Mikey Moore brings some cheer for Rangers and Russell Martin at last

There really wasn’t much for Rangers and Russell Martin to gain here. A place in the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup was duly claimed, but the only real victories were in the details: impressive debuts from Mikey Moore and Emmanuel Fernandez, a sighting, from the bench, of the hitherto injured Thelo Aasgaard and Hamza Igamane, and the odd spurt of clinical, piercing football.

But another couple of defensive disasters against League One Alloa Athletic formed a giant red flag ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League play-off round first leg at home to Club Bruges, the Belgians whose game is built around the pace, movement and trickery of a talented frontline.

There was only one goal in it going into the last ten minutes of this game after David Devine got the run on Kieran Dowell at the back post and headed off the bar, whereupon Scott Taggart reacted quickest to bundle the ball over the line. Yet again, Rangers had been undone by a straightforward set piece, neither Liam Kelly nor any of his defenders taking charge of the situation to anticipate danger.

These early days of the Martin era still have a chaotic, incoherent feel and it is brutally hard to make a case for their chances of beating Bruges over two legs. With so much at stake in terms of both finance and prestige, Rangers look ill prepared. From the XI that started the midweek defeat by Viktoria Plzen, only Nasser Djiga kept his place. Fernandez, the £3.5 million centre back, and Moore, the 18-year-old winger on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, both came in while Oscar Cortés made his first start since mid-April amid rare run-outs for Nedim Bajrami and Bailey Rice, a loan target for his old club Motherwell.

Rice — normally a central midfielder — was fielded at left back, Martin confirming pre-match that Jefté, the usual occupant of that position, is set to join Palmeiras in his native Brazil. Rice and Moore combined well on that left side in the initial throes as Rangers, predictably, established a monopoly on possession.

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Moore was also proving adept at coming more centrally to offer himself as a third-man runner, and forced the Alloa goalkeeper Liam McFarlane to beat down his shot after he cut in from the left. Kelly, McFarlane’s opposite number and the Rangers captain for the day, almost got in a fankle racing from his area to challenge Luke Rankin, but the home side were soon in front.

In contrast to some of the laboured, overly-intricate build-up play which has blighted their early season efforts, the goal was the product of crisp, incisive passing between Joe Rothwell, Bajrami and Moore, the latter teeing up the Albanian for a brilliant curling finish up and over McFarlane from the left side of the box, via the underside of the bar. A suitably pinpoint conclusion to a purposeful move, and only Bajrami’s second goal of 2025.

Curtis makes sure of the victory in the final minute with Rangers’ fourth goal ANDREW MILLIGAN/PA

The stage was set for Rangers to stride on, but instead they momentarily collapsed, quite literally in the case of Djiga. Bursting into midfield, the centre back had his pocket picked by Steven Hetherington and stayed down while the play raged on around him. There was absolutely nothing in the challenge — which was still greater than the effort Djiga made to get back as Alloa attacked down their right.

Rice sold himself to Steven Buchanan, and after an incredible burst of penalty-box pinball, Max Aarons smashed the ball off a prone Rothwell’s head from point-blank range. The ball cannoned into the net sparking scenes of wild celebration among the travelling support.

It was a truly awful goal for Rangers to concede, and Ibrox was left to wonder if the previously unthinkable might be on the cards. But within four minutes, the hosts were back in front as Rothwell swung in a menacing free kick from the right and Fernandez rose highest to nod the ball home. Immediately after, McFarlane denied Cortés what looked a certain third.

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Still Rangers did not entirely settle. Djiga tried his luck from 30 yards and Bajrami forced another save with a snapshot, but even against this level of opponent, Martin’s men could not rid themselves of that tendency to turn the ball over deep in their own half.

From one such situation, Kurtis Roberts tried to lob Kelly from distance. The goalkeeper was on his toes but it was another reminder of his side’s inherent fallibility. Kelly then had to block from Luke Rankin after Buchanan again embarrassed Rice, although it transpired that the Alloa forward had been offside.

Rice went off injured just before the break, James Tavernier coming on at left back while Aarons stayed on the right.

The hitherto anonymous Danilo had a couple of chances in the early part of the second half as Rangers pressed for a third. Bajrami hooked a fine effort just wide then drew an excellent save from McFarlane. Cameron O’Donnell and Cortés both pursued the rebound, and as the Alloa substitute moved to block the Colombian’s effort, the ball hit his wrist.

There was no chance for O’Donnell to do anything differently, and his arms seemed in a natural position, but Greg Aitken, the VAR, invited the on-field referee Dan McFarlane to review his original decision to award a corner. Tavernier converted from the spot via the inside of the post.

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After Taggart added a fresh layer of intrigue, Findlay Curtis, another Rangers substitute, made sure in the final minute of normal time with a beautifully angled low finish across McFarlane from Dowell’s perceptive pass.

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