodgy stuff the Londoner has been looking to leave behind.
Knowing this was his team’s last realistic shot at silverware this term, Beale was taking little chances with his team selection. He started with 10 of the 11 players who swept to a swashbuckling win in Leith, with John Lundstram the only newcomer as he took over from Ryan Jack.
A tall order for the visitors was made all the more challenging given the injury crisis Rovers boss Murray was faced with.
Missing seven first-team regulars – including skipper Scott Brown – the Fifers could only name five subs as 18-year-old Adam Masson was tasked with shackling Ryan Kent on what was just his second senior start.
It was always going to take something remarkable for the Championship side to cause an upset.
They nearly produced just that inside the opening 90 seconds as former Hearts ace Esmael Goncalves made an audacious attempt to lob Allan McGregor from 10 yards inside his own half.
And the 1600-strong Kirkcaldy contingent held their breath as McGregor scrambled back towards his only goal before Goncalves’ bold effort curved wide at the last moment.
From there though, it was one-way traffic. Jamie MacDonald clawed away a James Tavernier shot after the Ibrox skipper combined with Lundstram on his way into the box before former Gers kid Tom Lang frustrated his old side by blocking a goal-bound Goldson strike.
But with that eerie hush hanging over the ground, Rovers knew that they only had to stand firm in their stubborn shape before the groans from the home support would come.
Fashion Sakala was first to frustrate the Ibrox punters when he threw himself to the ground at Lang’s feet after a heavy touch.
The noise levels only rose above a murmur when referee John Beaton was forced to halt play as first Connor McBride and then Lang went down claiming they were hurt.
That didn’t wash with the angry home support.
But most of their exasperation was being caused by their own team’s build-up play, which if it were any faster could be generously described as glacial.
But Beale’s team avoided hearing what the Light Blues faithful would have to say at the break as they snatched the lead three minutes
before the interval. Lang had got his head on every cross that had come into the Rovers box. But Gers finally got a clean connection on a delivery as Goldson met Borna Barisic’s outswinging corner with a firm header that flashed past MacDonald.
A half-time talking-to saw an increase in tempo but Murray’s men were working just as hard as they did during the opening 45.
Liam Dick survived a VAR handball check after putting himself in the way of a Tavernier shot while Dylan Easton even managed a strike at McGregor on a rare foray forward.
But Rovers’ resistance was broken for good in the 58th minute when
Nolan’s misguided attempt to hook clear a Tavernier cross ended up looping past MacDonald on its way into the the Fife defender’s net.
Lang avoided making the same mistake as he blocked one of the skipper’s 25-yarders.
Goncalves may have made the final 20 minutes interesting had he been a bit quicker off his mark when Aidan Connolly flashed a cross to the back post.
Both teams made their changes and in the confusion, Rovers were presented with another opening as Lewis Vaughan slid in substitute Ethan Ross but he failed to beat McGregor with his first touch. Vaughan tried to do what Goncalves couldn’t in the first half as he let fly from halfway again but this time McGregor had time to jog over to his left to retrieve the wayward attempt.
Rangers had time left for one last cheer as substitute Ianis Hagi found Cantwell in the box, with Arfield arriving at the perfect time to roll No.3 past MacDonald.