Rangers loanee Ross McCrorie started against Premier League Arsenal as his adopted Portsmouth side fell to a 2-0 FA Cup fifth-round defeat at Fratton Park.
The young Ibrox defensive midfielder found himself in an ever-increasingly common right-back berth for Pompey but was powerless to resist as a youthful Arsenal side proved victorious.
It wasn’t the only Rangers connection in the match, with the Gunners of course managed by former Ibrox midfielder Mikel Arteta.
The talented 21-year-old defender-turned-midfielder played the entire game but Portsmouth eventually submitted to strikes late in the first half from Sokratis Papastathopoulos and early in the second from Eddie Nketiah.
McCrorie’s season at Portsmouth has been one full of ups-and-downs but the English south coast club now look to have built a genuine title challenge in League One.
At one stage languishing in mid-table, Portsmouth now sit in 3rd place with a game in hand on Rotherham in second.
They are genuine contenders for promotion to the Championship and Ross McCrorie has more than contributed to the club forcing themselves into the reckoning.
The Ibrox youngster has made 20 appearances in total for the League One club, including 15 in the English third tier [Transfermarkt].
Alongside Jamie Murphy and Greg Docherty, the local bluenose Rangers loanees are making the right impression out on the road.
But can they come back and force an opportunity at Ibrox next season?
