Road-weary Rangers rally one last time to net Hampden spoils

It was as if they knew people would talk, that there was something slightly tainted about capturing a trophy by beating three First Division teams, one after a replay, another on a penalty shoot-out and, lastly, a third by the minimum margin in a final that could have gone either way.

The celebrations were not as unbridled as those normally associated with victory on the climactic day of the Scottish football programme, as if the feast had been invaded by a ghost. It had, of course, in the spectral form of the too-recent memories of the failures to land the two most-prized honours of the four they had been contesting, the Premier League championship and the Uefa Cup.

In the circumstances, it was impossible not to extend a certain sympathy to Walter Smith and his players. It is a rarity bordering on uniqueness for any team to enter a national cup final in a no-win situation. Even a comfortable victory would, in all likelihood, have been met with a widespread 'so what?' response, prompted by the First Division status of their opponents, the valiant Queen of the South.

As it transpired, the manner of the success would have been Smith's and every Rangers fan's dread, a sweaty, often anxiety-ridden 90 minutes that would offer critics the opportunity to claim that their team had been fortunate to leave Hampden Park with the 134-year-old cup.

Such a view should be instantly dismissed. While Rangers' performance may not have merited superlatives, their victory had nothing to do with luck. A rational overview of the match would reveal that the winners were largely undisturbed for all but that breathtaking first 15 minutes of the second half when Queens wiped out a two-goal deficit and raised the hopes of their own plentiful, colourful and noisy supporters that they could perform a miracle.

It is true that the result could have gone their way, but, realistically, only during that period. The Dumfries team's aspirations to a stunning triumph were justified, but fleeting.

David Weir, the veteran Ibrox defender, made the interesting point afterwards that Rangers in the closing stages of a demanding schedule had consistently suffered a dip in form in the second half of their matches. It is an observation supported by the recollection of the league games against Aberdeen, Celtic (twice) and Motherwell, and the Uefa Cup final against Zenit St Petersburg, all of them either lost or drawn as a consequence of goals conceded after the interval.

Weir insisted that this was an indicator of physical, rather than mental, fatigue induced by the number of matches they had had to play, with particular emphasis on the four – at Fir Park, Love Street, Pittodrie and Hampden – in the eight days that began a week ago on Saturday.

The way in which this cup final unfolded, however, tended to suggest that his manager's earlier remarks were more relevant. Before the European defeat in Manchester, Smith had expressed the belief that the most difficult problem was one of relentlessly maintaining concentration through a series of games that were all played in a win-or-bust environment.

He had also stressed that the rigours of the campaign were more likely to have an enervating effect on midfielders and forwards than on defenders, on the basis that the first two groups invariably covered more ground in the course of a match.

Smith gave a practical demonstration of his conviction by playing the fresh-as-paint Kris Boyd and DaMarcus Beasley as two of the three forwards in a 4-3-3 formation, and also included Lee McCulloch – another with low mileage in recent weeks due to injury and suspension – in the midfield trio.

There has seemed little doubt through the second half of the season that the Rangers captain, Barry Ferguson, has been diminished by the ankle condition that will require surgery. The midfielder is never anything less than fully committed to the cause, but he has been noticeably ineffective in too many matches through the months since the turn of the year.

Perhaps it is no mere coincidence that Boyd, with a double, and Beasley should provide Rangers' three goals, while the concession of the two could be attributed to a combination of Queens' renewed sprightliness after the break and the slight loss of focus in the Ibrox defence that Smith had feared.

Rangers' tiredness was countered by their opponents' rustiness, Gordon Chisholm's side having been idle for four weeks since they completed their Scottish Football League campaign on 26 April. If there was an early liveliness from Queens which gave them the spirited look of dogs unleashed, it was, in the main, non-threatening.

Having undergone the trial of the trip to Aberdeen on Thursday – arriving home in the small hours of Friday – Rangers appeared contrastingly unadventurous during the opening 20 minutes, as though determined to pace themselves sensibly.

As a result, they were able to find their rhythm virtually untroubled.

And by the time Boyd opened the scoring, the Glasgow team had imposed themselves as authoritatively as most would have expected in what was widely regarded as a mis-match. Boyd took Ferguson's short, stabbed free kick on the run and sent a ferocious volley from 25 yards high to the left of goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald.

MacDonald seemed a little sluggish in dealing with the moderate shot with which Beasley doubled Rangers' advantage, but not quite as muddled as the two defenders in front of him who had allowed Carlos Cuellar's header across the penalty area to reach the little American.

Jim Thomson, the 37-year-old central defender and captain who would atone later, and Ryan McCann, the right-back, might have been blindfolded as they stumbled into each other. Beasley's low drive from about eight yards and slightly to the left of goal almost trundled through the goalkeeper's legs.

There was no denying Rangers' entitlement to their lead at half-time, giving rise to the prospect of humiliation for the First Division side. But there was a previously unsuspected urgency and ebullience about the latter's play when they re-emerged, Steve Tosh halving the deficit by meeting Sean O'Connor's cut-back from the right with his belly, from where it shot across the line.

Thomson's powerful header from Harris's expert free kick from the right was admirable, but it was the kind of ball into the heart of Rangers' defence which Cuellar and Weir have spent an entire season handling with ease, firming up the suspicion that their concentration had wavered.

Boyd confirmed himself the great enigma by capping an otherwise anonymous performance by heading Beasley's corner kick high past MacDonald. The goal took the cup to Ibrox and soured what had promised, for a short time, to be the greatest day in the long history of Queen of the South, who, apparently, have been around since biblical times.

Queen of the South: MacDonald, McCann (Robertson 86), Thomson, Aitken, Harris, McQuilken (Stewart 76), MacFarlane, Tosh, Burns, Dobbie (O'Neill 82), O'Connor. Subs not used: Grindlay, Paton. Booked: Tosh.

Rangers: Alexander, Whittaker, Cuellar, Weir, Papac, McCulloch, Ferguson, Thomson, Beasley (Davis 76), Boyd, Darcheville (Fleck 86). Subs not used: G Smith, Dailly, McMillan. Booked: McCulloch.

Man of the match

Steve Tosh (Queen of South)

It may seem odd not to give the award to double scorer Kris Boyd, but Tosh was not only a scorer, but a tireless, roaming presence who did more than anyone else to save his team from potential embarrassment and make the cup final memorable.

Taken from the Scotsman