Rangers have crashed out of the Scottish Cup after a disastrous 1-0 defeat to Scottish Championship outfit Queen’s Park at Ibrox.
The result effectively ends Rangers’ domestic season in disappointment with the 13 point gap between the Gers and Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership insurmountable barring what would be an unprecedented collapse at Parkhead.
Rangers also suffered defeat in the Scottish League Cup Final to Celtic, losing on penalty kicks in controversial circumstances having been denied a penalty in extra-time.
But even the award of a last-minute penalty against Queen’s Park wasn’t enough to stop a quite remarkable defeat which leaves Rangers fans in a daze as their team crash out the Scottish Cup.
Queen’s Park stun Rangers in Scottish Cup
Rangers had the entire week to prepare for the clash at Ibrox and went into the Scottish Cup tie overwhelming favourites.
Speaking before the match, Philippe Clement suggested a lack of midweek action could disrupt the team’s rhythm and so it proved at Ibrox.
The Rangers manager made five changes from the team that defeated Ross County last weekend with the likes of Rafael Fernandes, Bailey Rice and Nedim Bajrami given a starting berth.
But a lack of impetus from the likes of Rice and Bajrami saw Clement hook the pair at half-time in place of Cyriel Dessers and Nicolas Raskin.
Rangers’ struggled to break down Queen’s Park throughout the match and this continued into the second period before Sebastian Drozd fired in low last Liam Kelly.
The Gers then huffed and puffed in the final stages as Queen’s Park battled for every ball and the Gers had a few openings which the team failed to covert.
Queen’s Park goalkeeper Calum Ferrie put in an inspired performance and kept out efforts from Cyriel Dessers and Vaclav Cerny to keep the Spiders in front.
The English keeper then saved a James Tavernier penalty which had been awarded in the 95th minute of injury time before somehow tipping over a Robin Propper header from the resultant corner.
Rangers help tee up sixth Celtic treble in nine years
After weeks of steady improvement under Philippe Clement, Rangers have been brought back down to earth with a bang by Queen’s Park at Ibrox.
Callum Davidson has upset Rangers in the Scottish Cup before, having taken St Johnstone to the trophy after defeating the Gers at Ibrox in 2021.
The Queen’s Park manager was at it again as he masterminded a shock win over Rangers to leave Philippe Clement under immense pressure in Glasgow.
With Celtic having won the League Cup and nailed-on to win the title, no matter what the Belgian manager tries to say, Rangers have put up abject resistance to what could prove a sixth Celtic treble in nine years.
It will take a huge upset for someone to halt the Parkhead side in the competition this season.
Rangers, having surrendered the club’s long-standing trophy record at Hampden earlier in the campaign, have only the Europa League left to fight for this season.
With some huge clubs still in the competition, the Gers are long-shots to reach the Final let alone lift the trophy in Bilbao.
But it is no exaggeration to say that the club’s performances on the continent are the only thing between Clement and the sharp end of the axe at Ibrox.
