 The first silverware of the season went to Rangers, as the Co-operative Insurance Cup was played before a lively Hampden crowd. If there are those who would seek to belittle the League Cup, they wouldn’t have found many takers, either in the stands or on the pitch. This was a trophy that everyone inside Hampden wanted to win. Both sets of fans greeted their teams with card displays, but this was far from a party atmosphere. Right from the off, this was a game that could easily be called bruising. It was certainly a reminder that football is a "Man’s Game", as six yellow and two red cards will testify. St Mirren had by far the better of the play in the first half, creating many chances and generally causing Rangers problems, but it took until 39 minutes before St Mirren asked questions of Neil Alexander in the Rangers goal. Alexander answered with a stunning save he had no right to make, scrabbling from the far end of the goals to stop the ball on the line with his feet. Moments later, when St Mirren rattled the crossbar, you began to wonder if they would rue these missed chances. The second half saw Rangers replace the toiling Davis with Edu, the Northern Ireland international having failed to shake off a stomach bug. This saw Rangers adopt a 3-5-2 formation, though this wasn’t to last very long. Billy Mehmet should have opened the scoring on 48 minutes, with a clear shot at goal from almost point blank range, but his feeble shot was gathered up by Alexander. Soon after, the game exploded. With 52 minutes on the clock, a series of hard tackles and off the ball incidents were ignored by referee Craig Thomson, but for his namesake, Kevin, the red mist descended. A shocking tackle left the ref with no option but to send him off. St Mirren struggled to take full advantage of the extra man, but when Wilson hauled back Dargo on 70 minutes, Craig Thomson felt he saw enough to show the young defender a straight red, it looked as if the Paisley club would be lifting that coveted trophy. Yet still they couldn’t capitalise on the superior numbers and it began to look like the game would be heading for extra time. Things, however, are never quite so straight forward in football. A stunning Kenny Miller header from 18 yards left Gallacher with no chance and Hampden erupted in a wall of noise. From out of nothing, Rangers looked to have prised the trophy back from the engravers. St Mirren continued to press, but they could not break down a stubborn Rangers defence, stalwartly marshalled as always by Davie Weir, meaning it was indeed Rangers day. The emotions displayed by both sets of players and management showed just how much this game had meant to all concerned. For Rangers, their interest now turns to the Scottish Cup replay midweek. For St Mirren, the gritty work of the relegation battle looms. Man of the Match – Higdon St Mirren: Gallacher Barron Mair Potter Ross Carey Murray (Dorman 60) Brady (O'Donnell 85) Thomson Mehmet (Dargo 70) Higdon Rangers: Alexander Weir Papac Whittaker Wilson McCulloch Davis (Edu 45) Thomson red card Boyd (Naismith 79) Novo (Smith 89) Miller Referee: Craig Thomson |
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