FOR Rangers, this was a good way to round off a bad week. After a first league defeat to Hibernian and then a raft of financial issues, most notably the £7.5m loss posted in the club accounts and the ruling by the Court of Session that EBTs ought to have been taxable after all, Mark Warburton and his players helped put a smile back on their supporters’ faces with this comfortable victory over Alloa Athletic.
The off-field stuff won’t go away any time soon – former chief executive Charles Green is due in court later this week to argue Rangers should pay his legal fees relating to a future court appearance – but here at least was a 90-minute balm that temporarily soothed the pain. In truth, this was as one-sided a match as you are likely to see between top and bottom of the SPFL Championship. Rangers scored after just 10 minutes and looked of a mind to run up six or seven, eventually settling for just the four due largely to some desperate but effective Alloa defending.
Danny Lennon, the Alloa manager, had preached the parable of David and Goliath beforehand in the hope of inspiring his players to an unlikely win but on this occasion David never even got to load up his catapult nevermind take aim. One Michael Chopra shot against the crossbar late in the first half was the closest Alloa came to denying Wes Foderingham the easiest of clean sheets. A late red card for Edward Ferns, for a stamp on Rangers substitute Jordan Thompson, summed up their afternoon.
Rangers, then, did what had been widely expected of them and in clinical fashion, too. With Hibs winning in Paisley, the gap between first and second remains at five points although Warburton – who restored a four-man defence following the three-man experiment at Easter Road – declared himself satisfied with both performance and result.
“A pleasing afternoon’s work,” was his summation of events as he expressed surprise at news he was being linked with the Queens Park Rangers vacancy. “We showed a good attitude from start to finish, we worked tirelessly and showed good quality. We are five points clear so we are in good shape right now.”
Alloa needed to defend robustly to try to frustrate Rangers in the opening stages if they were to have any chance of causing an upset. No wonder Lennon, then, cut an apoplectic figure on the touchline with the way his team conceded their first goal after just 10 minutes. Goalkeeper Andy McNeil seemed unsure as to whether he could pick the ball up as it dribbled towards him so opted for the most unconvincing of kicks, straight to Martyn Waghorn. The striker could scarcely believe his luck as he teed himself up then volleyed into the net.
“That was a sore one,” admitted Lennon. “At first view I thought he could have picked it up. And if he wasn’t sure I’d rather he had kicked it straight into the Sandy Jardine Stand.”
It would get worse for Lennon and his players just three minutes later when Rangers scored their second. Again Alloa did not help themselves, Ferns bringing down Andy Halliday just outside the box allowing the irrepressible James Tavernier to take aim then send a shot high past McNeil for his tenth goal of the season.
Almost every Rangers attack seemed to involve one or both of Tavernier and Waghorn and the latter should have scored his second and his team’s third from a cross from the former. The striker, however, somehow took his eye off the ball and skidded it wide when it seemed easier to score.
Had Chopra netted moments later that miss may have proved costly, but instead it was Rangers and Waghorn who scored next. Barrie McKay’s neat flick was inviting and the forward gratefully volleyed it past McNeil. After just 39 minutes the game was done and dusted.
The pace dropped noticeably after the interval, Alloa resigned to the fact that the contest had moved beyond them and their hosts not of a mind to punish them unduly. Waghorn passed up several chances for his hat-trick before a header from Nicky Clark in the final minute belatedly brought up Rangers’ fourth.
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