Murty’s gift to the new boss
Rangers caretaker books Hampden semi-final trip as hat-trick hero Garner feasts on Hamilton blood
THE gift of at least one day out at Hampden this spring will be an attractive part of the short-term package awaiting the next Rangers manager after Graeme Murty hurdled the second Scottish Cup obstacle of his temporary reign. The caretaker has taken care of business against Morton and, emphatically yesterday at Ibrox, over Hamilton to deliver a place in the semi-final. He might just be getting the hang of this gig but, as he points out, whether he is in charge for much longer is a matter out of his control.
And speaking of out of control, the dominant and divisive central figure in this tie was Joe Garner. Hat-trick hero for Rangers after replacing the rested Kenny Miller at half-time. Hate figure for Hamilton, whose Dougie Imrie was fearful of suffering serious injury at the hands of the forward.
Rangers might have been lucky to lean on a few refereeing decisions to aid their cause here, and one was Garner staying on the pitch at 2-0. However, Accies contributed to their own downfall with amateurish defending and conceding too easily at set-pieces. They leaked four goals in the final 13 minutes as the heads went down and fatigue appeared to curtail them.
Whether he was running at them or producing deadly deliveries from corner-kicks, Barrie McKay was a prime contributor to the sorry state in which Accies left Ibrox. He served it up to Ioannis Skondras from early on and found midweek hero Emerson Hyndman with a sharp cutback right into the path of the on-loan midfielder.
Remi Matthews, the Cup keeper who blanked out Dunfermline in the previous round’s penalty shoot-out, blocked on the line with his legs. The sidefoot technique from the American helped ensure Matthews would not be beaten by power.
Wes Foderingham would have been better served using those limbs as he slid at the edge of his area to claim the first touch ahead of Accies striker Rakish Bingham. The standside official appeared to let him off lightly as he snatched possession from the wrong side of his 18-yard line.
A serious sanction against Foderingham for this folly could have been a game-changer, so escaping the rap from referee John Beaton allowed Rangers to stick to the plan and build momentum towards their victory.
Acts of jumpiness in this Rangers defence are perhaps forgivable. This thin blue line had conceded twice in each of Murty’s three league games in charge and Accies attacked it with relish, their confidence up after taking care of second-placed Aberdeen in midweek.
But possession was conceded too easily by both sides as they took it in turns to hand over chances to construct meaningful moves, with Accies the chief offenders. By the half-hour, Rangers finally cracked it. Miller, deep in his own territory, helped to pass the home side out of trouble then came within inches of finishing off the fine move.
The combination of Jason Holt and Martyn Waghorn teed up an ambitious dig from the tireless Miller. The striker’s technique on the volley from 25 yards was stunning. The save matched it from Matthews, touching the ball on to the crossbar and over.
Second-phase danger from the corner spooked Accies into aiding Rangers the lead. Jon Toral’s slick touch in a tight spot fashioned a sight of goal before Grant Gillespie’s contact felled the Spaniard from behind. Waghorn’s spot-kick comprehensively beat Matthews.
Miller’s work was soon done for the day as Garner replaced him at the interval. Ibrox Stadium should really be subject to some extra health and safety stipulations if the intent is for Garner to be introduced to the action. Here, he took the fact this was a knockout competition too literally.
But before he satisfied his bloodthirsty fix, Garner sniffed out a goal in perfect poaching style. From McKay’s corner, Rob Kiernan glanced on the header and Garner pounced in between defenders to prod home from six yards. Training-ground work to a tee.
Garner should have been embarrassed by the Rangers fans chanting his name throughout the winter while they waited for a scoring tune from their £1.8million signing. He drew a blank for 11 games from October 29 to February 19 as he went about accumulating more yellow cards to his name than goals.
He found his touch yesterday and took home the match ball, but is a danger to himself and any opponent who happens to stand in his way as his rash actions demonstrated. First, Imrie was clattered late and the winger was fortunate not to land in the bottom row of the Govan Stand.
Leniency from Beaton allowed Garner to bang heads with Blair Adams some minutes later. That clash ended the Accies’ full-back’s day and Garner required stitches to his wound in the dressing room. He returned 11 minutes later and Rangers swiftly had the tie sewn up as a combination of hesitant defending and hunger for a big victory in home ranks cranked up the margin of victory.
Initially, perhaps, Garner was still a little dazed by his bruising incidents as Imrie was able to nick the ball as he hesitated over his first chance since the patch-up job.
McKay’s flag kicks were a favourite avenue to goal that Accies at no point felt comfortable fielding and Toral made it three via that route. His shot was deflected past Matthews by substitute Scott McMann, but there was no stopping the Arsenal loanee claiming his first Rangers goal.
Clint Hill got in on the act next, in the 82nd minute, timing his late arrival in the area to the second and steering a free header home from 12 yards out.
The marking was suspect there and Accies confirmed they had gone to pieces as Gillespie’s ghastly attempt to guide a pass back to Matthews allowed Garner to steal in before the keeper and stroke home his second.
Hamilton were well worn out by the time Garner slammed home the sixth to celebrate his hat-trick.