Latest news with #EmmanuelFernandez
Scotsman
a day ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Underwhelming Rangers survive Alloa scare as comedy concession set to keep Ibrox analysts busy
Part-timers take the plaudits as Rangers progress to quarter-finals Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... His predecessor never recovered after being bitten by The Spiders, so Russell Martin was right to be wary of being stung by some Wasps in mid-August. Alloa Athletic proved anything but drowsy but Rangers overcame the visitors on an evening when six goals were scored, which isn't of course a stunning bulletin of news. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, that Alloa scored two of them, and Rangers' fourth didn't come until time added on, was why it was a case of 'colour me underwhelmed' for the home fans at Ibrox. Not so the Alloa supporters, of course, who quite rightly hailed their side after the final whistle. Rangers' Emmanuel Fernandez celebrates after scoring to make it 2-1 over Alloa Athletic at Ibrox. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group While it wasn't quite a case of Rangers running the ball into the corners near the end, veteran Steven Taggart's tap-in with ten minutes left, after David Devine won a far post header, left Alloa just a goal away from forcing extra time and made things interesting again. Seven days after two dropped home points against Dundee, the grumbles were heard once more around Ibrox. Substitute Findlay Curtis' late goal sealed victory for Rangers and secured a last eight home tie against Livingston or Hibs. It meant Kieran Dowell, who played all 90 minutes here, could claim an assist following the unpleasant reaction to his appearance as a substitute against Dundee. He broke from midfield to set up Curtis, who finished with an angled shot off the far post. While Dowell will feel satisfied with his evening's work, others might not feel the same about their contributions. Danilo was replaced after 68 minutes by the much more impressive Hamza Igamane having barely troubled opposition 'keeper Liam McFarlane, which isn't ideal for a Rangers centre forward at home against Alloa. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Rangers substitute Findlay Curtis scores in the dying stages to make it 4-2 over Alloa Athletic and seal a place in the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group The visitors have a surprisingly good record against Rangers. They had drawn five of their last nine meetings before kick-off here while recording a win in 2012 in Ally McCoist's penultimate game as Ibrox manager. Quite what defeat would have meant for Martin we will never know, but Philippe Clement's tenure all but ended with a 1-0 home loss to Queen's Park - the aforementioned Spiders - in the Scottish Cup in February. No one wanted to be implicated in another such humiliation, particularly those involved the last time. Of the starting XI, three players had this cross to bear – Liam Kelly, who replaced Jack Butland, Nedim Bajrami, who scored the opener, and Bailey Rice. The last-named youngster was replaced at half time against Queen's Park. He didn't even make it that far on this occasion having picked up an injury. A talented prospect, he was beaten too easily by Steven Buchanan for Alloa's equaliser – indeed, the Alloa midfielder went past him like he wasn't there. It was a key moment in the build-up to the goal but so much else happened before the ball landed in the net that it ought to keep Martin's team of analysts busy until the end of next week. They do have a Champions League play-off first leg against Club Brugge to prepare for as well, hence the number of changes Martin made. The manager viewed it as a chance for others to make a claim to play. Maybe only Bajrami, at a pinch, took it. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Alloa players celebrate as Rangers midfielder Joe Rothwell scores a comedic own goal. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group It was interesting to finally see on-loan Spurs winger Mikey Moore make his Rangers debut after turning 18 in midweek. He provided the assist for Bajrami to put Rangers in front after 14 minutes. It was a fairly straightforward lay-off to his right in truth. Bajrami took a touch to set himself up and then curled a shot towards the far corner that went in off the bar. Any notion Rangers were now up and running was quickly trashed by Alloa scoring one of the most comedic goals ever scored in the famous stadium. Jack Rothwell put through his own net although he knew precious little about it since he was flat out on the turf at the time as Max Aarons booted the ball against his head while clearing off his line. Rothwell had moments earlier stopped Luke Rankin's shot with his head, which was why he was lying on the ground in the first place.
