Striker hits treble in front of bumper Ibrox crowd as his side recover from early Shire shock
RANGERS’ hopes of adding a shut-out to their very own Sell-Out Saturday were scuppered inside the first few minutes but East Stirling’s stunning start was emphatically eclipsed by a hat-trick from Andy Little.
Ibrox’s first Third Division contest was a thoroughly surreal affair, a packed stadium giving off a Champions League atmosphere before captain Carlos Bocanegra indulged in the sort of defending that Rangers are supposed to be benefiting from as they smash their way through the SFL’s bottom division.
A credit to their manager John Coughlin, East Stirling made a start as bright as their day-glo orange jerseys and took a third-minute lead through Paul Quinn’s penalty.
Inevitably, their part-time players tired against their gilded opponents and Rangers got the result which, following last weekend’s openingday stumble at Peterhead, manager Ally McCoist wanted so badly.
A full 40 minutes before kick-off, chief executive Charles Green was out pressing the flesh and meeting his public, posing for a few photos in the section of the Broomloan Stand occupied by the Union Bears, or ‘the mad squad’ as McCoist recently referred to them.
Green certainly knows his audience and his accusations of ‘bigotry’ and ‘an agenda’ against the club have played well with the rank and file, pushing up season-ticket sales and softening the suspicions which had been felt regarding his Sevco consortium’s intentions for the club.
Setting aside any justified apprehension, 49,000 fans gave him a captive audience as he took the microphone before kick-off and aped McCoist in ribbing the underwhelming results of the plan to pack the SPL’s stadia last weekend.
‘Never mind Sell-Out Saturday that they tried to organise last week, this is Sold-Out Saturday because there are only a few seats left,’ he said.
‘We will have the highest audience in Scotland and one of the highest in the UK today, which is testament to the passion, loyalty and commitment shown by the Rangers supporters, and I thank you all.’
The supporters responded with howls of approval, although they might wish to remember that last season’s first home game saw the crowd stand and applaud the disastrous Craig Whyte as he raised the SPL flag before kick-off.
The tone well and truly set, Ibrox proceeded to rock on towards kick-off with the adopted Penny Arcade belted out at full volume. Unfortunately for McCoist and Green, the team in blue showed no signs of acting on that adrenaline rush and conceded a penalty within two minutes.
From the whistle, East Stirling were focused, eager and admirably adept at moving the ball around. The cross-field pass with which Scott Maxwell picked out Michael Herd burrowing down the right was perfectly weighted and, even after electing not to shoot, the midfielder was confident enough to take on Bocanegra on his way into the Rangers box.
The American international, quite frankly, did not look fit for the task — either mentally or physically — and let Herd past before clumsily knocking him over.
It was a straightforward call for referee Kevin Clancy and Quinn accepted his opportunity by rolling the spot-kick home to provide the most unlikely of scorelines.
With Ian Black pumping his fists and then rattling the bar with a 25-yard drive, Rangers rallied as one might expect. Yet, while a flashing Kirk Broadfoot drive provided a further hint at a quick comeback, the Shire held their nerve.
Bocanegra’s calamitous afternoon continued when he placed a pass in the path of Maxwell, who moved the ball to his left foot and narrowly missed with a shot aimed at the far post.
Little’s equaliser, an angled finish following some set-up play from Francisco Sandaza, ought to have settled nerves but the Shire nearly took the lead again within a minute when Quinn pondered in front of goal and allowed Dorin Goian to make a saving tackle.
Rangers picked up after the introduction of 17-year-old winger Barrie McKay, surprisingly omitted after scoring at Peterhead last weekend and introduced here as Dean Shiels hobbled off.
The youngster was a real bright spark and went on to turn in Rangers’ best individual display of the day.
Little might argue with that, having steered home his second goal from Broadfoot’s sweeping rightwing cross but, after the interval, the Northern Irish internationalist was just a little too eager to claim his hat-trick, snatching at his chances and, on at least one occasion, failing to return the favour to the better-placed Sandaza.
The Spaniard did get his goal at the end of an almighty scramble in the box in which Shire keeper Ryan McWilliams and strike partner Little, inadvertently, blocked efforts on the line before Sandaza tapped home his first strike for the club.
Little’s treble was complete after McKay’s cross picked out Sandaza, the forward ramming home the rebound from the saved header.
With the points tied up, McCoist allowed himself the opportunity to introduce his most recent signing, Emilson Cribari, and the Brazilian defender’s heart rate was raised only by joining in the celebrations at Lee McCulloch’s late strike, a cherry-on-the-cake finish after an assist from the exciting McKay.