Last Friday, Rangers U17s pulled off a mighty achievement.
In beating AS Roma via a dramatic penalty shootout, they became the first British club to win the Alkass International Cup.
This was the tournament’s eighth edition, and it has been won by the youth teams of Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, in recent seasons.
In terms of individuals, two players particularly caught the eye of Rangers supporters.
Nathan Young-Coombes and Kai Kennedy.
The former was full of goals and tricks, while the latter scored the winning penalty and won player of the tournament.
However, on Monday, there was further progress for a different member of the Cup-winning squad.
Cole McKinnon.
Despite only just turning 16, he got a run out for the Reserves in the 1-1 draw at Dunfermline.
He replaced Joao Balde in the 88th minute, with the Gers searching for a winning goal.
It may only have been a short cameo, but what a vote of confidence in the youngster.
It’s been a whirlwind week for both McKinnon and Harris O’Connor, who was an unused sub.
Both players played an exhilarating final in Doha only 72 hours previously, and had since done a special lap of honour around Ibrox.
It’s great to see members of that squad already reaping the rewards from their efforts in Qatar, and here’s hoping they now push onto bigger and better things.
