Rangers enjoyed a fantastic start to their season today as they thrashed Hibernian 6-2 away at Easter Road in the Challenge Cup.

New-boys James Tavernier, Martyn Waghorn (twice) and Andy Halliday all scored and veteran striker Kenny Miller coming off the bench and helping himself to a brace too.

The Ibrox side had to get over a nervy start to the game, with the Hibees dominating much of the first half. The capital side even took the lead on the fourteenth minute when Sam Stanton scored from distance.

The new look Gers defence and debut goalkeeper Wes Foderingham looked extremely shaky during the early stages and will obviously look to improve as they begin to form a partnership as a trio.

After two late first-half strikes, Rangers took control of the game and started playing with a swagger.

Tavernier looks to be a real find for the right back spot. He was energetic throughout and also seemed to be ready to get stuck into the action when called upon. His quality freekick produced the spark needed to fill the rest of his teammates with confidence and get the fans back onside.

Midfield man Halliday always seemed happy to have the ball in his possession and you could tell he has a passion for the club. Composed and assured, he will be a real asset to the club at this level, if he can continue to find that kind of form.

Waghorn lead the line well and his goals show that the forward has good positional skills and can find space in the box. His second strike after a good team move, showed what new Gers boss Mark Warburton wants from his side.

Obviously Rangers fans will be delighted with today’s result and will be extremely excited about the new campaign with Warburton in charge. But they still need to err on the side of caution before they go over the top.

During the first forty-minutes twitter was awash with plenty of people demanding more from the team and slating the new managers tactics.

In Scotland many of our game’s fans still lack patience.

There has been a high turnover of players coming in and departing Ibrox this summer. That means that this new squad aren’t the finished article yet. Yes 6-2 away at Hibs is impressive but mistakes and struggles, much like the ones we saw at Easter Road in the first half, may happen throughout the opening months as the team find their feet.

Also Hibs fell away poorly in the second half but they will come again in the league and offer stiffer opposition. Plus don’t discount St Mirren in the Championship title race.

I am still not convinced Rangers will run away with the title just yet.

But that said I am convinced that they have hired the right man in Warburton, who seemed to cement a bond with the Gers fans after the final whistle by going over and saluting the away support. I’m also convinced that the fans will be rewarded with more attractive football this term, and they have been craving that for a few years now!

I think that Rangers have just started on yet another rollercoaster this season but I think they will feel that this time their shall be more ups than downs, that they are going in the right direction and the ride will end with an adrenaline rush generated by a title win and not with the wheels coming off!

Posted on July 25th, 2015 by scott
Filed under: Article