Scotsman
a day ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Underwhelming Rangers survive Alloa scare as comedy concession set to keep Ibrox analysts busy
Part-timers take the plaudits as Rangers progress to quarter-finals Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... His predecessor never recovered after being bitten by The Spiders, so Russell Martin was right to be wary of being stung by some Wasps in mid-August. Alloa Athletic proved anything but drowsy but Rangers overcame the visitors on an evening when six goals were scored, which isn't of course a stunning bulletin of news. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, that Alloa scored two of them, and Rangers' fourth didn't come until time added on, was why it was a case of 'colour me underwhelmed' for the home fans at Ibrox. Not so the Alloa supporters, of course, who quite rightly hailed their side after the final whistle. Rangers' Emmanuel Fernandez celebrates after scoring to make it 2-1 over Alloa Athletic at Ibrox. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group While it wasn't quite a case of Rangers running the ball into the corners near the end, veteran Steven Taggart's tap-in with ten minutes left, after David Devine won a far post header, left Alloa just a goal away from forcing extra time and made things interesting again. Seven days after two dropped home points against Dundee, the grumbles were heard once more around Ibrox. Substitute Findlay Curtis' late goal sealed victory for Rangers and secured a last eight home tie against Livingston or Hibs. It meant Kieran Dowell, who played all 90 minutes here, could claim an assist following the unpleasant reaction to his appearance as a substitute against Dundee. He broke from midfield to set up Curtis, who finished with an angled shot off the far post. While Dowell will feel satisfied with his evening's work, others might not feel the same about their contributions. Danilo was replaced after 68 minutes by the much more impressive Hamza Igamane having barely troubled opposition 'keeper Liam McFarlane, which isn't ideal for a Rangers centre forward at home against Alloa. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Rangers substitute Findlay Curtis scores in the dying stages to make it 4-2 over Alloa Athletic and seal a place in the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group The visitors have a surprisingly good record against Rangers. They had drawn five of their last nine meetings before kick-off here while recording a win in 2012 in Ally McCoist's penultimate game as Ibrox manager. Quite what defeat would have meant for Martin we will never know, but Philippe Clement's tenure all but ended with a 1-0 home loss to Queen's Park - the aforementioned Spiders - in the Scottish Cup in February. No one wanted to be implicated in another such humiliation, particularly those involved the last time. Of the starting XI, three players had this cross to bear – Liam Kelly, who replaced Jack Butland, Nedim Bajrami, who scored the opener, and Bailey Rice. The last-named youngster was replaced at half time against Queen's Park. He didn't even make it that far on this occasion having picked up an injury. A talented prospect, he was beaten too easily by Steven Buchanan for Alloa's equaliser – indeed, the Alloa midfielder went past him like he wasn't there. It was a key moment in the build-up to the goal but so much else happened before the ball landed in the net that it ought to keep Martin's team of analysts busy until the end of next week. They do have a Champions League play-off first leg against Club Brugge to prepare for as well, hence the number of changes Martin made. The manager viewed it as a chance for others to make a claim to play. Maybe only Bajrami, at a pinch, took it. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Alloa players celebrate as Rangers midfielder Joe Rothwell scores a comedic own goal. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group It was interesting to finally see on-loan Spurs winger Mikey Moore make his Rangers debut after turning 18 in midweek. He provided the assist for Bajrami to put Rangers in front after 14 minutes. It was a fairly straightforward lay-off to his right in truth. Bajrami took a touch to set himself up and then curled a shot towards the far corner that went in off the bar. Any notion Rangers were now up and running was quickly trashed by Alloa scoring one of the most comedic goals ever scored in the famous stadium. Joe Rothwell put through his own net although he knew precious little about it since he was flat out on the turf at the time as Max Aarons booted the ball against his head while clearing off his line. Rothwell had moments earlier stopped Luke Rankin's shot with his head, which was why he was lying on the ground in the first place.
BBC News
a day ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Rangers 4-2 Alloa: What Martin said
Rangers head coach Russell Martin tells BBC Scotland: "We scored four goals, should score more but I'm pleased we got guys on the pitch for the first time properly here."With 10 changes, it's not going to look as fluid and clean as it should, but so many of them will be in a better place than they were at the start."I'm pleased for Emmanuel Fernandez. He has a lot of potential and good attributes. It's a good start for him."There's work to do in every department. I don't think we learned anything new there. Credit to Alloa - they were great. We'll keep striving to improve."On potential additions between now and Tuesday's first leg against Club Brugge: "The team will obviously look very different on Tuesday. We're happy with the players we've got, but I think we'll add before then."Me and Ridvan Yilmaz understand the situation. We'll have to wait and see what happens on that."Today is frustrating at times, but we're through and guys got valuable minutes. It's my job to always want more and demand more."We want to win trophies this season and this is a great chance for us to do so."
The National
a day ago
- Sport
- The National
Martin casts verdict on Rangers' performance vs Alloa
Goals from Nedim Bajrami, Emmanuel Fernandez, James Tavernier and Findlay Curtis helped the Ibrox club into the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup, where they will be at home to either Hibernian or Livingston. "I saw lots of really good stuff," Martin said of Rangers' victory this evening when speaking to Premier Sports post-match. Read more: "We started the game with real intent and then scored. We can't then sustain the intensity all the time. "I saw a few too many moments in the first half that they shouldn't get. "But there was lots of good stuff. "There will be a lot of players that will be better for this. It's Manny's [Emmanuel Fernandez] first game, Mikey's [Moore] first game, and the guys around haven't played pretty much. "There's a lot to be really excited about. And it's my job to always want more from the players and us as a group. So we'll look at it, and we'll learn from it. "I'm pleased with where we're going, but we have to keep working always." Rangers return to action on Tuesday evening as they face Club Brugge in the first leg of their Champions League play-off.
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Premier Sports Cup quarter-final draw revealed in full
Nedim Bajrami, Emmanuel Fernandez, James Tavernier and Findlay Curtis got on the scoresheet as Russell Martin secured his first domestic win in charge of the club. Read more: Celtic booked their place in the quarter-finals last night with a 4-1 thrashing of Falkirk. Partick Thistle, Aberdeen, Motherwell, St Mirren, and Rangers all won today to do so as well. Although there are two more last 16 ties to be played out - Kilmarnock vs Dundee United and Livingston vs Hibernian - the fixtures for the quarter-finals have been confirmed. Premier Sports Cup quarter-final draw in full Kilmarnock/Dundee United vs St Mirren Partick Thistle vs Celtic Rangers vs Livingston/Hibernian Aberdeen vs Motherwell All of the above ties will take place on the weekend of September 20/21. There is still a wealth of football to be played up until then, with Celtic and Rangers both in Champions League play-off action over the coming weeks.
